Every Gruesome Crime Scene Photo Revealed In Murdaugh Family Murders Trial
Feb. 14 2023, Published 7:30 p.m. ET
Newly released photos and police body camera footage taken after Maggie, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were murdered at their family's private hunting ranch painted a gruesome scene of chaos and confusion in South Carolina's Low Country, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The murder trial of Maggie's husband and Paul's father, Alex Murdaugh, 64, has brought a series of sinister twists and turns.
The prosecution claimed that Alex murdered his family members to deflect attention from his financial crimes — and brought up past deaths connected to the family — in an attempt to prove how low the once-prominent attorney would go in order to preserve his family's tarnished legacy.
Evidence shown to the jury included police bodycam footage taken from first responders at the family's home on June 7, 2021.
In the footage, incessant barking and wailing from the family's dogs could be heard as police investigated the crime scene outside Moselle's dog kennel area.
Alex was seen wearing a stark white t-shirt as he spoke to police collecting information. Prosecutors claimed that Alex changed his clothes after he allegedly opened fire on his wife and son.
At one point, Alex asked if the bodies of his wife and son were being covered as he folded over with despair.
As the bodycam rolled, police could be heard discussing the perplexing nature of the crime scene — with one repeatedly commenting on the number of shell casings on the ground, even though the victims suffered single shots to their heads.
Police examined Paul's body, which lay just a short distance from his dead mother.
RadarOnline.com revealed that Paul was killed by a fatal shotgun blast to the head and his body was positioned next to a dog kennel. A video recording taken from his cellphone revealed Paul at the same location.
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The video, believed to be taken within minutes of his murder, captured Paul at the very same kennels — and a third voice, believed to be Alex, was heard in the recording.
Alex claimed that he was not home at the time of the killings and insisted that he spent a prolonged period of time visiting his elderly parents at their home the night his wife and son were killed.
The prosecution attempted to disprove Alex's alibi using the time stamp from the cellphone video as well as testimony from Alex's parent's caretaker, Michelle "Shelley" Smith, who claimed Alex showed up unexpectedly that evening and stayed for less than 20 minutes.
The caretaker claimed that Alex returned to his mother's house a few days later and carried a "balled up" blue tarp-like item under his arms.
Smith stated that Alex went upstairs and upon his return, he offered her financial assistance and instructed her to say he was at the home for "30 to 40 minutes" if she was questioned on his whereabouts.
Prosecutors used the caretaker's statement and evidence recovered by investigators from the home to back up their theory. Investigators claimed a blue rain jacket that was found in the home's upstairs closet tested positive for gun powder residue.
Neither Paul nor Maggie were found with defensive wounds from the attack.
In addition to witness testimony and cellphone video evidence, SLED forensic analyst Melinda Worley testified that she arrived at the crime scene a little after midnight on June 8.
Worley claimed she swabbed 10 different areas in Alex's vehicle that returned presumptive positive tests for blood. Alex's clothes that he was seen wearing on camera did not test positive for blood. A 16-gauge shotgun shell was also found on the floorboard of his vehicle.
Alex was believed to be captured on camera leaving Moselle an hour before he made the 911 call.