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LIVE BLOG: Murdaugh Murder Trial, Day 7: The big question... Did Alex say 'I did him bad?'
The Murdaugh murder trial will resume at 9:30 Tuesday with one major question on everyone's mind: Did Alex implicate his guilt in a police interview?On Monday,
abcnews4.com
COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — The Murdaugh murder trial will resume at 9:30 Tuesday with one major question on everyone's mind: Did Alex implicate his guilt in a police interview?
Jan 31, 2023 - LIVE TRIAL BLOG DAY 7-- AM
Court is in recess for lunch until 2:20
10:00
State has no further questions. Defense has no questions for VanHouten at all.
09:59
Conrad asking VanHouten about Faraday Bags, which block external signals. Danger is phone data being wiped remotely by someone with login info. VanHouten says Faraday bags aren't the only way to accomplish this remote wiping protection. Turning the phone off, removing SIM card or simply putting it in airplane mode all accomplish the same goal.
09:57
After he unlocked the phone, he downloaded the data, extracted full file system and placed all files on external hard drive. Didn't examine data himself. Returned it to SLED, March 24, 2022.
09:55
VanHouten says unlocking iPhones due to design can take months to years unless you have a "dictionary" of potential passcodes for the software to use first. VanHouten says he was able to get into Paul's phone rather quickly using the dictionary he created. Code ultimately ended up being tied to Paul's birthday.
09:53
VanHouten discussing tool called Cellebrite Premium, which uses proprietary software that can use digital "brute force" to unlock phones.
09:50
First piece of evidence VanHouten reviewing for state is a chain of custody from SLED and Paul Murdaugh's phone. Received in March 2022. SLED asked for help unlocking phone, tools which SLED didn't have.
09:49
Next witness from the State, Jonathan VanHouten, a former South Carolina law enforcement officer now working as a civilian digital forensic examiner for the U.S. Secret Service.
09:47
Defense has one question for McManigal. Was phone battery dead when he received it? He can't recall, but it was off when he got it.
09:46
McManigal testifies he didn't alter data on Paul's phone in any way because he couldn't unlock it.
McManigal was brought Paul's phone in an attempt to unlock. He was unsuccessful.
09:41
McManigal received Alex Murdaugh's cell phone data from the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office investigator Dylan Hightower. McManigal was tasked with redacting data down to certain time frame of interest in order to protect attorney-client confidentiality.
09:40
Now on the stand, Sgt. David McManigal, Charleston County Sheriff's Office, assigned to U.S. Secret Service on Cyber Fraud Task Force where he works as a forensic examiner on digital data. (Computers, phones, TV's, car infotainment systems).
09:37
Harpootlian ends by trying to ask Knecht about GPS location data. After some back and forth and objection by State, Knecht says he's not qualified to talk about GPS data. He's allowed to step down.
09:36
State and Defense both ask for clarification on what happens with voice mail forwarding if phone is off vs. in Airplane mode. Knecht says it's the same. No idea of knowing how many times it rang, etc.
09:32
Dick asks about record retention. Knecht says Verizon usually doesn't keep data and call/text records past 18 months.
09:25
Harpooltian is asking Knecht a bunch of clarifying questions about how the records work and specific calls, with no seaming rhyme or reason except his own personal edification. Audience chuckling at Dick's inability to "get it" with Knecht repeatedly explaining what abbreviations mean re: calls in, out and forwarded.
09:18
Harpootlian begins cross examination for the state.
09:16
First call they go over is call from Alex to Maggie at 9:04 p.m.
Then a number of other calls by Alex to other numbers over the next hour.
State has no further questions.
09:15
Looking at Alex Murdaugh's phone now.
We're beginning analysis with Maggie Murdaugh's phone.
Scope of search warrant was May 1-June 10, 2021.
Calls at 6:46 p.m., 7:50 p.m., 11:50 p.m. the night of June 7, 2021.
Moving back to 9:04 p.m. Call routed to voicemail.
Several more calls to Maggie's phone after 9:04p.m., none answered.
09:05
Rough log of what cell data will show:
Date and time of call
Network switch router (hub)
Cell ID (specific cell tower)
Incoming vs. outgoing
Phone number
Data / Network type
09:01
Knich explaining the keys and the data shown on the discs.
09:01
State introduces into evidence key / rubric to be able to read data contained on discs.
08:59
Buster Murdaugh Verizon cell phone data entered into evidence
08:59
Marty Cook, Rogan Gibson, Connor Cook Verizon cell phone data entered into evidence.
08:55
Claude "CB" Rowe Verizon cell data entered into evidence.
08:55
Alex, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh's Verizon cell phone data from search warrant entered into evidence.
08:52
Trial resuming. Asst. AG John Conrad questioning for state. First witness is Michael Knich, a custodian of records for Verizon Wireless.
08:34
Court is in recess for a short break.
Griffin going back to the buckshot and steel shot recovered from the scene. Date on the evidence envelopes shows it was collected four months later in September. Griffin has Croft note the property was NOT secured by SLED or any law enforcement to his knowledge during those 4 months.
08:32
Griffin reiterates point about SLED not recovering projectiles from shooting range, but that projectiles were found and recovered from the crime scene. Croft says his job was to collect shell casings.
08:29
Griffin in second cross asks about stippling on Maggie's body. Croft says he's aware of at least one bullet wound with stippling on Maggie's body.
08:27
In 2nd cross examination by Griffin, Croft said he didn't personally recover the steel shot and doesn't know who did.
08:26
This DryLok testimony is interesting because Croft testified earlier he found no steel shot shotgun ammo at Moselle June 8 or afterward. No fired steel shot shells either. Again, Griffin earlier revealed the bird shot that "blew Paul's head off" was steel shot.
08:25
DryLok is a steel shot used in waterfowl hunting,
08:24
That makes 4 Winchester DryLok recovered, and 4 Federal Premium 00 Buckshot recovered.
08:23
Waters intros four 3-inch Federal Premium 00 Buckshot shotshells recovered from workbench.
08:20
Waters intros two more shells from bookshelf in house, one from nightstand in Paul's room,
All 12 gauge Winchester Dry-Lok 3-inch shells containing No. 2 shot.
08:17
Waters bringing new evidence to court. Winchester 12 gauge shotshell from bookshelf. Dry-Lok 3-inch No. 2
Croft: No. Multiple individual do that.
08:15
Waters: Did you retrieve every single piece of firearm evidence.
08:14
Waters has Croft remind Alex had Griffin present for June 10 interview and Alex was an attorney himself, nothing aggressive about the interview.
08:13
Croft says nothing unusual about interviewing multiple witnesses at same time and same location.
08:13
Waters asks Croft about defense's point about bullets not being retrieved from shooting range, only shell casings. Croft testifies it's possible to compare casings to casings, and casings had already been recovered at home and crime scene.
08:12
Water asks if investigators are trying to keep dialogue and lines of communication open for information gathering early in investigation stage? Croft confirms, says they were just information gathering interviews, not interrogation.
08:10
Croft says investigation wasn't only focused on Murdaugh in early stages.
08:10
Croft testifies Maggie's phone wasn't put in a faraday bag, but it was put in airplane mode.
08:09
Croft explains there are a number of factors that go into where shell casings can land, referencing the defense asking him to speculate where the shooter was standing based on where the casings were recovered in relation to projectiles and bodies.
08:07
Croft also says it's possible for shooters to move around while shooting.
Waters counters with asking if both Paul and Maggie had "stippling" on their bodies. Croft says yes, and explains stippling is small burns from gunpowder that only occurs at close range.
08:05
Waters addresses the Defense's theory yesterday that there could've been another shooter far away to explain the particularly steep angle of on of the bullets recovered from the dog house - quail pen area.
08:04
Waters: Did you find other shotguns with mixed loads with different types of ammo.
Croft: Yes
(Referencing Griffin saying no other guns were found with specific buckshot-birdshot combo used to kill Paul)
08:02
Waters asks Croft about if it's his job to do firearms and ballistics analysis, re: questions Griffin asked. Croft says it's not.
08:01
Waters brings up the Gucci charge on the credit card statement SLED recovered from the trash alongside ammo boxes. Croft identifies it but no further explanation.
08:01
Waters brings up how Defense asked Croft about commonality of .300 BLK and saying it's not as common as 5.56mm NATO / .223, and 7.62 mm NATO / .308. Croft explains both rounds are commonly used by civilians, law enforcement and military. .300BLK however was not common at the time. Croft adds he'd never worked another murder case where .300BLK was used.
07:58
Waters asking Croft about the general availability of ammo during 2021 and the ongoing COVID pandemic. Croft testifies ammo was very hard to come by at the time due to shortages caused by the pandemic. Yet, there was quite a lot of ammo -- mainly S&B 147 grain .300 Blackout -- found at Murdaugh's house after the murders.
07:55
Waters asks about the purpose of inventorying and collecting all the weapons. Croft explains they were trying to gather as much evidence as possible to test as potential murder weapons to include or exclude either Alex or the weapons as being involved in the murders.
07:54
Griffin has no further questions. Creighton Waters begins redirect for the state.
07:54
Croft doesn't recall specific info about warnings. Recalls names of two women: Barbara Mixon and Tina Trayhearn (spellings likely wrong) : being given, but Croft doesn't recall if interviews were done with either woman.
07:52
Griffin asking Croft about if Maggie's family told SLED about Maggie receiving warnings or threats to her safety due to the Feb. 2019 boat crash.
07:50
Creighton Waters objects to Griffin question about if Maggie's family said Alex and Maggie had a loving relationship. Judge Newman sustains objection. Griffin moves on.
07:50
Croft says Maggie's family specifically asked about Alex being a suspect, and doesn't recall giving them any other names of potential suspects.
07:49
Griffin goes on to talk about SLED's interviews with Maggie's family, and SLED telling them Alex was a person of interest. Croft says interview was combo interview to share info and learn about family dynamics.
07:47
Griffin now discussing August interviews with Alex and Maggie's family. Griffin asking about if any were notified the meetings were being recorded. Griffin doesn't seem to make a point here.
07:44
Griffin now playing the recording of Alex's comments at one-third speed.
Croft says again he didn't hear "They."
Updated: 07:46
07:43
Griffin plays recording of 'I did him so bad" at normal speed twice. Croft says he still hears "I," not "They."
Updated: 07:46
07:43
Croft says he doesn't recall if he made a physical note on paper of the "I did him so bad."
Croft also said earlier he wasn't aware of and hadn't read a transcript of the "I did him so bad' interview with Alex before this trial.
07:41
Griffin: What was going through your mind in making that mental note when you heard or misheard 'I did him so bad?' i wasn't a good dad? I spoiled him? Or I killed him?
Croft says it was definitely something they needed to follow up on.
07:39
Griffin: "Why didn't you ask him right then and there -- when he said 'I did him so bad' -- why didn't you ask him, 'What did you mean by that, Alex?"
Croft: It was simply an information gathering interview. It was decided beforehand they wouldn't challenge Murdaugh on anything he said, and asking Murdaugh to clarify would've ultimately been a challenge.
07:37
Croft doesn't elaborate on why the interview in August didn't make it that far.
07:37
Griffin asks if they ever did follow up. Brings up interview in August. Croft says they intended to follow up, but says the August interview "didn't make it that far."
07:36
Croft says he made a mental note of it at the time to follow up, and didn't act on it immediately. Griffin wants to know if Alex was the only one in the "person of interest" circle. Griffin: Did they consider it to be some sort of a confession? Croft: Something to follow up on.
07:34
Griffin now asking Croft about Alex and whether he said "I did him so bad" vs. "They did him so bad." Croft says he's confident he heard "I" not "They," as he testified yesterday.
07:33
Griffin asking Croft about the interviews with Alex, Buster and John Marvin on the 8th. Arranged to meet all three at John Marvin's hunting lodge at the same time to interview and download contents of Alex's phone.
07:30
Croft says a lot of factors could've gone into whether or not the bullets from the range could've been tested accurately against the crime scene bullets. But Griffin has him concede, yes, it's possible to do testing to compare bullets.
07:29
Croft says there was a berm at the back of the gun range to catch fired bullets. Griffin has Croft concede no one from SLED went to retrieve fired bullets from the berm to test against the ones used to kill Maggie.
07:27
Now discussing additional consent search of shooting range an pond on June 13. Croft concedes there were other types of brass casings (not .300BLK) at the shoot house at the range.
07:26
Croft doesn't know why - if the magazines weren't tested for evidence - the state brought them to court as evidence.
07:25
Croft says based on packaging of magazine taken from truck and second magazine taken from gun room, it doesn't appear any analysis was done by SLED for fingerprints, etc.
07:24
Croft testifying about magazine containing .300BLK ammo found in black Ford F-150. Doesn't know who last drove the truck. Doesn't know if it was an example of Paul "leaving everything everywhere."
07:23
Griffin has Croft testify SLED was allowed back on the Moselle property with consent on June 13. Didn't secure search warrant because of consent.
07:22
Croft says the lawyers weren't obstructing the search at all, and had been given instructions as to how they could help.
07:21
Griffin asking Croft about Murdaugh's law partners (Lee Cope, Mark Ball, Ronnie Crosby) being on scene the morning after the shooting. Croft explains they were acting as go-betweens assisting SLED contacting people and pointing out potential evidence.
07:20
Croft: "I can't testify to what-if's."
07:19
Griffin asking Croft if he knew of any SLED agents going to Alex's mother's house outside Hampton to check on Murdaugh's alibi the morning after the shootings. Croft isn't aware. Griffin insinuates nobody went to investigate at Alex's mother's house until September. Griffin asks wouldn't it have been wise to go to the mother's house immediately to rule Alex out as a suspect? Croft won't commit.
07:16
Croft says no, he avoids media during investigations.
07:16
Griffin asks if Croft recalls media reports on the morning of June 8 already saying there was no threat to the public AND Alex was a person of interest.
07:12
Moving to suspects. Croft concedes Alex as a relative and the one who discovered the bodies was immediately a person of interest for investigators looking for suspects.
07:11
Croft says the phone once located was not secured in a Faraday Bag (bag that blocks signals) and to his knowledge, one was not requested.
Now to recovery of Maggie's phone. Croft says it was located about 2,100 meters (1.3 miles) away from the murder scene. Found using "Found My iPhone." Griffin says it was tracked using Buster's iPhone, and Alex gave the passcode to get into the phone.
07:08
Griffin switches gears. Asks about planted pine trees between the house at Moselle and the area around the kennels. Croft says from his experience, you can't clearly see the kennels area through the trees from the house.
07:07
Griffin showing the diagram of the murder scene where shell casings were located. Griffin asks based on where the shells landed, would the shooter be on the right or left of the fired projectile trajectory. Croft says he can't testify to any lines but generally speaking the shooter probably would've been to the left of where the casings landed.
07:04
Griffin asking Croft about the way spent shell casings eject from a .300 Blackout AR-15 style rifle. Using Buster's rifle to demonstrate, Croft says shells would be ejected to the right and slightly to the rear of the shooter. (Opposite would be true for guns mfgd. for left-handed shooters. Guns are made right-handed most cases)
07:01
Croft says he found no steel shot shotgun ammo at Moselle June 8 or afterward. No fired shells either. Griffin reveals the bird shot that "blew Paul's head off" was steel shot.
06:59
Griffin asking Croft about steel vs. lead ammunition. Lead ammo is typically for land game, steel shot is most commonly used for waterfowl.
06:57
Griffin: Is it fair to say you didn't find any guns loaded with bird shot AND buck shot in the gun room? (referencing how Paul was apparently shot with both)
Croft: None of the shotguns we found had buckshot in them.
(Croft would not concede to Griffin's point that no guns were loaded similarly to the one alleged to have been used in killing Paul, even though none had both)
06:53
Griffin is walking through the guns entered into evidence yesterday, asking Croft to say what- if any- type of ammo was found loaded and how much. He's reading off identifiers
Updated: 06:53
06:50
Croft confirms there were no rounds in the Browning weapon (exhibit 90) brought to court yesterday
06:49
Griffin asks "are you aware of the murder weapon being found"
Croft says "not that I'm aware of"
An objection to this question based on scope of knowledge was overruled.
Croft says he was asked to keep an eye out for a shotgun capable of shooting a 3 inch magnum.
Browning light does not shoot a 3-inch, Griffin says, and Croft confirms. Griffin points out that gun was shown in court yesterday despite being ruled out as the murder weapon.
06:45
Griffin asks about the price of ammo in 2021, referring to a receipt for $11. Croft says he can't say if that was a normal price for that time.
Updated: 06:46
06:44
Croft explains he was charged with investigating firearms. Although he was looking at all firearms, the two main interests he had at that time were .300 BLKs and 12 gauges
06:42
The defense is starting the day with their cross-examination. Jim Griffin asking Croft to confirm what he was doing with SLED on June 8. He asks Croft if anyone was looking for bloody clothes at the house. Croft just says he was searching for firearms in the gun room.
06:39
The jury has entered the courtroom and witness Jeff Croft is returning to the stand
06:38
Court has started for the day
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