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Alex Murdaugh— Case Archive
2023 Murder Trialtrial-daytrial-dayDavid A. FernandezSavannah M. GoudeJohnny E. JamesCreighton WatersJim GriffinDick HarpootlianJomar AlbayaldeChandler HorneyBlake JohnsonLawrence WigginsCarson BurneyTom DarnellPaul GreerJan MalinowskiTony Satterfielddirectcrossredirectrecrossvoir_direDay 8 - February 3, 2023Bank and in-camera tracing testimony addressed Murdaugh's debts and disputed disbursements, while forensic witnesses reported no identifiable prints and limited firearm comparisons.
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Day 8 - February 3, 2023

Bank and settlement tracing; fingerprint and firearm limits

Judge Clifton B. Newman
19Proceedings
9Pages
9Witnesses
2,457Lines
Day 8 of 27
Appearing:
David A. Fernandez Savannah M. Goude Johnny E. James Creighton Waters Jim Griffin Dick Harpootlian Jomar Albayalde Chandler Horney Blake Johnson Lawrence Wiggins Carson Burney Tom Darnell Paul Greer Jan Malinowski Tony Satterfield

Bank and in-camera tracing testimony addressed Murdaugh's debts and disputed disbursements, while forensic witnesses reported no identifiable prints and limited firearm comparisons.

Full day summary

Outside the jury's presence, Palmetto State Bank president Jan Malinowski testified that an August 2021 accounting placed Alex Murdaugh's direct and indirect indebtedness at $4.2 million. He described a $350,000 wire and a $400,000 deposit made without supporting loan documents at the time, and said a promissory note dated July 15 was generated later. On cross-examination, he confirmed that three executive-committee members approved the $750,000 loan and said Murdaugh's banking relationship had not, to his knowledge, been flagged by routine audits. In camera, Tony Satterfield testified that he continued to regard Murdaugh as his lawyer after being referred to Cory Fleming and was not told about settlements arising from Gloria Satterfield's death. Forensic accountant Carson Burney then traced funds the State alleged were stolen through Murdaugh-controlled accounts, including an approximately $2.9 million client-trust check. The tracing documents were admitted only for the Court's in-camera review, and the supplied proceedings do not include an admissibility ruling on Satterfield's testimony. Fingerprint examiner Tom Darnell reported no identifiable prints on the ammunition or firearms and insufficient detail to compare the contact evidence found on a phone. Firearms examiner Paul Greer concluded that two scene shotshells came from the same firearm, but comparison with the camouflage Benelli was inconclusive. Comparisons between the scene cartridge cases and the tested .300 Blackout rifle were also inconclusive, although mechanism marks showed that specified cases had previously cycled through the same firearm at an unknown time. The Court later requested briefing on whether statements allegedly made in counsel's and third parties' presence were privileged; no ruling followed in the supplied exchange.

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1. Jan Malinowski — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Recross

Outside the jury’s presence, Palmetto State Bank president Jan Malinowski testified about Alex Murdaugh’s debts, overdraft, loan records, collateral, and the bank’s handling of questioned disbursements before cross, redirect, and recross concluded his testimony.

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Direct
Jan MalinowskiCreighton Waters
398 lines

Bank CEO Jan Malinowski testified in camera that Alex Murdaugh carried substantial debt and received two disbursements totaling $750,000 before supporting loan documents were generated.

Cross
Jan MalinowskiJim Griffin
98 lines

Jan Malinowski testified that several Murdaugh accounts had positive balances on June 7, that the bank had historically extended him credit, and that three executive-committee members approved a later $750,000 loan.

Redirect
Jan MalinowskiCreighton Waters
59 lines

Jan Malinowski clarified the stated purpose of a $750,000 loan, the bank's claims against referenced properties, and how disclosure of financial misconduct would have ended continued overdraft coverage.

Recross
Jan MalinowskiJim Griffin
15 lines

Jan Malinowski could not quantify or confirm the suggested total of Alex Murdaugh's historical interest payments to Palmetto State Bank.

Highlights

Jan Malinowski - Direct“Yes, sir. As of the day of that memo that was presented to the executive committee, Mr. Murdaugh owed directly or indirectly $4.2 million.”— Jan MalinowskiMalinowski gave the bank's stated measure of Murdaugh's direct and indirect indebtedness as of the August 2021 memorandum.Jan Malinowski - Directtestimony highlightMalinowski testified that Norris Laffitte's August 9 request for a full accounting was followed by Russell Laffitte causing a $400,000 deposit that covered a large overdraft, with no supporting loan documents then in existence.Jan Malinowski - Directtestimony highlightMalinowski identified a promissory note dated July 15, 2021, but testified that its sequential loan number showed the document could not have existed in July and was generated after the August 9 email and disbursements.

2. Tony Satterfield — Direct/Cross

Tony Satterfield testified in camera about the handling of insurance claims and settlement proceeds after his mother Gloria Satterfield’s death, followed by brief cross-examination. The excerpt ends before an admissibility ruling.

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Direct
Tony SatterfieldCreighton Waters
207 lines

In an in-camera admissibility hearing, Tony Satterfield described trusting Alex Murdaugh to handle claims arising from Gloria Satterfield's death, receiving incomplete settlement information, and later learning that settlement proceeds had been diverted.

Cross
Tony SatterfieldJim Griffin
26 lines

Tony Satterfield said an article prompted renewed settlement inquiries, but he could not place his contact with Alex Murdaugh before or after Maggie and Paul Murdaugh's deaths.

Highlights

Tony Satterfield - Direct“He said if I understood him correctly, you know, I can't do it myself because there's a conflict of interest. I'm going to send you to my buddy Cory Fleming.”— Tony SatterfieldThe testimony describes how Satterfield understood Murdaugh's explanation for referring the matter to another attorney.Tony Satterfield - DirectadmissionSatterfield recalled a June 2021 conversation in which he was told the matter was still progressing and could settle by year's end; he said he was not told about the $505,000 or approximately $3.8 million settlements. He later agreed that he learned proceeds had been diverted and that he had received nothing from Murdaugh before a later legal process.

3. Carson Burney — Direct

Forensic accountant Carson Burney traced alleged stolen funds through Murdaugh-associated accounts during an in-camera examination.

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Direct
Carson BurneyJohnny E. James
254 lines

Forensic accountant Carson Burney traced alleged stolen funds through Murdaugh-controlled accounts and personal disbursements; Exhibits 373 through 397 were admitted for the Court's in-camera review.

Highlights

Carson Burney - Direct“You have to draw a line. Obviously you could follow money forever, forever, and forever, but for the purposes of my analysis, I looked at when they ultimately went out of an account controlled by Alex Murdaugh.”— Carson BurneyBurney stated the principal endpoint he used when tracing funds, defining the scope and limitation of his analysis.Carson Burney - Directevidence eventState's Exhibit 375 traced an approximately $2.9 million check through multiple accounts. Burney identified disbursements under several variations of Curtis Edward Smith's name and a $385,000 instrument to Randolph Murdaugh III.Carson Burney - Directprocedural actionThe defense stipulated to the documents' admissibility for the Court's in-camera review, and the tracing documents were presented as admitted and marked for in-camera purposes only.

4. Tom Darnell — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Voir Dire

SLED fingerprint examiner Tom Darnell testified about processing firearms, ammunition, and a phone, none of which produced fingerprint evidence suitable for comparison.

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Voir Dire
Tom DarnellSavannah M. Goude
20 lines

Tom Darnell described his fingerprint-analysis experience and training before the Court qualified him as an expert without defense objection.

Direct
Tom DarnellSavannah M. Goude
112 lines

Tom Darnell reported no identifiable fingerprints on the examined firearms, ammunition, magazine, or phone and described the touch DNA swabs admitted as State's Exhibits 307, 308, and 309.

Cross
Tom DarnellDick Harpootlian
100 lines

On cross-examination, Tom Darnell explained the limits of his laboratory examination, distinguished absent prints from prints unsuitable for comparison, and addressed how crime-scene fingerprint work should ordinarily be documented.

Redirect
Tom DarnellSavannah M. Goude
14 lines

Tom Darnell clarified that crime-scene personnel receive some fingerprint-processing training and that no bloody prints were submitted to him in this case.

Highlights

Tom Darnell - Directevidence eventSwabs from Item 25, a black iPhone with a clear case, were admitted as State's Exhibit 309; Darnell found signs of finger contact on the phone but insufficient detail for comparison.Tom Darnell - Direct“I did not find anything that I could identify. I found a very small amount of fingerprint evidence on the phone. The result that I had to render was what we refer to as no value for comparison, which what that simply means is that there was the evidence of someone's fingers having come in contact with the phone, but it just was not enough detail or not enough clarity for me to be able to compare it to anyone.”— Tom DarnellDarnell distinguished evidence of contact with the phone from a fingerprint detailed enough to identify or compare a person.

5. Blake Johnson — Direct

SLED investigator Blake Johnson identified buccal swabs from Claude Rowe and Connor Cook, which were admitted without objection.

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Direct
Blake JohnsonSavannah M. Goude
41 lines

SLED investigator Blake Johnson authenticated buccal swabs collected from Claude Rowe and Connor Cook, which were admitted as State's Exhibits 338 and 339 without objection.

6. Lawrence Wiggins — Direct

Lawrence Wiggins authenticated buccal swabs collected from Roger Davis and Anthony Cook, which were admitted without objection as State’s Exhibits 336 and 337.

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Direct
Lawrence WigginsSavannah M. Goude
35 lines

Lawrence Wiggins identified buccal swabs he collected from Roger Davis and Anthony Cook, and the court admitted them as State's Exhibits 336 and 337 without objection.

7. Chandler Horney — Direct

Chandler Horney identified sealed buccal swabs from Morgan Doughty and Miley Altman, which the court admitted without defense objection.

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Direct
Chandler HorneySavannah M. Goude
34 lines

SLED agent Chandler Horney identified buccal swabs from Morgan Doughty and Miley Altman, and State's Exhibit 340 was admitted without objection.

8. Jomar Albayalde — Direct

SLED agent Jomar Albayalde identified three sealed buccal-swab samples before the court admitted them without objection.

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Direct
Jomar AlbayaldeSavannah M. Goude
56 lines

SLED agent Jomar Albayalde authenticated three buccal samples, which were admitted as State's Exhibits 342, 343, and 344 without objection.

9. Paul Greer — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Voir Dire (Recall)

Firearms examiner Paul Greer completed qualification, direct examination, cross-examination, and redirect concerning ammunition comparisons and the limits of his conclusions. The day then turned to an unresolved attorney-client privilege issue involving statements allegedly made at a June 10 gathering.

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Voir Dire
Paul GreerDavid A. Fernandez
63 lines

Paul Greer outlined his firearms-examination training, experience, proficiency testing, and SLED laboratory controls before the court qualified him as an expert without defense objection.

Direct
Paul GreerDavid A. Fernandez
536 lines

Paul Greer identified six .300 Blackout cases as fired by a tested rifle, linked other cases through narrower cycling marks, and found the scene shotshells came from one firearm while the camouflage Benelli comparison remained inconclusive.

Cross
Paul GreerJim Griffin
287 lines

Paul Greer acknowledged inconclusive links between the tested firearms and scene ammunition while defending a narrower cycling-mark conclusion, his methodology, and SLED's review process.

Redirect
Paul GreerDavid A. Fernandez
66 lines

Paul Greer's report was admitted, and he defended firearms-examiner training, defined the limits of inconclusive comparisons, and reaffirmed a same-firearm cycling-mark conclusion for specified items.

Procedural
In-Camera Witness and Privilege Issues

The State sought permission to investigate statements allegedly made by Alex Murdaugh at a June 10 gathering, while the defense objected that the request was unauthorized discovery; the Court requested briefing and deferred a privilege ruling.

Highlights

Paul Greer - Directtestimony highlightGreer concluded that the two fired shotshells near the feed or storage room came from the same firearm, excluded three tested shotguns, and reported an inconclusive comparison with the camouflage Benelli shotgun.Paul Greer - Directtestimony highlightGreer testified that specified .300 Blackout cases recovered near Margaret Murdaugh, beside the house, and in the shooting area had matching mechanism marks showing prior passage through the same firearm.Paul Greer - Crosstestimony highlightGreer said the comparison between the fired shotshells and Item 22 was inconclusive and that he could not determine whether that shotgun or another firearm with similar characteristics fired them. He likewise said comparisons between Item 33 and the scene cartridge cases were inconclusive.Paul Greer - Cross“My result was inconclusive, and what that ultimately means is I'm not able to determine that. It's a possibility that it could have been fired by that shotgun, and it also could have been another firearm with similar characteristics.”— Paul GreerGreer expressly stated the limitation of his comparison between the scene shotshells and Item 22.In-Camera Witness and Privilege Issuesprocedural actionThe Court requested briefing on whether statements made in the presence of counsel and third parties were protected. Waters supplied one cited case and agreed to provide any additional authority Monday morning; the Court did not decide the privilege question during this exchange.
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