The state's 5th reply witness is Parker Law Group attorney Mark Ball, one of AM's old friends and former law partners at PMPED. Ball was a defense witness last week.
Waters: “How are you doing today?” Ball: “I was doing better before I came here.” Waters: Did you ever hear AM express distrust of SLED before 6/7/21? Ball: “No, sir.”
Mark Ball testifies he shot five hogs around 4:30 p.m. two weeks ago. I don’t know how there are any more hogs left in this area with all the lawyers here blasting them away.
Ball testifies again about inconsistencies in AM’s story about that evening. The first time AM recounted finding their bodies, he said he checked Maggie first, then Paul. The second time, it was Paul first and then Maggie, Ball testifies.
Waters: You’ve known the defendant for 34 years. Was he able to look at you in the eye and lie convincingly? Ball: “I didn’t know the stealing. I didn’t know any of that.”
On cross, defense attorney Jim Griffin brings up Ball’s testimony that AM didn’t seem distrustful of SLED or law enforcement. Griffin: “Let’s talk about that.” Didn’t Alex take the position that his son Paul was wrongfully charged in the boat crash case? Ball agrees.
Griffin brings up that AM and the Murdaughs were under a SLED/state grand jury investigation in spring 2021 over possible obstruction of justice in the 2019 boat crash investigation.
Griffin also notes that AM and his father thought their friend, current Yemassee police chief Greg Alexander, was wrongfully charged with crimes years ago. They appeared in court with Alexander to support him.
Ball says he has killed well over 1,000 hogs. They are an endless tide.
Griffin asks if Ball remembers the 6/8/21 statement from the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office and SLED that there was “no danger to the public.” G: “Did that concern you?” Ball: “Very much.”
Ball said he called Hampton County Sheriff TC Smalls about it. Smalls asked around, and they had no knowledge of other credible threats against anyone else. “I guess I still had questions,” Ball said. He was worried somebody might try to shoot up PMPED. That's all from Ball.
We are breaking for lunch until 2:15 p.m.
We will have one more state reply witness after lunch, prosecutor Waters says.
Judge Newman says the jury trip to Moselle will occur this afternoon after the state rests its reply case.
Barber raises again his objection to the phone toss expert testimony of McManigal. He points out there is no quality control of McManigal’s experiment, no academic studies attesting to his methods or findings, etc.
Judge Newman: “You agreed that he was an expert.” I gave you an opportunity to challenge that. Barber: We had no notice he was going to testify about this experiment. Newman again overrules the objection. He says the defense's objection has been preserved for the record.
Harpootlian asks again about sur-rebuttal to bring back the defense's experts to counter what the jury just heard from Dr. Riemer. Newman: “I don’t anticipate allowing any sur-rebuttal based on what I’ve heard at this point.” Now we actually break for lunch.
Edited to include additional tweets
with a glass of Merlot.
