Skip to content
Alex Murdaugh— Case Archive
2023 Murder Trialtrial-daytrial-dayJohn B. ConradDavid A. FernandezJohn MeadorsCreighton WatersPhillip D. BarberJim GriffinDick HarpootlianMatthew WildBelinda RastMark TinsleyBlanca Turrubiate-SimpsonNathan Tutendirectcrossredirectprofferrecrossvoir_direDay 13 - February 10, 2023Tinsley addressed pressure from the civil case; Simpson described Moselle, clothing, and the kennel video; an FBI agent mapped phone records with stated limits.
← Day 122023 Murder TrialDay 14 →

Day 13 - February 10, 2023

Civil pressure, Moselle observations, and cell-phone mapping

Judge Clifton B. Newman
20Proceedings
5Pages
5Witnesses
3,119Lines
Day 13 of 27
Appearing:
John B. Conrad David A. Fernandez John Meadors Creighton Waters Phillip D. Barber Jim Griffin Dick Harpootlian Matthew Wild Belinda Rast Mark Tinsley Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson Nathan Tuten

Tinsley addressed pressure from the civil case; Simpson described Moselle, clothing, and the kennel video; an FBI agent mapped phone records with stated limits.

Full day summary

Mark Tinsley traced the scheduling, continuance, and cancellation of a civil hearing intended to identify Alex Murdaugh's bank accounts. He said he would have pursued subpoenas and further litigation, and testified that sympathy arising from apparent vigilante violence would have effectively ended the civil claim. Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson testified that Maggie said Alex wanted her and Paul to return to Moselle. Simpson described the damp towel and khaki pants she found near the shower the next morning, the clothing she did not recall seeing again, and an August conversation that she felt was intended to convince her which shirt Alex had worn. She also identified Paul, Maggie, and Alex as the three voices on the kennel video. Outside the jury's presence, the court allowed testimony about Maggie's concerns over the civil lawsuit, denied a mistrial motion, and later excluded other proposed testimony as hearsay. On cross-examination, Simpson said she saw no blood in the bathroom, described unreliable cellular service, and qualified several clothing identifications. Belinda Rast explained that she exchanged her scheduled June 7 caregiving shift with Shelley Smith and described an unusual visit by Alex and Maggie the preceding night. FBI agent Matthew Wild then mapped available phone records, including Paul's phone near the kennels and the kennel video's media-location entry. He said tower coverage meant Alex's 911 call could have originated at Moselle but did not prove that it did, and emphasized that the records could not identify who possessed a phone. Cross-examination established additional limits, including the absence of tower-location data from Verizon text messages and no useful post-7:50 p.m. tower data for Maggie's phone. Nathan Tuten identified family firearms and the three voices on the kennel video. He testified that Alex frequently sent him to cash checks and return the cash, while acknowledging that he did not know what happened to the money afterward. Tuten also described Paul's handling of guns and his nonspecific reports of threats after the boating accident.

Video thumbnail8:50:55
Watch →

1. Mark Tinsley — Direct/Cross/Redirect (Recall, Continued)

Mark Tinsley’s testimony opened Day 15 with the postponed June 10 hearing concerning Alex Murdaugh’s bank accounts, followed by cross-examination about life insurance and the hearing’s likely effect and redirect about further efforts to obtain financial records.

→
Direct
Mark TinsleyCreighton Waters
153 lines

Mark Tinsley traced the financial-discovery hearing's continuance to June 10, its cancellation after the killings, and the effect a vigilante-victim perception would have had on the civil claim against Alex Murdaugh.

Cross
Mark TinsleyPhillip D. Barber
26 lines

Mark Tinsley testified that he did not believe Maggie, Paul, or Alex had life insurance and qualified his prior statement about whether the June 10 hearing would have caused an immediate financial "explosion."

Redirect
Mark TinsleyCreighton Waters
45 lines

Mark Tinsley said the motion to compel was intended to pressure Alex Murdaugh and could begin a continuing process of subpoenas and litigation over access to his account records.

Highlights

Mark Tinsley - Directtestimony highlightTinsley testified that, if Alex Murdaugh had appeared to be the victim of vigilante violence, the resulting sympathy would have effectively ended the civil claim against him.Mark Tinsley - Direct“If Alex is the victim of a vigilante, nobody is going to hold him accountable.”— Mark TinsleyTinsley stated his assessment of how a vigilante-victim perception would affect the civil claim and jury sympathy.

2. Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson — Direct/Proffer/Cross/Redirect/Recross

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson testified about Maggie’s return to Moselle, Alex Murdaugh’s clothing, and conditions she found at the house after the killings. Her examination included two proffers, rulings on hearsay and a mistrial request, and detailed cross-examination about clothing, family communications, guns, cellular service, and her observations.

→
Direct
Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors
620 lines

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson testified about Maggie's June 7 communications, Alex's clothing, unusual conditions inside Moselle the next morning, missing wardrobe items, and a later conversation about which shirt Alex had worn.

proffer
Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - ProfferJohn Meadors
27 lines

Simpson proffered Maggie Murdaugh's reported anxiety about a $30 million lawsuit; the court found the testimony responsive to the defense's family portrayal, overruled the objection, and denied a mistrial.

Direct
Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors
83 lines

Simpson identified Alex, Maggie, and Paul as the three voices on the kennel video, described Maggie's lawsuit concerns and kennel habits, and addressed phone use, bathroom conditions, and clothing shown in a frame from the June 7 video.

Cross
Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonDick Harpootlian
253 lines

Simpson described Alex and Maggie's relationship, qualified what she knew about the Moselle search and Alex's clothing, said she saw no visible blood in the bathroom, and testified about unreliable cell service and Alex's later shirt conversation.

proffer
Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - ProfferCreighton Waters
38 lines

Simpson denied that Alex Murdaugh mentioned a recent SLED interview during their August shirt conversation, and the court sustained a hearsay objection after contested argument.

Cross
Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonDick Harpootlian
196 lines

Simpson addressed firearms routinely left around Moselle, limits on her clothing identification, Maggie's June 7 texts and plans, and the timing of SLED's questions about Alex's clothing.

Redirect
Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonJohn Meadors
54 lines

Simpson clarified her observations of shirts and a rain jacket, described new clothing Alex acquired after the killings, compared exhibit images, and testified that Maggie texted that Alex wanted her to come to Moselle.

Recross
Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonDick Harpootlian
57 lines

Simpson qualified her clothing identifications from a still or frozen frame of the previously admitted June 7 video, saying the shirt was only Columbia-style, it was not what Alex wore when leaving that morning, and the khakis were only a possible match.

Highlights

Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - Directevidence eventAt Moselle on June 8, Simpson found refrigerated pots, neatly arranged pajamas and underwear in a doorway, a damp towel, and khaki pants near the shower; she moved the towel and pants and later washed the pants.Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - DirectconfrontationSimpson recounted an August conversation in which Alex referred to a different shirt as the one he had worn on June 7; she testified that the conversation confused her because she remembered fixing the collar of a polo shirt when he left the house.Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - ProfferrulingThe court denied the defense motion for a mistrial in connection with its ruling on the objection.Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - Direct“She said she knew the amount of money that they were asking, but she felt that Alex was not being truthful to her with regard to what exactly was going on with that lawsuit. She said he doesn't tell me everything.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson attributed to Maggie both concern about the lawsuit and a belief that Alex was withholding information from her.Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - Directevidence eventAfter State's Exhibit 297 was played, Simpson identified Paul, Maggie, and Alex as the three voices. She acknowledged that she had previously thought she might hear another voice at a distance, but said repeated listening led her to conclude there were only three.Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson - Cross“It didn't feel like he was inquiring. It felt more like he was trying to convince me of the shirt that he was wearing.”— Blanca Turrubiate-SimpsonSimpson resisted the defense's characterization of the August shirt conversation and preserved the interpretation she had given on direct examination.

7. Belinda Rast — Direct/Cross

Belinda Rast described the Murdaugh family’s visits while she cared for Libby Murdaugh, including Alex and Maggie’s visit to Randolph the night before the killings. Cross-examination addressed the timing and unusual nature of that visit, Libby’s decline, and Paul’s rapport with her.

→
Direct
Belinda RastDavid A. Fernandez
128 lines

Belinda Rast testified that she exchanged her scheduled June 7 caregiving shift with Shelley Smith and, qualifying the date as "on the 6th, I think it was," recalled Alex and Maggie bringing Randolph donuts the night before Maggie and Paul were killed.

Cross
Belinda RastDick Harpootlian
42 lines

Belinda Rast maintained that Alex and Maggie Murdaugh's Sunday-night visit was unusual, placed it closer to 9 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes, and described Libby Murdaugh's dementia and Paul's calming effect on her.

8. Matthew Wild — Direct/Cross/Redirect/Voir Dire

Matthew Wild was qualified as a historical cell-phone location expert and presented his mapping of the Murdaugh family’s phone records before addressing the analysis’s limits on cross-examination and redirect.

→
Voir Dire
Matthew WildJohn B. Conrad
37 lines

Matthew Wild described his FBI CAST duties, training, and prior expert qualifications before the defense declined to object and the court qualified him in historical cell-phone location analysis.

Direct
Matthew WildJohn B. Conrad
653 lines

Matthew Wild mapped Paul, Maggie, and Alex Murdaugh's phones using call records, device data, and drive tests, while stressing that the records did not identify who held a device. He found the 911 call compatible with a Moselle location despite its use of a Varnville-area tower and traced Alex's phone through Almeda-, Summerville-, and Hampton-area sectors from June 8-15.

Cross
Matthew WildPhillip D. Barber
96 lines

Matthew Wild identified limits in the Verizon maps, including missing text-message location data, unrecorded tower handoffs, no relevant GPS data for Maggie or Alex, and no phone-movement comparison. He also clarified the 911 timestamp difference, the report's June 15 endpoint, and the limited scope of his confirmed third-party phone review.

Redirect
Matthew WildJohn B. Conrad
18 lines

Matthew Wild clarified that the absence of Verizon tower-location data for Maggie Murdaugh's phone after 7:50 p.m. prevented him from comparing its location with another phone.

Highlights

Matthew Wild - Direct“That's correct. I have no idea whose hand that phone was in all during each one of these calls. All we know is that was the phone that we believe he was using.”— Matthew WildWild expressly separated a phone's inferred location from the identity of the person possessing it.Matthew Wild - Directtestimony highlightWild mapped Paul Murdaugh's phone to within 56 meters of the dog kennels at 8:38:07 p.m. and linked the 8:44:55 p.m. media-location record to the kennel video, while noting that the video record lacked an accuracy number.Matthew Wild - Directtestimony highlightAddressing the 10:06:31 p.m. 911 call, Wild explained that the Varnville-area tower's lower-frequency signal reached farther and that drive-test measurements showed coverage from that tower at Moselle; he concluded that Alex Murdaugh's phone could have been at Moselle, not that the records proved its origin there.

9. Nathan Tuten — Direct/Cross/Redirect

Nathan Tuten completed direct, cross, and redirect testimony about the Murdaugh family, Moselle firearms, the kennel video, cash errands for Alex Murdaugh, and conditions around the kennels before the court recessed for the weekend.

→
Direct
Nathan TutenDavid A. Fernandez
396 lines

Nathan Tuten identified family firearms and the three voices on the kennel video, and said Alex Murdaugh very frequently sent him to cash checks until, he believed, a few weeks before the murders.

Cross
Nathan TutenJim Griffin
132 lines

Nathan Tuten qualified his knowledge of Alex Murdaugh's cash deliveries and the family's .300 Blackout rifles, described Paul's firearm and phone habits, and recounted nonspecific threats Paul reported after the boating accident.

Redirect
Nathan TutenDavid A. Fernandez
65 lines

Nathan Tuten said he was unaware of threats to Maggie, described kennel cleaning and lighting, and said Paul commonly carried his phone in his back pocket while working outside.

Highlights

Nathan Tuten - Directtestimony highlightTuten said Alex Murdaugh very frequently sent him to cash checks at Palmetto State Bank and return the cash to Alex's office; Tuten believed those requests stopped a few weeks before the murders.
← Day 122023 Murder TrialDay 14 →