Day 17 - February 16, 2023

Judge Clifton Newman reaffirmed that the defense had opened the door to evidence about Alex Murdaugh's relationship with Curtis Edward Smith, while leaving the permissible extent of that evidence for further discussion. Counsel agreed to streamline its presentation through SLED Agent Ryan Kelly, with the defense preserving its objection. Crime-scene expert Kenneth Kinsey reconstructed the shootings from photographs, measurements, wound paths, blood patterns, and other evidence. He placed Paul's fatal second shotgun wound near the feed-room doorway, rejected a contact or self-inflicted explanation, described the sequence of Maggie's rifle wounds, and opined that someone else placed Paul's phone on the back of his pants. On cross-examination, Kinsey acknowledged limits created by unscaled photographs, could not explain the absence of stippling in a close-range demonstration, and limited the tire evidence to an association with the nearby ATV tire or a similar tire. He maintained the principal trajectory conclusions on redirect and recross. The court also appointed Juror 826 as foreperson and emphasized that all jurors retained equal authority. Kelly then described the September 2021 roadside-shooting investigation. He testified that Murdaugh repeatedly reported an unknown shooter, although investigators found no matching roadway debris and recovered a knife bearing DNA profiles attributed to Murdaugh and Smith. Kelly traced surveillance images, calls, a matching pickup, and financial records to Smith, and the jury heard the 911 call and recorded interviews. Kelly said investigators had found no evidence connecting Smith to the Moselle killings.