Barbara Mixson — Direct/Cross
173 linesJUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you. Your next witness.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you, Your Honor. Defense calls Barbara Ann Mixson.
The witness, BARBARA ANN MIXSON, was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take a seat in the witness stand. You can adjust the mic if you need to. State your name again for the record, please, ma'am.
BARBARA MIXSON: Barbara Ann Mixson.
COURT CLERK: And spell your last name.
BARBARA MIXSON: M-i-x-s-o-n.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GRIFFIN:
MR. GRIFFIN: You can have a seat, please. Will you pull that mic close to you? Ms. Mixon, will you tell the jury a little bit about yourself, where you're from, how old are you, and what do you do?
BARBARA MIXSON: My name is Barbara Mixson, and I'm from Varnville, South Carolina, and I'm a widow. I have four daughters, five grands, two great grands, and I do housekeeping and care for Ms. Elizabeth Murdaugh, and I'm seventy-one years old.
MR. GRIFFIN: Seventy-one years, and how long have you been doing housekeeping for Ms. Libby Murdaugh?
BARBARA MIXSON: Forty-two years.
MR. GRIFFIN: Forty-two years, and you did housekeeping for Mr. Randolph Murdaugh when he was alive, I take it?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you know all of Murdaugh children, Randy and Lynn and John Marvin and Alex?
BARBARA MIXSON: Know them just as good as I know my kids. They are my kids, also.
MR. GRIFFIN: They're part of your family.
BARBARA MIXSON: That's right.
MR. GRIFFIN: And are you part of their family?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: How well do you know Alex sitting here in the courtroom?
BARBARA MIXSON: Just like I know one of my kids.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you love him like one of yours?
BARBARA MIXSON: I sure do.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you know Maggie?
BARBARA MIXSON: I knowed her real well. She was like a daughter and a friend.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you talk to her frequently?
BARBARA MIXSON: Every day.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did you know Paul?
BARBARA MIXSON: I sure did.
MR. GRIFFIN: How often would you see Paul?
BARBARA MIXSON: I would see Paul practically every week. He would call down and see M and Handsome, and then I would be there during the day. And some days he would come by my house and see me.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right, and you know Buster.
BARBARA MIXSON: I sure do.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he's sitting in the courtroom today?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: You've had a chance to see him?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: I'm not going to take a whole lot of time, Ms. Mixson, but will you just give the jury a little bit of an understanding of how frequently Alex would go by and check on his mom and dad over, say, the last ten years?
BARBARA MIXSON: Probably every day when I'm there. I see him every day, and I'm there Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Sometimes I have to work on Saturday and Sunday and he would come by.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what time of day -- I guess the hours that you worked over at -- did you call the place Almeda? Did you call it Almeda?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what are your normal hours there at Almeda?
BARBARA MIXSON: 8:00 to 3:00.
MR. GRIFFIN: And has it always been 8:00 to 3:00 for --
BARBARA MIXSON: 8:00 to 3:00, always.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you took some time off when your husband was sick, and then you went back to work. Do you remember when you went back to work?
BARBARA MIXSON: My husband passed on January 2nd of 2019, and I went back to work in August of 2019.
MR. GRIFFIN: And during that period of time, you were working 8:00 to 3:00?
BARBARA MIXSON: 8:00 to 3:00.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and I think you said Alex would come by frequently to check on his mom and dad.
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Would Maggie come with him?
BARBARA MIXSON: Well, not through the week. I would mostly see Maggie on Fridays, or she might stop by like that, but Alex would come through the week by himself.
MR. GRIFFIN: And I think you mentioned Paul would visit.
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: I just want to go to June 7th. Do you remember that awful day, Ms. Mixson?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you talk to Maggie that day?
BARBARA MIXSON: I talked to her on June -- I talked to her on June the 9th. I think it was between 7:00 and maybe 7:30.
MR. GRIFFIN: June the 7th is when she was murdered.
BARBARA MIXSON: That's right, June the 7th.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you talked to her that evening?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And do you remember what y'all talked about?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: What did you talk about?
BARBARA MIXSON: She said, Barbara, I was trying to reach you before I left to go to Summerville. I had to take my mama to the doctor and I couldn't get ahold of you, but I am going to fix supper for the Murdaughs and for your family for Wednesday night because Thursday I've got to go take my daddy to the doctor. And she said, oh, Barbara, I'm going to call you back. She said no, hold on a minute, that it's either Alex or Buster calling me. She said I tell you what. I'll call you back when I unload the car. And I never got the call back.
MR. GRIFFIN: Is that the last time you talked to her?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And the last conversation you had with her she was planning to make you dinner. Is that right?
BARBARA MIXSON: Dinner for me and her in-laws, yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: What was happening on June the 7th? Do you remember Mr. Randolph, what his situation was?
BARBARA MIXSON: Well, John Marvin came to take Mr. Randolph to the doctor, and then I remember that part because he was real sick.
MR. GRIFFIN: And, and after John Marvin took Mr. Randolph to the doctor, do you remember that Mr. Randolph got checked into the hospital that day?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Do you remember calling Alex --
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- on the afternoon of June 7th?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what did you talk about?
MR. MEADORS: Objection to hearsay.
MR. GRIFFIN: What did you talk about?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Objection is overruled.
MR. GRIFFIN: What did you talk about, Ms. Mixson?
BARBARA MIXSON: I called Alex. Well, first I always called Christy. First I couldn't get Christy, so then I said, well, let me call Alex. So, I called Alex. I said Alex, your mama is very agitated; she is crying. I give her her medicine, and I want you to come check on her later on during the day. And he said okay, I will.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was Ms. Libby agitated?
BARBARA MIXSON: Because Mr. Randolph had done gone to the hospital.
MR. GRIFFIN: And she was, in fact, agitated. Is that right?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what do you mean by agitated?
BARBARA MIXSON: Well, she was crying a lot, and I couldn't get her to eat, and she just, you know, she was just agitated. She wasn't --
MR. GRIFFIN: And I'm going to show an exhibit that's in evidence.
MR. GRIFFIN: Doug, if you could pull up State's Exhibit 520 and go to page 21, which is the Rudofski extraction, the long version.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. GRIFFIN: Ms. Mixson, can you see there's an entry on this timeline at 3:58:39, Alex Murdaugh received an incoming call from Barbara Mixson. Do you see that?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you think that's when you called Alex?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that was on June 7th, for the record. All right, you can take that down, Doug.
MR. GRIFFIN: How did you learn about Maggie and Paul?
BARBARA MIXSON: Well, I was sitting on my porch and my daughter -- and she's in the courtroom, Shirley, Officer Stacy Loadholt -- came and pulled up. Shirley, my daughter that's in the courtroom, she jumped out of the car and told me, said Alex found Maggie and Paul dead.
MR. GRIFFIN: So, a police officer came to your house?
BARBARA MIXSON: Two of them. It was Stacy Loadholt and then another one, and I said could I go out there? And they said no, you can't go out there.
MR. GRIFFIN: And, Ms. Mixson, that was a Monday night. Do you remember Mr. Randolph dying on a Thursday, passing on a Thursday?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. That was June 10th.
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And do you remember that Mr. Randolph -- well, the funeral for Maggie and Paul was that Saturday. Do you remember the funeral services at the graveyard for Maggie and Paul on that Saturday?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Mr. Randolph's funeral was on that Sunday. Do you remember that?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And the next day was a Monday. Did you work that day?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what time did you come to work?
BARBARA MIXSON: 8:00 -- well, about -- excuse me, 5 minutes to 8:00.
MR. GRIFFIN: And who did you relieve?
BARBARA MIXSON: Shelley Smith.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. So, Shelley worked the night shift, and you came on at 5 til 8:00?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir, released her.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you work that Tuesday?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what time did you get to work?
BARBARA MIXSON: 5 minutes until 8:00.
MR. GRIFFIN: And were you relieving Ms. Shelley Smith?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: What about that Wednesday?
BARBARA MIXSON: I relieved Shelley Smith 5 minutes to 8:00.
MR. GRIFFIN: All right, and then, Ms. Mixson, on any of those days, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday when you relieved Ms. Shelley Smith, did you see a tarp opened up anywhere in Ms. Libby's house?
BARBARA MIXSON: No, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Any -- no blue tarp. You didn't see no blue tarp --
MR. MEADORS: Objection to the leading.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- on a rocking chair?
BARBARA MIXSON: No, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Have you ever seen a blue tarp laid out in the house?
BARBARA MIXSON: I never seen a blue tarp laid out in the house, never.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you relieved Ms. Shelley every day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, of that week?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: All right.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you. That's all of the questions I have, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: By the State?
MR. MEADORS: Very briefly.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. MEADORS:
MR. MEADORS: Good afternoon Ms. Mixson. How are you doing?
BARBARA MIXSON: I'm doing good. And you, sir?
MR. MEADORS: Been better, been worse. We met a few weeks ago.
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: Do you remember down at the --
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: -- not far from here.
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: You love Alex.
BARBARA MIXSON: I love all of them; they're like my children.
MR. MEADORS: They're like your family.
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: And we talked about that day before briefly, or that day the 7th like he just asked you. We talked about what you did that day and who you talked to, right?
BARBARA MIXSON: Yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: And you didn't tell us about that conversation you had with Alex that day, did you?
BARBARA MIXSON: No, sir.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. When -- have they talked to you about that recently? When is the first time you told anybody about that?
BARBARA MIXSON: I can't remember, but it has been -- I can't remember. It's been a little while. I can't remember.
MR. MEADORS: That's all. Thank you.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. GRIFFIN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you. You may step down.
MR. GRIFFIN: Your Honor, may this witness be excused?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Every witness who steps down is excused.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you.
(The witness exited the stand.)