SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #17

[Seattle1]

Also, Maggie's phone was found in airplane mode. Could the phone being held up and switching to portrait mode be Alex putting it on airplane mode? Can that be done from the lockscreen by someone who is not the owner? I can't see any reason why Maggie would have put it in airplane mode herself.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620452382638473216

Thank you for confirming this @gremlin444.

This was going to be my next question for the party/vehicle transporting MM's phone to the location it was found: If the phone was not powered off and blue tooth enabled, the phone would have recorded "searching" to pair with that vehicle. If the phone was in airplane mode, that could not happen. MOO

ETA: Actually, I just realized the phone was in airplane mode when the witness received the phone, not to be confused with the state of the phone when it was recovered from the ground.

It's possible the crime tech enabled airplane mode on the phone before transporting the device to the crime lab per SLED's recommended procedure for phones (i.e., faraday bags not currently used-- instead, SLED removes SIM and/or places the phone in airplane mode).

 

[sunshineray]

I'm still catching up. I'm on the guy who made the Blackout guns for AM. I got chills when he said he called AM that the replacement gun for PM was ready for pick up. AM said he was busy and that MM would come by and get it. MM had to go and picked up the gun that it looks like she was killed with.

 

[bestill]

What is this 0 10:06 - Called 911???

 

[Twistinginthewind]

What’s the significance to this text thread?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620498743895392256

The significance of the photo of the text thread on the right (of the 3 photos posted), IMO, is to show the time of and proof that RG texted MM asking her to have PM call him back (because PM wasn't answering his phone calls) on the night of the murders.

That looks like a photo of someone (presumably LE) holding MM's phone showing texts between MM and RG.

The previous texts between them shown in the photo (going back to May) I don't think are relevant to the case other than to show that RG and MM were known to have texted before.

JMO

 

[Luna20]

I think possible AM got rid of MM’s phone because he was not sure what she was able to do after hearing shots fired. That’s why he had two guns too - for MM if he needed longer range option although I am gun-ignorant so that may not fit

But he tossed it on the side of the road. He knows all about Find My Phone, etc. I just can’t believe he would take that chance with it being so easy to recover.

Today they found the 2 monkeys stolen from the Dallas zoo in an abandoned house. Finding a phone is 100xs easier than that but yet he leaves both phones behind.

 

[Luna20]

The significance of the photo of the text thread on the right (of the 3 photos posted), IMO, is to show the time of and proof that RG texted MM asking her to have PM call him back (because PM wasn't answering his phone calls) on the night of the murders.

That looks like a photo of someone (presumably LE) holding MM's phone showing texts between MM and RG.

The previous texts between them shown in the photo (going back to May) I don't think are relevant to the case other than to show that RG and MM were known to have texted before.

JMO

That makes sense. I was wondering how the pina colada fit into the mix.

Thank you!

 

[Seattle1]

I have a Samsung.
I shut my screen down. (Which automatically locks it).
Hit my screen button, it turns on. Now I can enter my 4 digit pin.
Instead, I just swiped down from the top and tapped the airplane mode icon. Tada!!

On an iPhone, you swipe up from the bottom.

 

[bestill]

Timeline so far ... 59 steps in 6 minutes, so not running. Might be Alex taking Maggie's phone to his truck. 4 steps in 10 feet, 40 steps in 100 feet. The kennels are 1100 feet from the house. That's 400+ steps to the house. Seems like the phone was walked to the truck at the kennels, was then turned off until it was changing orientation at 9:06, same time Alex was phoning Maggie's phone?

7:50 - Outgoing call to Barbara Mixson, 2 min, 46 sec. Last outgoing & last speaking call overall by Maggie. Every call after is missed.
8:17 - Phone unplugged from charger
8:17-8:18 - 38 steps logged
8:30-8:33 - 44 steps logged
9:04 - Missed call from Alex
9:06 - Display on, phone orientation changes to portrait (as if in someone's hand). Two seconds later, incoming missed call from Alex. Another missed call from Alex soon afterward. Display off. No more orientation changes afterward
9:08 - Unread text from Alex, "Going to check on (Mom), be right back"
9:31 - Display comes on and off a few times. No known reason
9:34 - Unread text received from Paul's friend Rogan Gibson. "Tell Paul to call me"
9:45 p.m. - Missed call from Alex
9:47 p.m. - Unread text received from Alex "Call me babe"
8:53-8:59 - 59 steps recorded
10:03 - Missed call from Alex
10:06 - Called 911
June 8, 1:10 p.m. - Phone unlocked again using passcode after found on side of road by SLED.

I am so confused. Maggie's phone called 911 at 10:06??

 

[Seattle1]

I have an iPhone but it has to be unlocked in order to change to airplane mode, right? My understanding is her phone wasn't unlocked.

On an iPhone, if your screen is locked, you can swipe up from the bottom and still use the flashlight, enable airplane mode, and a few other functions on your phone without unlocking using your pin/password.

 

[Seattle1]

It must be because why would people want that accessible without a passcode?

One of the benefits of being able to access airplane mode w/o phone access could be in an emergency where you desire to preserve the phone battery. For example, if you are in a rural area with little or no cellular service, it's can be a significant drain on your battery if the phone is not in airplane mode because the phone will continue to search for a cellular signal.

 

[clearskies1]

Yes. Any interactions with the phone, including enabling airplane mode, creates an event timestamp in the phone's log. If the phone had been placed into airplane mode prior to being discarded, it would not have been able to be located via location services. Since this is exactly how the phone was located, I think SLED probably put MM's phone in airplane mode when it came into their possession.

MOO

Apparently that's not what happened. This was posted upthread:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620452382638473216

 

[clearskies1]

I am so confused. Maggie's phone called 911 at 10:06??

No, that's when Alex called 911. https://abcnews4.com/news/local/evi...lle-house-dog-kennel-homicide-family-wife-son

 

[AlisRedHat]

Too bad it couldn't record the face the camera saw that wasn't Maggie!

To clarify, Dove said they don’t know what the camera was pointing at; it could have been pointing at the ground or whatever when it was trying to do the face recognition.

 

[Twistinginthewind]

That makes sense. I was wondering how the pina colada fit into the mix.

Thank you!

Sure! Whatever MM was texting RG about the time before (when they last texted in May) was out of context and so pretty confusing. No tellin' what may have transpired, but it sounded like one of her sons (Buster) had been scraped up while tying off a boat, and she needed a strong drink 'kind of situation'. JMO

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Apparently that's not what happened. This was posted upthread:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1620452382638473216

I think this will effect LE/us knowing when it was tossed to the side of the road and the route it traveled between when it was switched to AP mode (probably near MM’s body) and its landing in the shrubbery. OMO. Not sure.

Can’t wait for tomorrow. Dove is so knowledgeable and conveys his insight so well for us non techies.

 

[clearskies1]

Finding Maggie's phone -- per DH's opening statement:

"[Harpootlian] said they found Maggie’s cell phone the night of the killing on the side of the road about a half-mile or so away from the crime scene.

“They found it by using ‘Find My iPhone.’ And the way they did, that they had to open it or have access. Who gave them the code to open the phone? Alex Murdaugh,” he said."

Murdaugh openers paint different, but graphic pictures of night of killings

Attorneys on both sides in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial insist the evidence will either clearly show or clearly call into question his role in the deaths of his wife and son.

www.live5news.com

 

[clearskies1]

I think this will effect LE/us knowing when it was tossed to the side of the road and the route it traveled between when it was switched to AP mode (probably near MM’s body) and its landing in the shrubbery. OMO. Not sure.

Can’t wait for tomorrow. Dove is so knowledgeable and conveys his insight so well for us non techies.

I think this will all be clarified during Agent Croft's continued testimony tomorrow.

 

[LetsSolvIt]

Finding Maggie's phone -- per DH's opening statement:

"[Harpootlian] said they found Maggie’s cell phone the night of the killing on the side of the road about a half-mile or so away from the crime scene.

“They found it by using ‘Find My iPhone.’ And the way they did, that they had to open it or have access. Who gave them the code to open the phone? Alex Murdaugh,” he said."

Murdaugh openers paint different, but graphic pictures of night of killings

Attorneys on both sides in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial insist the evidence will either clearly show or clearly call into question his role in the deaths of his wife and son.

www.live5news.com

We don’t know if <modsnip - Websleuths doesn't allow derogatory name changes> opening is completely accurate since they didn’t locate Maggie’s phone until the next day. He may be mixed up on one or two things. ‍JMHO.

 

[clearskies1]

We don’t know if his opening is completely accurate since they didn’t locate Maggie’s phone until the next day. He may be mixed up on one or two things. ‍

True. JMO.

 

[otto]

What is this 0 10:06 - Called 911???

"Alex got into his car to visit his sick mother — who was suffering from late-stage Alzheimer’s — around 9:06 p.m, texting Maggie that he would be right back. He returned to the property at 10:01 p.m. He called 911 at 10:06 p.m. after he said he discovered their bodies, prosecutors said. "

Prosecutors reveal Paul and Maggie Murdaugh’s chilling final texts before they were murdered

Paul Murdaugh, 22, spent his final moments texting about dogs with his friend.

nypost.com