Timeline For Murders Presented in Murdaugh Trial
A trial of Alec Murdoch finished its fourth week today after the prosecution called her last witness to the stand and resting their case. The final testimony painted a picture of what the prosecution says happened the night Murdoch's wife and son were murdered. They knocked out Murdoch's movements along with Maggie and Paul's in the hours leading up to the murders and the prosecution believes it proves Murdoch is guilty. Fox County's Grace Frunkels in Walterboro tonight explains what went on inside the courtroom today. The state's final witness finally pulled together all those little pieces of information, little pieces of evidence that we've heard over the last four weeks and put them together into one cohesive timeline. That comes from cell phone data, social media accounts, cars. He says it took him more than a year to put together and here's what it revealed.
Murdoch drove several times the day of June 7th, 2021, but the fastest speeds he drove were on his way to and from Almeida, his mother's house. Cell phone activity for Maggie and Paul stopped around 8.49 and up until that point Paul was almost constantly on his phone. And despite calling and texting Maggie several times around 9 p.m., Murdoch did not drive by the kennels to look for her before going to see his mother. And finally, only 20 seconds passed between Murdoch pulling up to the kennels and seeing Maggie and Paul's bodies and calling 9-1-1.
What if anything, and his statements to law enforcement did the defendants say about what he did when he arrived at the scene? The defendant stated that he went and checked on Paul and Maggie to check the bodies. From the moment the suburban arrived at the kennels, how long did it take for that 9-1-1 call to be made? Less than 20 seconds. The defense argued Murdoch's headlights would have illuminated the scene, meaning Murdoch would have known something was wrong before he even stopped his car. But it was at the end of the state's direct questioning that they pulled out what seemed to be a bombshell text message sent from Paul to Murdoch on May 6, 2021, one month before the murders. It says, I am still in EB because when you get here, we need to talk. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag. The state also presented search history from Maggie's phone from that same day, which shows her trying to search to identify a certain type of white pills.
They also introduced a text Murdoch sent to Russell Lafitte on June 3, 2021, saying he needed to extend the line of credit on the farm for $600,000. The defense will continue its case on Tuesday at 9.30 in the morning. In Walter Burrow, Grace Runkle, Fox Carolina News. Now we have been covering this from the very beginning. Make sure you stay with us as we continue to cover it. It is now in the defense's hands.
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