ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER TRIAL AS IT HAPPENED: Snapchat video reveals new details about day of murders

Court has concluded for the day and will resume Thursday morning at 9:30 a.m.

Judge Newman excused the jury and told the court that he will address the issue of the potential financial motives for the murders tomorrow. 

The prosecution should be prepared with evidence to support their argument, he said. 

Dailymail.com's coverage of the trial has ended for the day.

The Snapchat video Paul Murdaugh sent to Will Loving on the day of the murders was played in court.

Loving testifies that Alex Murdaugh is wearing long pants and a shirt in that video.

This is different than what he was reported to be wearing later in the evening - which was shorts and a t-shirt.

Prosecutor Waters quickly switches directions and begins firing questions at Loving about what he knows regarding the family's finances. 

Loving responds he does not know about those things. 

The witness is excused and court ends for the day. Court will resume Thursday at 9:30am. 

Loving told the court that that Alex and Paul had an 'awesome' relationship.

'It was an awesome relationship,' he said. 'It kind of seemed like Paul was the apple of his eye.'

He said he last saw his friend Paul Murdaugh on Memorial Day Weekend 2021.

Two weeks before the murders, they were at the Edisto beach house with Alex, Maggie and some friends.

Both Loving and Gibson said all of Paul and Buster's friends were welcome at the family's properties.

He said he was not 100 percent if Buster was there that weekend. 

As a video of friends singing Happy Birthday to Alex was played in court, Alex began crying at the defense table. 

Paul Murdaugh's friend Will Loving testified on the stand that he is 100 percent sure that the voices heard in Paul's video were that of him, Alex and Maggie Murdaugh.

The video Paul had taken of Gibson's dog was played in court for a second time.

Loving did not hesitate to identify Murdaugh as the male voice.

The time the video was taken is when Murdaugh said he had been sleeping at the house, prosecutors said.

Loving testified that a Snapchat is received from Paul Murdaugh is the last time he heard from his friend.

The video was sent on June 7, 2021 - the day of the murders - and showed Alex and Paul looking at trees they had planted.

The video was sent at 7:56 p.m. This was before Paul took the video of Gibson's dog - which would have been just after he talked to Gibson on the phone at 8:44.

Prosecutors allege Paul and Maggie were murdered around 8:50 p.m.

Will Loving is a friend of the family - namely Paul Murdaugh - and they've known each other since they were teenagers.

Loving said they met at Edisto on the South Carolina coast where they family has a property.

It was previously testified that Maggie Murdaugh preferred the Edisto property because she loved the beach and because there were pesky yellow flies at the Moselle Road property.

Loving and Paul lived together for a short time in Columbia and had planned to get a new house together with another friend the summer of 2021 before Paul was killed.

Cross-examination of Rogan Gibson concluded with defense attorney Jim Griffin asking him if he could imagine any circumstance in which Alex would kill Paul and Maggie.

'Not that I can think of,' Gibson replied.

Gibson told the court Alex and Maggie were a loving couple, and they loved Buster and Paul.

In redirect, prosecutor Creighton Waters appeared to make a point asking if Gibson 'really' knew Alex Murdaugh.

Gibson says he knew Alex his whole life. Waters pushes again: 'But as you sit here today, did you *really* know him?'

Gibson: 'Yes, I knew him.'

Jury took a brief break.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin press Paul Murdaugh's friend Rogan Gibson about the unlocked truck with guns on the property.

Gibson admitted on the stand that it would be easy for someone to sneak up onto the Moselle property and steal guns or whatever the family had left out, something he said Paul was known to do.

Griffin established with Gibson that were guns everywhere -  in sheds, in the workshop - and that there were no security cameras down by the kennels where Paul and his mother Maggie were shot to death.

But in redirect from the prosecution, he said that he did not know of a time where things had been stole from the property.

Alex Murdaugh looked distraught as his son Paul's friend Rogan Gibson talked about how closed he was to the family.

Buster, who is Alex's other son, sat behind him in the courtroom.

Gibson called the Murdaughs his 'second family.'

In cross-examination by the defense, Gibson called Alex said he considered Alex to be a 'second father' who treated him as his own.

He testified that the relationship between Alex and Paul as 'great.'

Gibson said 'Miss Maggie,' as he called her, was 'like a second mother to me.'

Rogan Gibson testified on the stand that he's 100% sure that he heard Alex Murdaugh in background of phone call minutes before friend Paul and Maggie were murdered.

The day after the murders, Gibson told law enforcement that he was 99 percent he had heard Alex's voice on the phone call. 

As time went on, he became unsure. 

But when investigators later showed him the viceo that Paul had planned to send to Gibson of his dog, he said that's when he was sure the male voice in the background was Alex's. 

Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters asks: 'Did you recognize the voices of your second family?'

Gibson: 'I did.'

He also testifies neither Paul nor Maggie sounded stressed or nervous in the video shortly before they were killed.  

The video was played for a second time today. 

Defense attorney Jim Griffin will cross-examine. 

Paul Murdaugh's friend Rogan Gibson told the court about his last call with the 22-year-old who was gunned down on June 7.

Gibson was one of the last people to talk to Paul.

He testified that his dog Cash was kept at the kennels on the Moselle property during the week and Paul had called around 8:40 p.m. to ask if something was wrong with the dog's tail.

Gibson said he could hear voices in the background of the call. He heard Maggie and testified that he believe he also heard Alex. 

The two then tried a FaceTime call but the service was lagging, so Gibson told Paul to get a photo or video. 

He said he never got the video and that call was the last time he spoke to his friend.

Gibson texted Paul with 'Yo' to get him to answer. He also tried to contact Maggie but no one replied.

When he woke up the next morning, he found out Paul and Maggie were dead. 

The state has called its 17th witness to the stand - Paul Murdaugh's friend Rogan Gibson.

Gibson was one of the last people to speak with Paul before he was killed.

He testified he was close with the Murdaughs and considered them 'a second family.'

He said they grew up together, since he was 11 or 12, and that he lived next door to the Moselle property. Gibson and Paul were often out hunting on the property. 

He told the court the nicknames he had for each of the family members. 

Paul was 'Rooster'

Buster was 'Bus'

Maggie was 'Miss Maggie'

Alex was 'Mr Alex' or 'Big Red'

Sgt Varnadoe testified on the stand Wednesday that Alex Murdaugh's hands were clean and stead when he conducted a gunshot residue test  on the night Maggie and Paul were murdered.

He show the jurors the process of performing a GSR test on a person and said that Murdaugh was able to answer questions at the time.

Varnadoe told the court Murdaugh had no alcohol on his breath, did not appear under the influence of drugs, and his hands were not shaking.

He also testified that there was no blood or dirt on Murdaugh clothing despite the former lawyer claiming in earlier testimony that he had taken the pulses of his wife and son and tried to roll over Paul’s body.

The 50-second video that Paul Murdaugh recorded on his phone at 8:44:49 p.m. on the night of the murders, has been released.

Three different voices that can be heard. Prosecutors allege that the voices belong to Paul, his mother Maggie and his father Alex Murdaugh.

However, Alex has claimed that he was not at the kennels at that time, but instead says he was at the house asleep. 

Paul and Maggie were murdered minutes later.

Court is back in session after a lunch break.

Prosecutor John Meadors has called Colleton County Sheriff's officer Sgt. Dathan 'Brian' Varnadoe to the stand.

He arrived on the crime scene at Moselle on June 7, 2021 and was instructed to find Alex Murdaugh and conduct a GSR kit - which tests for gun shot residue on a person's hands. 

New 3D animation of the crime scene on the Murdaugh family property in South Carolina was released on Wednesday.

It shows a virtual walkthrough of the kennels where Alex Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were gunned down on June 7, 2021.

The FARO 3D laser scanners preserve crime scenes and to collect critical evidence.

Law enforcement have used the scanners in recent years as part of their investigations. Lawyers can also guide a jury through a virtual crime scene.

Alex Murdaugh sobbed today in court as a chilling video was played where three voices can be heard at the murder scene of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

Prosecutors say the video taken by Paul at 8.44pm proves that Murdaugh was at the dog kennels just minutes before the 22-year-old and his mother were shot dead at 8.50pm on June 7, 2021.

The disgraced attorney, 54, claims that the last time he saw Maggie, 52, and Paul alive was when they were having supper at the house on the estate in Islandton, South Carolina. He claims he only saw them at the kennels when he arrived back from his mother's home to find them dead. The alleged killer called 911 at 10.07pm.

Read more here.

In redirect questioning of expert witness Lt. Dove, the prosecution argued that there would have been no orientation change on Maggie's phone if the screen was off.

The phone screen was off from 9:07 p.m. to 9:31 p.m., Conrad established with the witness, so it wouldn't have recorded any orientation changes then.

Prosecutor John Conrad is poking holes in the defense's theory that the phone was chucked out of a moving car at 9:06 p.m.

It was not on again until 9:31 p.m.

'If screen off, will phone record orientation change?' he asked.

Dove replied: 'No. Wouldn't expect to see orientation change.'

Defense attorney Barber is going through the orientation data of Maggie's phone with expert Lt. Dove.

As testified previously, a phone's orientation changes from vertical to horizontal or vice versa.

Barber argued that the person who had the phone could have seen Alex Murdaugh calling and 'chucked out of the window of a moving car.'

It was established that orientation can change when a phone is thrown, but he could not say if that's what happened.

Maggie Murdaugh's phone was found on the side of Moselle Road about a half-mile from where she was shot and killed on the family's property.

The final orientation change on Maggie's phone was at 9:06. Barber argued this is when it was chucked out of a moving car window. And said this is when Alex was cranking his car outside the home.

He notes in court that Alex was walking - according to the steps data - when he called Maggie at 9:06:12 p.m. just before he starts his car.

Dove confirmed that around that time was Maggie's phone last orientation change.

He confirmed that when Maggie's phone orientation changed for the last time, 'it appears the phones were not together being moved by the same person because they are not (both) recording steps.'

Only Alex's was.

The defense had Lt. Dove read through Maggie Murdaugh's text messages in court on Wednesday.

The majority of the texts are about the health of Alex Murdaugh’s gravely ill father Randolph.

The texts were from earlier in the day on June 7 - hours before she was killed.

3:55 p.m. - Outgoing message: 'TY. I'm waiting at doctor. Alex wants me to come home. I have to leave door open at Edisto. I trust Mexicans to shut and lock for me. His dad is back in hospital. No cancer. It's pneumonia.'

3:57 p.m. - Outgoing message: 'Alex is about to die. Hope he doesn't go down there to sleep. Alex needs to take care of himself as well.'

Incoming message from Alex: 'How's your doctor appt?'

Received message: 'Yes he does. He told me he was tired when he left. I hope they can treat Mr. Randolph and make him comfortable.'

Outgoing message to Alex: 'Waiting as usual.'

4:06 p.m. - Outgoing message: 'I'm scared for him and Alex and all of us.' 

This is referring to the father's medical condition. 

Incoming message: 'I know just pray about it. Just pray about it and hope he gets a little better. Alex and you really need to relax. Always being on the go with little to no sleep is not healthy. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning in Beaufort. If I go to Moselle I will let you know.'

7:05 p.m. - Incoming message from Alex: 'Paul says you are getting pedi!! Call when you get done.'

9:08 p.m. - Incoming message from Alex: 'Going to check on (Mom). Be right back.'

9:47 p.m. - Incoming message from Alex: 'Call me babe.'

Defense attorney Phillip Barber is now cross-examining SLED digital forensics expert Britt Dove.

He is attempting to poke holes in the prsecution's case of a timeline on the night of the murders that they allege puts Alex Murdaugh with his wife and son when they were slain.

He establishes with Dove that it's possible to read a text without unlocking phone.

It's also established that the phone steps by Alex and Maggie's phone steps don't line up as you would expect if one person had held both phones after the murders.

'I would expect to see steps on both phones, yes sir,' Dove said.

However, it's noted that Maggie's phone was found approximately a mile away the next day.

Dove also admits that it's possible a person would limited their cell usage if their battery is at 2 percent - like Paul's was that night.

The legal scion on trial for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul began crying again at the defense table on Wednesday when a video from his son's phone was played.

He began shaking when the prosecution played a video in court that was collected from Paul's phone and the 22-year-old's voice could be heard. 

Lt Dove described the video for the court saying that there was a Labrador in a kennel and Paul can be heard talking to the dog. 

A woman is heard talking too and says the dog has a bird in its mouth. 

A third voice is also heard. 

As the video ends, Paul's father Alex can be seen crying in the courtroom.  

A review of Paul Murdaugh phone data revealed in court showed that the 22-year-old used his phone continuously by sending texts, using Snapchat, and a number of other apps.

Dove testified that the apps tracked his location and steps frequently. But all activity came to an abrupt stop around 8:50 p.m. on June 7, 2021.

He also revealed that the camera was turned on at 8:44 p.m. The camera turned off at 8:45pm after less than a minute.

The location at that time was recorded as being next to 'red-roofed building at the property on Moselle Road.'

The phone then died at 10:34 p.m.

Dove testified that the last text Paul Murdaugh sent was at 8:48:05 p.m on June 7, 2021. It was a movie recommendation to Megan Kimball for the movie 'A Star Is Born.'

8:48:29 pm - Text from Megan: 'No, I need something happy'

Text was read at 8:48:59 pm.

8:48:39 pm -Text from Megan Kimball.

'Don't like watching sad movies'

It was read at 8:48:59 pm.

It was the last text that was read on Paul's phone.

The last text ever read on Maggie's phone was at 8:49:27 pm.

Prosecutors allege Paul was shot and killed at 8:50 and Maggie was shot shortly after. 

Dove testifies that the last text Paul Murdaugh read was at 8:48:59pm and the last text Maggie read was at 8:49:27pm.

There was a text from Rogan Gibson to Paul a few seconds later, but it was never read.

At that time, Paul's phone was on 2 percent battery. Dove estimated that it would have only lasted 10-15 minutes if it was being used heavily.

However, Dove says Paul's phone died nearly two hours later - at 10:34 p.m.

Digital forensics expert Britt Dove is now testifying on his review of the data collected from Paul Murdaugh's phone.

He testifies that it wasn't until March 2022 that he took the phone to John VanHouten with the U.S. Secret Service to break into it.

A full file system extraction was conducted and sent back to SLED for Dove to analyze.

As covered in previous testimony, Paul spoke with Rogan Gibson twice on June 7 before his phone locked for rest of the night.

He had called Gibson both times.

The first one was at 8:40 p.m. for 4 minutes and 14 seconds

The second one was a FaceTime at 8:44 p.m. for 11 seconds

At 8:32 p.m. he rejected an incoming call from Robert Boyle

Paul, 22, and his mother Maggie were killed on June 7, 2021. 

Alex Murdaugh's step history shows an hour long break on the night of the murders.

Prosecutor John Conrad noted on Wednesday that there was a nearly hour-long break where Alex Murdaugh's phone stops moving entirely.

The step history was reviewed and present to court by expert Britt Dove.

Prosecutors allege Murdaugh killed Maggie and Paul around 8:50 p.m. that night

Alex Murdaugh's call log:

6:42:12 p.m-6:43:55 p.m. - 57 steps

6:52:27-7:02:05 p.m. - 283 steps

7:03:55-7:11:29 p.m. - 165 steps

7:15:35-7:21:52 p.m. - 200 steps

7:28:35-7:37:11 p.m. - 47 steps

7:55:32-8:05:07 p.m. - 270 steps

7:41:23-7:48:41 p.m. - 29 steps

8:05:35-8:09:52 p.m. - 74 steps

9:02:18-9:06:47 p.m. - 283 steps

Cellphone expert testified about Alex Murdaugh's text message history in court on Wednesday.

The family group text from John Marvin and the response from Lynn G were not read on Alex's phone until after 1pm on June 8, he said.

The messages, which were also sent to Maggie, were sent around 8:30pm on June 7 - the night of the murders.

John Marvin had been sent an earlier text about visiting their ill father. It had been read not long after being sent at 4:30 p.m.

Alex's text messages match what was testified that was sent to Maggie's phone.

He said he was going to check on his mother just after 9 p.m. and a text later where he wrote 'Call me, babe,' after she allegedly been murdered.

Lt Britt Dove testified on Wednesday that there are calls missing from the call log collected from Alex Murdaugh's phone.

This includes the calls that were made from Alex to Maggie on the night of the murders.

'A gap like that would indicate that it was actually removed from there,' he said.

Dove said that the only way to delete the calls is to do it from the phone by swiping the call and then deleting. When asked by the prosecutor if the the calls were deleted, Dove replied 'It would appear that way.'

The calls were deleted at some between the night of the murders on June 7, 2021, and when he reviewed the phone log in September 2021.

He added that he cannot determine who deleted the calls.

Lt Britt Dove testified on Wednesday that there are calls missing from the call log collected from Alex Murdaugh's phone.

This includes the calls that were made from Alex to Maggie on the night of the murders.

'A gap like that would indicate that it was actually removed from there,' he said.

Dove said that the only way to delete the calls is to do it from the phone by swiping the call and then deleting. When asked by the prosecutor if the the calls were deleted, Dove replied 'It would appear that way.'

The calls were deleted at some between the night of the murders on June 7, 2021, and when he reviewed the phone log in September 2021. 

He added that he cannot determine who deleted the calls.  

Evidence photos shown in court have revealed unread messages and missed calls found on Maggie’s phone.

Alex Murdaugh texted his wife, 'call me babe', and left five missed calls in the hour after allegedly shooting her and their 22-year-old son dead.

Maggie Murdaugh's iPhone records revealed Tuesday how her husband of 28 years made a series of calls and texts to his wife in the frantic minutes after her death.

Murdaugh called Maggie three times between 9.04pm and 9.06pm, and then twice more at 9.45pm and 10.03pm. Prosecutors suggest the calls were an effort 'to manufacture an alibi.'

Paul's phone locked at 8.49pm and 35 seconds and Maggie's locked at 8.49pm and 31 seconds. Neither victim read another text or picked up another call ever again.

Cellphone expert Lt. Britt Dove returns to stand in Alex Murdaugh trial where he is expected to testify on data collected from phones belonging to Alex and his son Paul on the night of the murders.

Dove also continued testifying about Alex's wife Maggie's phone data. 

Alex's phone was entered into evidence and Dove said that a full file system extraction had been done of his phone data.

Some of the communication was removed because they were subject to attorney-client privilege due to Murdaugh’s profession as a lawyer.

The call log was not removed.

A live stream of the Alex Murdaugh murder trial will be on the Dailymail.com homepage.

You can also watch it here in the live blog when the trial begins at 9.30am ET.

Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial continues today in South Carolina. The legal scion is accused of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul on June 7, 2021. 

Here's what happened in court on Tuesday: 

Alex Murdaugh’s chilling final text to his wife revealed

Alex Murdaugh’s chilling final text to his wife was revealed on Tuesday - which was sent allegedly after she had been murdered.

Prosecutors allege Paul Murdaugh was shot and killed first at 8:50 p.m. on June 7, 2021, and then Maggie Murdaugh was shot shortly after.

A cellphone expert on the stand reviewed data from the cellphones of Alex, Maggie, Paul on the night of the murders.

Data shows that Murdaugh made five calls to Maggie that night. And his last text message to her came in at 9:47 p.m. that read 'Call me, babe.'

A few minutes later, he called 911.

Did Alex Murdaugh confess to the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul?

The prosecution sought clarification after audio from a police recording of Alex Murdaugh's interview played in court that sounded to some like he said 'I did him so bad' as he sobbed in the days after his wife Maggie and son Paul were murdered.

'I did him so bad,' Murdaugh appeared to say about his son in a police interview on June 10, 2021.

prosecutor Creighton Waters asked SLED Special Agent Jeff Croft on the stand what he heard Murdaugh saying.

'It's just so bad. I did him so bad,' he replied.

Murdaugh was then seen shaking his head and appeared to mouth 'I did not say that' to his attorneys in court.

But there was still some speculation about whether Murdaugh said 'I' or 'they.'

Croft admitted that he did not follow up with Murdaugh about it even though he had planned to. 

'I am 100 percent confident in what I heard and what I interpret him saying,' he said.

SLED agent says murder weapons have never been found

SLED Special Agent Jeff Croft told the court about the guns and ammo seized from the gun room at the Moselle property and how they matched what killed Maggie and Paul. 

A .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle, 12-gauge Browning shotgun, Benelli shotgun and 12-gauge pump shotgun which were seized from the family home were previously shown in court. 

Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial will resume at 9.30am ET.

The legal scion has arrived at the courthouse and entered the building hiding his handcuffed hands under his coat.

Cellphone forensics expert Britt Dove returns to the witness stand.

On Tuesday, he testified that Alex Murdaugh texted his wife 'Call me, babe' at 9:47 p.m. allegedly after she had been killed. The text was unread. Minutes later, he called 911.

Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial will resume today at the Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina.

The prosecution will continue their questioning its 15th witness, digital forensics expert Britt Dove. 

Court is expected to start at 9:30 a.m.