SC - Paul Murdaugh & mom Margaret Found Shot To Death - Alex Murdaugh Accused - Islandton #26

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628065092200718340

 

[Luna20]

Hasn't looked at the jury, it's unnerving to me, very obvious

It’s down right creepy how deceptive he is being!

 

[makayla]

I'm predicting that Buster is about to say he hung up the hose for his dad.

I'm not finding his testimony natural or spontaneous.

Jmo

Way too rehearsed, JG is practically sitting in the witness chair running through this script!

 

[Seattle1]

He is a crappy poker player! And he doesn't really come across as someone who has had any type of law school education. I don't mean to harp on this, I just expected him to be more intelligent and polished.

I don't believe he got past the first semester and never returned. MOO

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628065157094973442

 

[justtrish]

He is a crappy poker player! And he doesn't really come across as someone who has had any type of law school education. I don't mean to harp on this, I just expected him to be more intelligent and polished.

I think if you know you are lying, it's hard to be polished and put together. Even if it's rehearsed when it comes time to sit on the stand and know you are committing a crime by lying, then things come out that can't be rehearsed out.

 

[arielilane]

15 minute break

 

[Gardenista]

Yeah I've never heard of that before, an expiration date placed by the family of victims on reward

I believe Barry Morphew did the same thing. Go figure

 

[justtrish]

Well interesting the defense didn't ask Buster, the expert on his dads voice, if that was his voice in the kennel video.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628065462704545792

 

[I am not Sherlock H.]

Well this opens up the door for prosecution to call one of the boat kids to testify he was driving that night

Perhaps in a separate trial? Seems the prosecution needs to keep focus on this double slaying? IMO.

 

[Luna20]

I think if you know you are lying, it's hard to be polished and put together. Even if it's rehearsed when it comes time to sit on the stand and know you are committing a crime by lying, then things come out that can't be rehearsed out.

You have to remember how you stated the lie as to keep the story straight.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628065664375177216

 

[Edvis]

Not every human expresses emotions the way you think they should.

Agreed after seeing that myself in more then one engagement in the military and seeing the reactions of brothers in arms loosing a brother but even battle hardened men more often then not reveal the human side of themselves.

 

[arielilane]

https://twitter.com/AveryGWilks

We are back in session. Let's ride.

Judge Newman announces that a juror is not feeling well and is at the doctor. Newman says he plans to replace that juror. This juror was previously an alternate who replaced another juror. If she is replaced, we'll be down to just two alternates.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin: We think the defense can rest our case by Friday.

We are now replacing that juror with an alternate. Down to two alternates.

Judge Newman is now chastising Griffin for tweeting a Washington Post story that described the SLED investigation of the Murdaugh murders as "sloppy.”

This is the tweet in question. Newman: “It appeared on my Twitter feed this morning. ...Mr. Griffin, is this part of your defense strategy?” Griffin: “Your honor, all I did was retweet an article that was published by the Washington Post.”

Newman: "It doesn't pass the feel test" to have an attorney tweeting or commenting publicly about the case or witness testimony in it.

Griffin: "I will not retweet anything or tweet anything until the trial is over.”

Newman seemed to decide that Griffin's actions violated the spirit of judicial ethical rules, but perhaps not the letter of them. He suggested the rules could be updated/modernized/modified to specifically outlaw this kind of thing.

Of note: Judge Clifton Newman has a Twitter account. I did not see that coming.

The defense calls its third witness, Buster Murdaugh - Alex's son. Griffin will question him.

Buster helps Griffin try to humanize AM. Says his father “coached every little league team I played on.” It was “a rarity” for AM or Maggie to miss a game.

Buster on Moselle: 1,700 acres - much of it swampland that isn't accessible. It is broken up into several different parcels that border each other. 20-something deer stands, duck ponds, dove fields. They hunted deer, duck, quail, dove, hogs there.

Buster testifies guns would be left all over the Moselle property, including in golf carts and trucks. Paul was “not good” about securing the guns, he testifies. “Sometimes he would use my gun, and he would leave it, and then I would have to track it down.”

Buster said he never saw Paul’s replacement .300 Blackout rifle - which didn’t have a thermal scope. Paul rarely used it, if ever. Testimony/experts/prosecutors have indicated that replacement was the weapon used to kill Maggie Murdaugh.

Also of note: SLED lead investigator David Owen admitted he lied to AM in their 8/11/21 interview about finding shotguns loaded in that fashion at Moselle. Owen also told the same thing to the grand jury that indicted Murdaugh on murder charges. Even though it wasn’t true.

Buster testifies his parents typically left Moselle out of the main gate, not the one by the dog kennels where Maggie and Paul were killed. If you were going to Almeda, where Buster’s grandparents lived, you’d take a right out of the main gate, which was closest to Almeda.

Buster testifies that his father was close with Papa T, his grandfather and AM’s father-in-law. They played golf together, went on camping trips, attend Carolina sporting events together, etc. Griffin continues to try to establish AM as a family man.

Buster: AM would frequently go to Almeda to check on his parents. The visits came at all hours. A lot at lunch, but also a lot in the evenings. Maggie went too, but not regularly.

Buster: If we were visiting Almeda in the afternoon, we’d park in the garage/carport. But if we went in the evenings, we would pull around the back and enter through the back door. (That’s where AM parked on the night of the slayings.)

Prosecutors have theorized AM pulled around the back in order to stash weapons/evidence.

Griffin shows Buster the map of AM’s visit to Almeda, including GPS dots provided by General Motors from AM’s Suburban. Buster testifies AM parked where you would normally park if you were visiting Almeda at night. Griffin diffusing some of the state’s theorizing late last week

Griffin is now going through the SLED 6/7/21 timeline with Buster, which shows a flurry of calls between each of the family members and each other throughout the day. Buster says that was normal. They all spoke on the phone with each other multiple times a day, he says.

Griffin reinforces the point: G: “Anything unusual going on on the 7th for y’all to have all these communications?” B: “No, sir.”

Buster on AM’s 9:10:47 p.m. call to him on 6/7/21: He was just letting me know he was going out to Almeda to check on Em, AM’s mother and Buster’s grandmother. That was a normal call. It was common for AM to call and check in when he was on the way.

Buster testifies it wasn’t unusual for his father, AM, to leave his phone at the Moselle house when he went riding around the property, given how bad the cell service out there. Buster testifies both AM and Paul misplaced their phones a lot.

Buster on Bubba: He could be difficult at times. AM was the best at controlling him. They had a shock collar for him, and Bubba was well behaved when wearing the collar.

Buster: It was common for AM to shower a lot. He sweat a lot in the summertime. He was much bigger then. He was 6-foot-4, 250 pounds.

Buster: “I knew a little bit” about AM’s opioid addiction. Knew Paul and Maggie had found pills and confronted him about it. After Christmas 2018, AM went to a detox facility. We thought that handled it. But there would be other times they found pills & confronted him.

Buster: When the family confronted AM, he would be apologetic. He says the conversations were civil.

Griffin: “Was there any violence in the family?” Buster: “No, sir.”

Buster: Paul was bullied on social media and in person after the 2019 fatal boat crash. People would confront him in bars and yell it him from passing cars when they saw him on the sidewalk. People sent messages to him as well.

Buster: His mother Maggie didn’t like being in Hampton after the boat crash. She felt a stigma surrounding the family. People stared at her in public, in grocery stores.

Buster: Maggie was anxious about the civil lawsuit. Her biggest concern was reading articles after Mark Tinsley had made a statement about how much money he wanted to collect. It was something like $40 million. AM didn’t seem as concerned. He focused more on Paul’s criminal case.

Buster: None of us thought that Paul was driving the boat when it crashed. They planned on fighting the criminal charges.

111,000 people are watching the Law & Crime livestream of Buster’s testimony, just one of many livestreams of the trial.

Buster testifies about being in shock when his father called him to say Maggie and Paul had been shot. He and his girlfriend packed up immediately and drove to Moselle, arriving around 2 a.m. He hugged his father. “He was destroyed. He was heartbroken.”

Buster testifies about helping his father pack a bag to go stay at Almeda that evening. Buster says he didn’t get any sleep that night. They returned to Moselle the next morning. "Nobody really slept.”

Buster testifies they all showered at Moselle the next morning. AM showerered at Moselle.

Buster testifies that he was with his father every day after the shootings, keeping a close eye on him.

Griffin: “Do you ever remember your dad disappearing for periods of time?” Buster: “No, sir.” G: “Were you physically close to him most all the time?” B: “Yes, sir.” Griffin tries to poke holes in state's theory that AM disposed of evidence after the slayings.

Griffin seems to be targeting testimony from Murdaugh’s mother’s caregiver, Shelley Smith, that Murdaugh returned to Almeda a few days after his father’s death to stash something blue. Randolph Murdaugh III died June 10.

Buster testifies he was with AM the entire time, and his father didn’t disappear at any point. Griffin: “You’re with your dad from the night of June 7th through the Keowee trip (on 6/17/21), is that correct?” Buster: “Yes, sir.”

Griffin notes there have been questions in this case about AM’s missing clothes. Where were AM’s clothes before he went off to detox in Sept. 2021? Buster says AM was staying everywhere. At Moselle, Greenfield, Almeda, Edisto, his car, relatives’ homes.

“He had clothes a lot of places," Buster testifies.

Griffin asks Buster about the 6/10/21 SLED “(I/They) did him so bad.” video. Griffin plays the video again in court. G: “What does your dad say?” B: “They did him so bad.” Buster testifies AM said “they did him so bad” repeatedly on the night of 6/7/21.

Buster testifies it typically took about 10 minutes to hose down the dog kennels, start to finish. Griffin ends his questioning.

Buster seems firmly on his father's side here, offering a lot of testimony that helps diffuse or contextualize some of the state's theories.

 

[Elley Mae]

So Buster who didn't live with Alex any longer is an expert on his dads clothing. Or is it more likely the woman that did the families laundry for years knows what he has and what is missing now.

It seemed to me that Paul and Buster were not real close as well, on top of not knowing his dad’s birthday.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628063020944609280

 

[Luna20]

I believe Barry Morphew did the same thing. Go figure

I was surprised it wasn’t much higher $$$$$$ since he knew no one would be coming forward to collect it. Maybe that would too obvious though.

 

[Edvis]

https://twitter.com/AveryGWilks

We are back in session. Let's ride.

Judge Newman announces that a juror is not feeling well and is at the doctor. Newman says he plans to replace that juror. This juror was previously an alternate who replaced another juror. If she is replaced, we'll be down to just two alternates.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin: We think the defense can rest our case by Friday.

We are now replacing that juror with an alternate. Down to two alternates.

Judge Newman is now chastising Griffin for tweeting a Washington Post story that described the SLED investigation of the Murdaugh murders as "sloppy.”

This is the tweet in question. Newman: “It appeared on my Twitter feed this morning. ...Mr. Griffin, is this part of your defense strategy?” Griffin: “Your honor, all I did was retweet an article that was published by the Washington Post.”

Newman: "It doesn't pass the feel test" to have an attorney tweeting or commenting publicly about the case or witness testimony in it.

Griffin: "I will not retweet anything or tweet anything until the trial is over.”

Newman seemed to decide that Griffin's actions violated the spirit of judicial ethical rules, but perhaps not the letter of them. He suggested the rules could be updated/modernized/modified to specifically outlaw this kind of thing.

Of note: Judge Clifton Newman has a Twitter account. I did not see that coming.

The defense calls its third witness, Buster Murdaugh - Alex's son. Griffin will question him.

Buster helps Griffin try to humanize AM. Says his father “coached every little league team I played on.” It was “a rarity” for AM or Maggie to miss a game.

Buster on Moselle: 1,700 acres - much of it swampland that isn't accessible. It is broken up into several different parcels that border each other. 20-something deer stands, duck ponds, dove fields. They hunted deer, duck, quail, dove, hogs there.

Buster testifies guns would be left all over the Moselle property, including in golf carts and trucks. Paul was “not good” about securing the guns, he testifies. “Sometimes he would use my gun, and he would leave it, and then I would have to track it down.”

Buster said he never saw Paul’s replacement .300 Blackout rifle - which didn’t have a thermal scope. Paul rarely used it, if ever. Testimony/experts/prosecutors have indicated that replacement was the weapon used to kill Maggie Murdaugh.

Also of note: SLED lead investigator David Owen admitted he lied to AM in their 8/11/21 interview about finding shotguns loaded in that fashion at Moselle. Owen also told the same thing to the grand jury that indicted Murdaugh on murder charges. Even though it wasn’t true.

Buster testifies his parents typically left Moselle out of the main gate, not the one by the dog kennels where Maggie and Paul were killed. If you were going to Almeda, where Buster’s grandparents lived, you’d take a right out of the main gate, which was closest to Almeda.

Buster testifies that his father was close with Papa T, his grandfather and AM’s father-in-law. They played golf together, went on camping trips, attend Carolina sporting events together, etc. Griffin continues to try to establish AM as a family man.

Buster: AM would frequently go to Almeda to check on his parents. The visits came at all hours. A lot at lunch, but also a lot in the evenings. Maggie went too, but not regularly.

Buster: If we were visiting Almeda in the afternoon, we’d park in the garage/carport. But if we went in the evenings, we would pull around the back and enter through the back door. (That’s where AM parked on the night of the slayings.)

Prosecutors have theorized AM pulled around the back in order to stash weapons/evidence.

Griffin shows Buster the map of AM’s visit to Almeda, including GPS dots provided by General Motors from AM’s Suburban. Buster testifies AM parked where you would normally park if you were visiting Almeda at night. Griffin diffusing some of the state’s theorizing late last week

Griffin is now going through the SLED 6/7/21 timeline with Buster, which shows a flurry of calls between each of the family members and each other throughout the day. Buster says that was normal. They all spoke on the phone with each other multiple times a day, he says.

Griffin reinforces the point: G: “Anything unusual going on on the 7th for y’all to have all these communications?” B: “No, sir.”

Buster on AM’s 9:10:47 p.m. call to him on 6/7/21: He was just letting me know he was going out to Almeda to check on Em, AM’s mother and Buster’s grandmother. That was a normal call. It was common for AM to call and check in when he was on the way.

Buster testifies it wasn’t unusual for his father, AM, to leave his phone at the Moselle house when he went riding around the property, given how bad the cell service out there. Buster testifies both AM and Paul misplaced their phones a lot.

Buster on Bubba: He could be difficult at times. AM was the best at controlling him. They had a shock collar for him, and Bubba was well behaved when wearing the collar.

Buster: It was common for AM to shower a lot. He sweat a lot in the summertime. He was much bigger then. He was 6-foot-4, 250 pounds.

Buster: “I knew a little bit” about AM’s opioid addiction. Knew Paul and Maggie had found pills and confronted him about it. After Christmas 2018, AM went to a detox facility. We thought that handled it. But there would be other times they found pills & confronted him.

Buster: When the family confronted AM, he would be apologetic. He says the conversations were civil.

Griffin: “Was there any violence in the family?” Buster: “No, sir.”

Buster: Paul was bullied on social media and in person after the 2019 fatal boat crash. People would confront him in bars and yell it him from passing cars when they saw him on the sidewalk. People sent messages to him as well.

Buster: His mother Maggie didn’t like being in Hampton after the boat crash. She felt a stigma surrounding the family. People stared at her in public, in grocery stores.

Buster: Maggie was anxious about the civil lawsuit. Her biggest concern was reading articles after Mark Tinsley had made a statement about how much money he wanted to collect. It was something like $40 million. AM didn’t seem as concerned. He focused more on Paul’s criminal case.

Buster: None of us thought that Paul was driving the boat when it crashed. They planned on fighting the criminal charges.

111,000 people are watching the Law & Crime livestream of Buster’s testimony, just one of many livestreams of the trial.

Buster testifies about being in shock when his father called him to say Maggie and Paul had been shot. He and his girlfriend packed up immediately and drove to Moselle, arriving around 2 a.m. He hugged his father. “He was destroyed. He was heartbroken.”

Buster testifies about helping his father pack a bag to go stay at Almeda that evening. Buster says he didn’t get any sleep that night. They returned to Moselle the next morning. "Nobody really slept.”

Buster testifies they all showered at Moselle the next morning. AM showerered at Moselle.

Buster testifies that he was with his father every day after the shootings, keeping a close eye on him.

Griffin: “Do you ever remember your dad disappearing for periods of time?” Buster: “No, sir.” G: “Were you physically close to him most all the time?” B: “Yes, sir.” Griffin tries to poke holes in state's theory that AM disposed of evidence after the slayings.

Griffin seems to be targeting testimony from Murdaugh’s mother’s caregiver, Shelley Smith, that Murdaugh returned to Almeda a few days after his father’s death to stash something blue. Randolph Murdaugh III died June 10.

Buster testifies he was with AM the entire time, and his father didn’t disappear at any point. Griffin: “You’re with your dad from the night of June 7th through the Keowee trip (on 6/17/21), is that correct?” Buster: “Yes, sir.”

Griffin notes there have been questions in this case about AM’s missing clothes. Where were AM’s clothes before he went off to detox in Sept. 2021? Buster says AM was staying everywhere. At Moselle, Greenfield, Almeda, Edisto, his car, relatives’ homes.

“He had clothes a lot of places," Buster testifies.

Griffin asks Buster about the 6/10/21 SLED “(I/They) did him so bad.” video. Griffin plays the video again in court. G: “What does your dad say?” B: “They did him so bad.” Buster testifies AM said “they did him so bad” repeatedly on the night of 6/7/21.

Buster testifies it typically took about 10 minutes to hose down the dog kennels, start to finish. Griffin ends his questioning.

Buster seems firmly on his father's side here, offering a lot of testimony that helps diffuse or contextualize some of the state's theories.

Throwing coal to this train and mixing drinks!.

 

[sunshineray]

Well interesting the defense didn't ask Buster, the expert on his dads voice, if that was his voice in the kennel video.

You know the prosecution will!