William McElveen — Direct/Cross
267 linesJUDGE NEWMAN: You can call your next witness.
MR. FERNANDEZ: The State calls William McElveen.
THE witness, WILLIAM MCELVEEN was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take a seat in the witness stand. State your name again. Spell your last name.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: My name is William McElveen.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. FERNANDEZ:
MR. FERNANDEZ: Mr. McElveen, how are you doing today?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Doing well. How are you?
MR. FERNANDEZ: Doing well. If you would, tell the jury a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up and where did you go to school?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I grew up in Columbia, South Carolina, and I went to AC Flora High School. I went to the Citadel after high school, graduated there in 2017. Went to get my master's at Clemson, graduated in 2018. Moved back to Charleston, worked for a CPA firm for awhile, and now I'm in finance for a home builder.
MR. FERNANDEZ: For where, sorry?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: For a home building company.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And where do you -- what area generally do you currently live?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I live in Charleston now.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Mr. Mcelveen, you were -- were you friends with Paul Murdaugh?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I was good friends.
MR. FERNANDEZ: All right. Well, tell us a little bit about when y'all first met.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: So, I lived in Edisto Beach every summer with my granddad and -- when I was growing up, and he was in Edisto all the time, so we just became close. Edisto is a small town. Not many young people live there, so the young people sort of stick together. We both loved fishing, hanging out, so we just became good friends through that.
MR. FERNANDEZ: So, you would spend the summers in Edisto?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's correct, yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And what kind things would you do throughout those summers?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Just hang out, work, fish.
MR. FERNANDEZ: What kind jobs did you get?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I worked multiple jobs there for five-ish summers. Worked marina a good bit, a restaurant called the Sea Cow. I worked at a reality company as an inspector and at the Bi-Lo as well.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay, and I think you just said that you met Paul about the high school years?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's correct.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay. Tell us a little bit about your friendship. How did it this start? How did it kind of evolve?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: It started just kind of common interests in fishing and hanging out. And then he was just a really fun guy, so we just got more and more -- and I started going to Moselle and hanging out with his whole family. They kind of took me in, and it just evolved from there.
MR. FERNANDEZ: So, did you get to know him pretty well?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, I did.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you get to know his family fairly well?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, I did.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Tell us a little bit about Paul.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Paul was just a really fun guy. He was just like the life of the party kind of guy. Everybody that really knew him loved him. I don't know, just a great guy, a very loyal friend. The kind of guy that's always there when you need him.
MR. FERNANDEZ: So, he was -- if you reached out and needed something, he --
JUDGE NEWMAN: Hold on. Can you pull your chair a little closer to the mic, please?
MR. FERNANDEZ: You might have to pull that mic closer to your mouth. Just try to speak into the microphone.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Okay.
MR. FERNANDEZ: So, was he sort of a responsive friend, meaning if you reached out to him, would he respond back?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, he was very responsive.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And how did you primarily communicate with him, what means?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Cell phone normally.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Phone calls or texts?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: A little bit of both, but mostly phone calls. He was a big phone caller.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Well, I guess that -- tell us a little bit about Paul's cell phone use. Did he like to use his cell phone?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: He did like to use his cell phone.
MR. FERNANDEZ: How would you describe it, his use of cell phone?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: He used his cell phone a lot. Kind of like every time we had a road trip or anything like that, he would use it to call all of his friends and just check in on everybody. He would speak with almost all of his friends. We would get a phone call from him almost every day, and then he would text a lot, Snapchat, that kind of stuff.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Was he on his phone quite a bit?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: To the point where it was -- was it very noticeable to his friends?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you ever have a -- did you have an opportunity to get to know Maggie Murdaugh?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, I did.
MR. FERNANDEZ: All right. Well, tell us about her. What was your observations about her, your -- whatever friendship y'all had.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: She was just a super sweet, sweet lady. She kind of always trusted Paul when he was with me because she would know he was staying out of trouble. She just treated all of Paul's friends like they were her kids. She was just a very nice lady.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And did she approve of you hanging out with Paul?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay. Tell us about that.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: About what? Sorry?
MR. FERNANDEZ: Well, did she ever comment to you about how she liked you hanging out with Paul?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yeah, she did.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And did you have an opportunity to get to know Alex Murdaugh?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I did.
MR. FERNANDEZ: All right, and what were your perceptions of him?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Kind of the same way with the rest of the family: just took everybody in, all of Paul's friends. He was kind of the dad of all of our friend group. It was same way with the rest of the family, yeah.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Is he here today?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Would you identify him?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes. He's in the brown jacket.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Thank you. Did you ever get to go out to the family property on Moselle?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, I did.
MR. FERNANDEZ: How often would you -- have you been out there visiting?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Probably thirty or forty times.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay. Did you spend the night when you went out there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, normally.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Tell us a little bit about the property. What kind of things would y'all do out there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Did a lot of hunting. Also probably more than hunting. Just hanging out, you know, just enjoying each other's company, hanging out.
MR. FERNANDEZ: So, you said about what, thirty or forty? Is that what you said?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's correct.
MR. FERNANDEZ: If you would, please, speak up a little bit. It's Okay, and out at the property, was there a main house location?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: There was, yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: All right. Was there a secondary location for kennels and a shed?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, there was.
MR. FERNANDEZ: All right. Did you spend much time out at that secondary location?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: A good bit, yeah.
MR. FERNANDEZ: All right. Describe that area for us, if you would. What was out there, and what would you do out there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: So, it's like a big shed hangar that the side comes out. We would all hang out over there, and there's the dog kennels. And then a few years back they built the shed across from the hangar. It was just a good place to get away from the main house. We'd just hang out and talk.
MR. FERNANDEZ: If you all were visiting -- if you were visiting Moselle, would you spend most of your time hanging around that shed, the hangar area?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Depends. For large groups, we would have people over there more often. If it was just me and Paul and the family, we would just hang out at the house.
MR. FERNANDEZ: You mentioned kennels. Were there a number of dogs on the property?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: There were, yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay. Did you -- do you remember them?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay. Tell us about the dog you remembered and -- well, first of all, were there kind of -- two different kinds of dogs between family dogs or working dogs?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay. Did you get to know any of the family dogs?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Who were they? Tell us about those dogs.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Bubba is a yellow lab, and then Bourbon, a brown lab, and then Brady is a black lab. And they were all pretty relaxed, would hang out around the house mostly, but I don't know. They were just good dogs.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did they -- and when you slept over there, did the dogs sleep at the house location, the main house?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, they did. The family dogs did, the labs.
MR. FERNANDEZ: The family dogs.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And then there were some working dogs that -- where would they stay, the working dogs?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: They would stay in the kennels by the shed.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Let me ask you the location. So the Moselle location, when you started going there, did it have one or two entrances and exists?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Two entrances.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Okay, and describe the two entrances.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: So, one was the main entrance that was -- had the brick pillar outside, and that would just kind of, like, go to the house. Not really pass anything. Go through some trees. The other entrance would be next to the cabin right behind the shed, and that entrance would kind of go multiple ways when you go in there, but that passes by the cabin and the sheds, and then goes to the house as well.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And would that entrance, is that where the mailbox was located?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I believe -- I can't remember where the mailbox is. I believe that was at the pillars at the main entrance maybe.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Is that the location near the dog kennels, that second exit we're talking about?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Was there one exit that was used more often than the other?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: We probably more often used the one by the sheds.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Have you ever -- if there was ever a time when someone was leaving the house and you all were down at the kennels, what was the normal course of action for that person, whether it was Mr. or Ms. Murdaugh?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Say that again.
MR. FERNANDEZ: If anyone was leaving the house or coming back and you all were down at the shed area, the kennel area, what was the normal course of action for Mr. and Ms. Murdaugh if they were leaving the house and exiting and you were down there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Typically they would come and check on us and drive by and just say hey.
MR. FERNANDEZ: That was normal?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I would say it's normal, yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you -- with Paul, were you guys close enough where you shared your location with each other?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: We did quite a lot.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Tell us what that means. Is this an Iphone?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yeah. It's the app on Find My friends on Iphone.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And what does it mean to actually share your location to anyone?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: It just means at any point in time, you can open your phone and see where all of your friends are and pinpoint their exact location.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you do that with many people?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Probably five or ten.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Do you know if Paul did that with many people?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I don't think Paul did it with many people, no.
MR. FERNANDEZ: When you spent time down at the hangar and the kennels, was it common for firearms to be stored down there or left down there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Not common, no.
MR. FERNANDEZ: In those times you said you'd been out there about thirty or forty times, did you -- I mean, how would you explain common? Was it -- was it something that you would frequently see or not frequently?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I can't remember a time I've seen firearms left at the sheds.
MR. FERNANDEZ: When is the last time you saw Paul Murdaugh?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: June 5th, I think, two days before.
MR. FERNANDEZ: That weekend before the Monday --
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: -- June 7th?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Tell us about that weekend.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I can't remember much. We were hanging out at my friends' houses. I think we went to a bar called the Wind Jammer in Charleston, but I don't remember much from the weekend.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you see him on Sunday?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I don't think I saw him on Sunday, no.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did he stay at your house that weekend?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I don't think so. My friends and I were talking about that and we can't remember if it was my house or one of my other friend's houses.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Would Paul commonly stay at -- when he was visiting Charleston, would you crash at people's houses?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes. He normally stayed at our house.
MR. FERNANDEZ: But you don't remember if that particular time he did or not?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I don't remember.
MR. FERNANDEZ: How were you kind of told about the murders? How did you find out?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: So, I missed a few calls in the middle of the night that, that I didn't wake up to. The next morning my roommate came to my room and told me.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And your roommate is who?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Frank Chapman.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And he told you what happened?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you make it out to the property at all?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes. The next day I went out to the property.
MR. FERNANDEZ: So, the 8th of June?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: And walk us through what happened out there when you made it to the property. Where did you go?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: We just went to the main house and just went to see the family and just be with everybody.
MR. FERNANDEZ: A lot of friends and family were there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: A good bit of friends and family, yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Did you attend the funeral as well?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I did, yes.
MR. FERNANDEZ: Beg the Court's indulgence.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. FERNANDEZ: No further questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: By the defense?
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. GRIFFIN:
MR. GRIFFIN: Good afternoon.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Afternoon.
MR. GRIFFIN: Mr. Mcelveen, where are you from originally?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I'm from Columbia, South Carolina.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and are you friends with Wills Chapman and Frank Chapman and Will Loving --
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I am, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- and that crowd? Okay, and so you met with Paul, I take it, down at Edisto with the Columbia group?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yep.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you became really good friends of Paul's, correct?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And I think you described him as a loyal friend, did you not?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you became close not only to Paul but to the entire Murdaugh family, right?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: You know, there are houses that kids, teenagers, young adults congregate at their parents' house. Was the Murdaugh house at Edisto one of those houses where people would congregate?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: It was, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you spent a lot of time at Edisto there in the summers?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I did, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you spent time around Alex and Paul and Buster and Maggie. Is that correct?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And how would you describe Alex's relationship with Paul?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: They had a very good relationship; they were kind of best friends in a way.
MR. GRIFFIN: They were close?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Very close.
MR. GRIFFIN: And how -- from your observations, how would you describe Alex's relationship with Maggie?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: From everything I've seen it was great, too. Nothing -- I've never seen anything negative.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right, and they liked for Paul to be -- hang around you and -- right?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: I mean, I think you were asked about that. You strike me as someone who's very responsible. Did they like that about you you think?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: They did. I think so.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you strike me as someone who, if you're down at Moselle, would not leave guns laying around. You wouldn't do that, would you?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Probably not, no, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: So when you were with Paul, you know, hunting, you were responsible enough to be sure that guns got put away properly, correct?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: You were asked about some of their dogs. Actually, Paul had a puppy, did he not?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: He did.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you have that puppy now?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I do.
MR. GRIFFIN: What's his name?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: His name is Goose.
MR. GRIFFIN: How is he doing?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: He's doing great.
MR. GRIFFIN: Glad to hear that. And you described the three labs: Bubba, the yellow lab; Bourbon, the brown lab; and Brady the black lab.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And when you were at Moselle, these were family dogs and they stayed up at the residence?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: That's right.
MR. GRIFFIN: And up at the residence they had an invisible electric fence around the house, correct?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I didn't know about it, but possibly so.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Well, was Bubba a handful and just take off sometimes?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Sometimes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right, and you don't know -- when was the last time you were at Moselle?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I can't remember.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was it in 2021?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Most likely.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Were the dogs there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I can't remember.
MR. GRIFFIN: When you heard that Paul had been murdered, did Will Loving come down to your house in Charleston, or was it another friend's house?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Will went to another friend's, but I think he came to our house later in the day, but we had a group at our house as well.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then you went to Moselle?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: The next day we went to Moselle.
MR. GRIFFIN: Would that have been on that Wednesday? The murders were Monday night, you know, late.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: So, I guess that Wednesday we went to Moselle.
MR. GRIFFIN: So, not the Tuesday but the Wednesday.
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I believe that's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And who all went with you?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: I think Frank Chapman went with me, and that might be it.
MR. GRIFFIN: And who was there when you got there? Well, were any other of Paul -- were any -- any other friends of Paul there when you got there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Rogan was there and Nolen was. There might have been --
MR. GRIFFIN: And what was --
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: There might have been a couple of more, but I'm not sure.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. What was Alex Murdaugh's demeanor when you saw him?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Just sad, crying.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did y'all hug?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: We did hug, yeah.
MR. GRIFFIN: I mean, did he -- he was crying?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did you go back over to Moselle after the funeral?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: Yes, I did.
MR. GRIFFIN: Were there a bunch of Paul's friends there?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: There were, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And can you tell me, was Alex, was he still crying, hugging all of Paul's friends?
WILLIAM MCELVEEN: He was still crying. There were so many people there that it was kind of a line to see him, but from the little bit I saw him, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: One second, Your Honor.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. GRIFFIN: I don't have anything further.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. FERNANDEZ: Nothing, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you. You may step down.
(The witness exited the stand.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: We'll take a fifteen minute break. I'm addressing the jury, a fifteen minute break.
(The jury left the courtroom.)
(A break was taken.)