Alex Murdaugh murder trial as it happened: Fire chief says Maggie and Paul's injuries were fatal

Following a dramatic cross-examination of the main investigator at the scene of Maggie and Paul's murder scene, the fourth day of Alex Murdaugh's murder trial has come to an end.

Jurors heard how tire treks and footprints were found at the scene, as well as investigators' efforts to preserve the evidence and possible failures to do so.

Murdaugh's double homicide trial will pick up again Friday morning.

'Boots and shoes' were found crossing over flip flop prints likely left from Maggie as she walked around an airplane hangar at Moselle.

Capt. Chapman said those other prints were not there when he examined the footprints, and may have been left by other South Carolina officers on the scene.

During cross examination, Capt. Chapman said he was not aware that blood was found on Alex Murdaugh's shorts, backing his argument that he had checked Paul's pulse.

Capt. Chapman had earlier testified that he did not see any blood suggesting Murdaugh turned over Paul's body to check for a pulse, as he was lying face down with his arms tucked underneath him.

But during cross examination, Harpootlian clarified: 'You're not saying you saw anything that would confirm he smeared blood on himself and 'you're not saying you have any evidence he didn't try to check pulse of dead son.'

Capt. Jason Chapman said Alex Murdaugh's demeanor changed as they started to investigate the tire treads found on the scene.

Chapman said in court that Murdaugh 'began to watch us work more closely, sometimes out of the corner of his eye' while they were examining the tire treks.

Once they were done, Murdaugh's demeanor changed again and he again appeared distraught, Chapman said.

Speaking in court on Thursday, Capt. Jason Chapman said he saw a pair of footprints along an airplane hangar towards the right of the crime scene.

He said they appeared to walk completely around the hangar, and appeared to be of the same style Maggie was wearing that night.

But, Chapman said he 'did not locate any' shell casings or other evidence in the area.

Capt. Jason Chapman said Alex Murdaugh was cooperative on the scene.

He said he asked him about the tire prints in the wet grass, and Murdaugh told how he went to the house to retrieve his gun and return to the scene, but other tracks going toward Maggie's body did not match up. 

Capt. Jason Chapman said he did not see Alex Murdaugh crying when he arrived on the scene, but he was sweating.

'Not everyone cries,' Chapman said. 'I don't have a problem with that.'

Murdaugh also did not have blood stains on his clothes, Chapman said, as prosecutors claimed that he would have gotten blood on his body if he had checked for a pulse as he had suggested.

Chapman's testimony follows a deputies earlier in the day, in which Sgt. Daniel Greene said he did not see Murdaugh crying. 

Capt. Jason Chapman described in court on Thursday how Paul's hands were underneath his body by the time he arrived on the scene.

Nobody would have been able to examine his hands without moving the body, he testified even though a cellphone was lying on top of the body.

Paul was laying face down at the time.

Sheriff's Captain Jason Chapman, who is in charge of supervising investigations for the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, said he told Officer Greene to 'maintain the scene as best as possible.'

Chapman said he was not yet at the scene when he made the request, so he did not see what Greene was doing, but he knew that a storm was coming and requested a tent to cover Maggie's body.

'Mother Nature wasn't compliant,' he said, noting the intent was to preserve shell casings and tire tracks 'as best as possible.'

By the time he arrived on the scene, Chapman said, the 'inner perimeter' was secure, noting they still were not sure at that point whether a shooter was on the loose.

Fire Chief Barry McRoy testified on Thursday that he did see tire tracks and he brought them to a deputies attention.

He said he was not sure if anyone secured the tire tracks or took photos of them as police cars continued to pull up to the scene.

Colleton County Fire Chief Barry McRoy described in gruesome detail the injuries he found when he arrived at Moselle on June 7, 2021.

He testified in court on Thursday that Paul's brain was 'down there by his ankle,' though a lawyer later clarified that the brains were near his foot.

McRoy then noted that neither Paul nor Maggie were 'currently bleeding, which indicated they were no longer breathing.'

McRoy then said he saw that Maggie also had severe injuries in which you 'could actually see inside of [the] head cavity.'

The injuries he said 'were not sustainable' to life.

In audio from the 911 call Alex Murdaugh made on the night of June 7, 2021, the disgraced legal scion could be heard saying he has to call his family.

He had described how he found Paul and Maggie not breathing and detailed how Paul was being threatened for a fatal boat crash in 2019.

But immediately after, as authorities rushed to the scene, Murdaugh told the dispatcher: 'I gotta go, I gotta call my family.'

After Alex Murdaugh's 911 call was transferred to the Colleton County Sheriff's Office on June 7, 2021 he told a dispatcher Paul and Maggie were not breathing.

He could be heard on the phone describing how Maggie was 'bleeding out of his brain' and says how he can 'see his brains.'

Murdaugh then goes on to describe how Paul was being threatened for the 2019 fatal boat crash.

But Murdaugh was unable to tell the dispatcher who exactly had been threatening him.

Alex Murdaugh sounded frantic as he called 911 on June 7, 2021, audio played in court Thursday revealed.

He could be heard in the tapes saying he did not know what happened to Maggie and Paul, but noted: 'I can tell he was shot in the head.'

Playing back body camera footage from the night of the double homicide, McDowell asserted he did not see any blood on Alex Murdaugh when he arrived.

He said that if he did notice blood on the defendant, he would have told his superiors.

During cross-examination, Defense Attorney Dick Harpootlian suggested McDowell could have still disrupted the crime scene.

McDowell testified that he was not wearing plastic covering his feet, and acknowledged there may have been microscopic evidence he could not identify with his naked eye and a flash light.

Speaking to McDowell on Thursday, Harpootlian said: 'You don't know what you're doing.'

But McDowell replied: 'I just told you what I was doing.'

He reiterated that he was trying to preserve the crime scene as soon as possible before it was disturbed by any others on the scene.

Cpl McDowell testified that he was careful not to step on any evidence as he assisted other officers in covering the bodies.

He said he turned on his light in an effort to ensure he knew what he was stepping on and was 'careful' to avoid any shell casings or footprints.

If he had noticed any evidence where he was walking, McDowell said, he would have 'stopped and notified detectives.'

Chad McDowell said he did scope the scene at Murdaugh's hunting lodge on June 7, 2021, marking where shell casings were found.

He said he was careful not to disturb the shell casings, putting up the numbers nearby with rocks holding them down.

And in audio from his body camera footage, McDowell could be heard asking: 'Why are there so many shell casings?' when both victims were only shot once each in the back of the head.

Cpl. Chad McDowell, of the Colleton County Sheriff's Office, was the second witness to the stand on Thursday.

Prosecutors shared his body camera footage, showing that he was the person whom Alex Murdaugh greeted when he arrived on the scene.

But McDowell said he had never met Murdaugh before.

Despite his failure to preserve evidence at the scene, Greene said he was 'not aware' of any evidence being contaminated.

He noted that the scene was fluid as officers continued to investigate the double homicides.

Sgt. Daniel Greene said the cops and other first responders on the scene of Alex Murdaugh's hunting lodge did not wear gowns or cover their shoes as they walked around the crime scene.

Greene testified during cross-examination that it is not the department's standard procedure to wear gowns or cover their shoes as they investigate a crime scene, differing from other departments around the country.

He also acknowledged that 'it's possible' that tire tracks could have been destroyed by others on the scene, claiming the extent of his role was to put up yellow crime scene tape.

Sgt. Daniel Greene testified in cross-examination that he did not preserve the tire tracks he found at the scene, nor did he point them out to other investigators at the scene.

Greene had earlier said he found it 'odd' that there were multiple tire tracks at the scene as Murdaugh said he went to the house first before checking on Maggie and Paul, whom he remembered were out by the kennels before he left to go visit his mother.

But, Greene said, he did not preserve the tire tracks or alert others to their presence. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said it is therefore possible other police vehicles may have driven over the tracks.

Greene also testified that, despite another first responder on the scene pointing out footprints, he did not take photos or preserve the footprints.

 He said the extent of his job was to put up yellow tape to ensure no outsiders disturbed the scene.

Following a short break Thursday, defense attorneys began cross examining the sergeant who testified about what he saw on the scene of Murdaugh's hunting lodge the night of June 7, 2021.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian began by asking Greene about water he said was around Paul's body when he arrived.

Harpootlian suggested the water may have been the result of the Murdaughs cleaning out the kennels, pointing out that water was both outside and inside the pens.

In court on Thursday, Sgt. Daniel Greene shared how he secured a camo shotgun that was lying on the ground - taking it to his vehicle, believing it was best to secure the weapon as Murdaugh was 'upset and anxious.'

The body cam picked up Murdaugh calling his brother Randy on the phone, telling them Maggie and Paul are both dead.

Then a fire rescue officer walks by and Murdaugh pauses to greet him, saying: 'How ya' doin?' 

In a bizarre exchange during Sgt. Daniel Greene's testimony, he recounts how he found a dead chicken at the crime scene.

While watching body worn camera footage from June 7, 2021, Greene said there was a dead chicken sitting on top of dog kennels that night.

Sgt. Daniel Greene said he lifted Paul's body as he continued to investigate the scene at Moselle on June 7, 2021 to see if he had a rifle on him.

He said he had to rule out the possibility that Paul shot his mother before killing himself. Greene said he noticed there were 300 blackout cases surrounding Maggie's body, but did not appear to be many around Paul's body.

Greene could later be heard in body camera footage telling a superior that Murdaugh 'did have a shotgun on him' that he had secured.

In testifying on Thursday, Sergeant Daniel Greene said any reasonable person would have assumed the victims were dead at the scene.

He said Alex Murdaugh asked several times for first responders to check on Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, but had no physical tears.

Murdaugh allegedly had blood on his person at the time, and paused what he was telling Greene to say hello to a fire fighter who arrived on the scene.

Sgt Daniel Greene testified that, even though it could not be seen on body camera footage, he saw rifle shell casings around Maddie Murdaugh's body.

'As I was walking through, I could see shell casings, particularly around Maggie's body.'

He also said he found fresh tire tracks, which he said 'seemed odd' since Murdaugh said he went to the house first before checking on Maggie and Paul, whom he remembered were out by the kennels before he left to go visit his mother.

Alex Murdaugh sobbed as body camera footage was played in court on Thursday showing the moment Sgt. Daniel Greene found Paul's body.

He described how he saw Paul's body to the left lying face down with a large pool of blood under him and drenched with water, while Maggie was lying face down to his right also with a large pool of blood under her head.

Murdaugh could be heard in the footage speaking quickly as he describes how he does own a shotgun. He then said: 'My son was in a boat wreck months back.

'He's been getting threats. Most of it was benign,' Murdaugh said. 'I know that's what it was.'

The footage was not played for the public, but audio could be heard.

The first thing Alex Murdaugh allegedly told officers when they arrived at the scene of his Moselle family compound was about an incident with his son and a fatal boating accident.

Sgt. Daniel Greene said he did not ask Murdaugh anything about a boating accident at the time.

But several years prior to his murder, Paul had been allegedly driving a boat drunk when one of his friends, Mallory Beach, 19, was killed.

Prosecutors have argued in court documents that Murdaugh tried to throw investigators off of him by falsely linking the murders with the fatal boat crash for which Paul, drunk at the helm, was facing criminal charges, while his father and older brother Buster were facing a wrongful death lawsuit.

Sgt. Daniel Greene was the first witness called to the stand on Thursday, describing how he found Maggie and Paul dead at Moselle.

He said at the time of the double homicides he was a road patrol supervisor, working with a corporal and two deputies, when he got a call from a man saying he found his wife and son dead.

Greene said he was the first one on the scene on June 7, 2021, and worked to secure the scene. He said he did not think any of the perpetrators would still be at the scene, as Alex Murdaugh had been there for some time.

When he arrived, Greene said, he saw Paul to his left and Maggie to his right, as he approached Alex Murdaugh to talk about the situation.

Both victims were surrounded by 'large pools of blood... as well as brain matter.'

But Murdaugh 'did not appear to be crying' although he was visibly upset.

He was, however, apparently crying as Greene testified Thursday morning.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian argued in opening statements on Wednesday that the viciousness of the killings prove Murdaugh could not have murdered his wife and son.

The defense attorney described him as a loving father and husband, who could not possibly have shot Paul, 22, and Maggie, 52, in June 2021.

He also argued that all of the evidence brought against Murdaugh has been circumstantial and he has never been found guilty of embezzling from his law firm.

But, Harpootlian said, law enforcement began to focus on Murdaugh from the beginning and did not even consider other suspects. 

He said he plans to ask the judge to allow jurors to visit Moselle, the rural family estate where Maggie and Paul were shot and killed, arguing that if Murdaugh had killed his wife and son his clothes would be 'covered head to toe in blood.'

And, he argued that prosecutors cannot say the gun used to kill Paul and Maggie was definitely one of Murdaugh's, as aurhorities have never recovered the murder weapon.

Murdaugh's only surviving son, Buster, and brother, John Marvin, were filmed entering the Colleton County Courthouse Thursday morning ahead of the fourth day of his double homicide trial.

Both Buster and John Marvin are expected to testify against the once-powerful legal scion.

Prosecutors laid out their arguments in their opening statements Wednesday, saying Alex Murdaugh texted and called his dead wife after committing the brutal killings and drove to his mother's house to establish an alibi.

Creighton Waters, the lead prosecutor, said the state would be relying on forensic and other physical evidence to prove Murdaugh carried out the killings at the family estate in Islandton, arguing there is no absence of motive.

He claims Murdaugh stole millions from his clients and law firm, and killed Maggie and Paul in an attempt to gain the public's sympathy and stop his embezzlement scheme from coming to light.

Among the evidence prosecutors are expected to bring up during the trial are bullet casings found on the property that they say match those found around Maggie's body and a raincoat that had gunshot residue at Murdaugh's mother's home.

Waters also claims that Murdaugh cannot cannot for two of three rifles he had purchased in recent years, even though there were empty boxes of ammo found on the property that were the same brand and type as those fired at the victims.

Perhaps most important, though, he argued is newly-discovered cellphone records which allegedly place Murdaugh at the scene of the double homicide. He has previously said he was napping inside when the shootings took place at the dog kennels.

Alex Murdaugh once again grinned as he was escorted out of a police van on Thursday, to sit trial for the double-homicide of his wife, Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22.

He covered his handcuffs with his jacket and looked determined as he walked past reporters and protesters, one of whom carried a cross reading 'Jesus Saves.'

The presiding judge in the Alex Murdaugh trial on Wednesday ordered all crime scene and autopsy photos and videos into sealed evidence that would graphically depict the murder victims.

These photos and videos could still be offered as evidence by either the prosecution or defense, WCSC reports, but the prosecutors will have to describe the nature of the media being introduced under seal before that could happen.

Any evidence that is offered or accepted under the seal cannot be copied, reproduced, disseminated or otherwise made available to the public — though it is possible that the court later unseals the evidence.

The portrait of Alex Murdaugh's grandfather was removed from the South Carolina courtroom where his trial commenced on Wednesday, in a poignant symbol of the once-powerful family's fall from grace.

Judge Clifton Newman ordered the removal of the portrait of late 14th Circuit Solicitor Randolph 'Buster' Murdaugh Jr. as opening arguments began in his grandson's trial in Walterboro.

For more than a century, the Murdaugh family wielded immense power in the Lowcountry, with three generations of the family serving as elected solicitors, as district attorneys are there known, in the 14th Circuit from 1920 to 2006. 

As opening statements began in the double homicide trial on Wednesday, Alex Murdaugh's younger and only surviving son, Buster, could be seen staring at his father.

Buster, 26, is among those expected to testify against the legal scion, as well as Murdaugh's own brothers, John Marvin and Randy Murdaugh. 

The double homicide trial that has gripped the nation will enter its fourth day on Thursday, when witnesses will take the stand against Alex Murdaugh, a once prominent legal scion in South Carolina.

Murdaugh, 54, is accused of killing his wife, Maggie, 52, and his eldest son, Paul, 22, amid financial problems on June 7, 2021.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his lawyers now argue that all of the evidence brought against him has been circumstantial.

Prosecutors are now expected to lay out their argument that Murdaugh killed his kin as he was suffering financially.

They will call to the witness stand one of the first responders who showed up at the family's hunting lodge the night Maggie and Paul were killed. His body camera footage is also expected to be shown.

Prosecutors told the jury in opening statements Wednesday to watch the footage 'closely.

'Watch his expressions,' the lawyers said. 'Listen to what he's saying and what he's not saying.'