Alex Murdaugh Goes on Trial — and Snapchat Get Will Testify After Revelation of Son’s Video Sooner than Death

More than 17 months for the reason that brutal slayings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh at their sprawling South Carolina looking lodge, the trial of as soon as-prominent licensed reliable Alex Murdaugh began Monday with jury desire.

In July 2022, Murdaugh, 54, turn out to be charged with two counts of assassinate two counts of possession of a weapon throughout the commission of a violent crime in connection with the June 7, 2021, taking pictures deaths of his spouse, Maggie, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22.

The disgraced licensed reliable turn out to be already being held in jail on a host of business costs that additionally got him disbarred.

He has pleaded now not responsible to all costs.

Alex Murdaugh.
Tracy Glantz/The Negate by AP

Discovering neutral jurors in South Carolina Lowcountry will likely be tense for the reason that murders got worldwide coverage in newspapers, digital reports, captivating crime reveals, podcasts and documentaries.

Possible jurors ought to additionally effect now not need any ties to the Murdaugh family, who are smartly-identified in Colleton County, the put the trial will likely be held.

Murdaugh is a scion of a highly effective upright family in the rural county. His father, grandfather and tall grandfather were elected prosecutors for generations. His family additionally based a prominent legislation firm that has now been disbanded and renamed.

As soon as the jurors are selected, they’ll be proven a host of proof, alongside side a Snapchat video that Paul despatched to “several visitors” at 7:56 p.m., on the evening he and his mother were killed, a prosecutor wrote in novel courtroom documents filed Wednesday and obtained by Fox Files Digital.

In the courtroom documents, Senior Assistant Deputy Authorized reliable General Creighton Waters described the contents of the video as “serious to the case” and “necessary to proving the Negate’s case in chief.”

The Murdaugh Family.

Waters requested the courtroom to require a representative from Snapchat to testify on the trial, which is anticipated to final for 3 weeks, in step with the filing.

Purchase Clifton Newman signed the quiz and said a Snapchat representative ought to appear from the delivery of trial “till the peep testifies or the case is disposed of,” in step with courtroom papers.

Waters and Snapchat didn’t answer to PEOPLE’s quiz for comment.

Attorneys for Murdaugh declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

Blood Spatter on Shirt?

Murdaugh’s protection workforce has petitioned the courtroom to exclude a train expert’s testimony from the trial. In a Jan. 18 filing, Murdaugh’s attorneys requested the reflect to prevent prosecutors from the use of any testimony from blood spatter expert Tom Bevel or his friends about blood allegedly learned on the white t-shirt Murdaugh turn out to be carrying the evening of the murders, in step with courtroom documents.

In April 2022, FITSNews, citing sources familiar with the investigation, printed a story citing that a shirt worn by Murdaugh on the evening of the killings turn out to be learned to beget high-speed blood spatter from now not lower than one among the victims, which in step with investigative sources, indicated he turn out to be shut to now not lower than one among the victims throughout the killings.

Calling this “a lie,” Murdaugh’s attorneys argued that authorities leaked data to the clicking “to persuade the final public that Mr. Murdaugh turn out to be responsible of the murders earlier than trial” and that the leaked data turn out to be “the purported thought of Tom Bevel of Bevel, Gardner & Pals Inc. in Oklahoma,” the filing says.

His attorneys train prosecutors knew on Aug. 10, 2021, that “confirmatory blood test results were indubitably negative for human blood in all areas of the shirt the put purported spatter is advise,” in step with the filing.

The South Carolina Regulations Enforcement Division “never suggested Mr. Bevel the shirt definitively tested negative for human blood earlier than Mr. Bevel produced his memoir,” the filing says.

Bevel’s preliminary memoir “because it would possibly probably beget to be” said there turn out to be no high-speed blood spatter on the shirt and that spatter turn out to be unlikely to be on the shooter the least bit, the filing says.

Murdaugh Allegedly Lured Companion to Her Death

On the evening of June 7, 2021, Alex allegedly reached out to his spouse Maggie, asking her to meet him on the family’s 1,770-acre estate in the minute city of Islandton, S.C.

In step with a legislation enforcement source shut to the investigation, Alex allegedly suggested Maggie that his 81-yr-worn father, Randolph Murdaugh III, turn out to be in failing health and that she necessary to explore him earlier than he died.

A entire lot of sources suggested PEOPLE Maggie and Alex had hit a tough patch of their marriage, and he or she turn out to be staying on the family’s sea chase rental on Edisto Island, roughly an hour far from the family’s estate.

The legislation enforcement source beforehand suggested PEOPLE that Maggie on the muse declined to meet Alex on the family home, suggesting as a substitute that they meet on the health center. In the shatter, she consented to meet on the property, planning to coach Alex to the health center in her contain car.

On her capacity to the rental, Maggie allegedly messaged a chum, pronouncing that something about her husband’s habits felt “fishy,” the legislation enforcement source said. “He’s as a lot as something,” Maggie allegedly wrote to her pal.

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When Maggie arrived on the scene, she left her vehicle running and walked to the canine kennels on the estate the put her son, Paul, turn out to be taking photos of a canine he turn out to be looking at for a chum.

It be unclear what came about subsequent — but Maggie and Paul were gunned down shut to the canine kennels. Paul’s body turn out to be learned “half of in and half of out” of the canine kennels, authorities train.

Paul turn out to be shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at shut range. Maggie turn out to be shot more than one situations, alongside side one shot in the wait on and further photos whereas she turn out to be lying on the bottom. She had been shot with 300 Blackout ammo from an AR-style rifle. Each of them were pronounced lifeless on the scene.