Angela Stallings — Direct
68 linesThe witness, ANGELA STALLINGS, was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take a seat. State your name again for the record. Spell your last name.
ANGELA STALLINGS: Angela Stallings. S-t-a-l-l-i-n-g-s.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MS. GOUDE:
MS. GOUDE: Hey, Captain Stallings.
ANGELA STALLINGS: Good afternoon.
MS. GOUDE: Could you please tell the jury where you work?
ANGELA STALLINGS: I work at the Colleton County Sheriff's Office.
MS. GOUDE: And how long have you worked there?
ANGELA STALLINGS: For approximately fifteen years with the sheriff's office.
MS. GOUDE: What are some of your duties and responsibilities at the sheriff's office?
ANGELA STALLINGS: I am the Administrative Services captain. I oversee the 911 center. I'm over our Civil Process Division, court security, our school resource officers, our sex offender registry division, training, supply, and the hiring process, and records.
MS. GOUDE: That's quite a lot of duties there.
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: And in the course of your duties, do you keep records of 911 calls?
ANGELA STALLINGS: We do.
MS. GOUDE: Can you explain to the jury what happens when a 911 call comes into Colleton County?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am. So, when a call comes into Colleton County, it hits our recorder system. As soon as the call connects to the recorder and starts ringing, our recorder automatically starts recording automatically. It starts recording before we even answer the phone.
MS. GOUDE: And is a recording of all 911 calls that come into Colleton County Center kept?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am, they are.
MS. GOUDE: And how are the records kept?
ANGELA STALLINGS: They're kept on our server that is the Carolina Recording Software System that we use.
MS. GOUDE: Who has access to those records?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Myself and one other employee.
MS. GOUDE: Now, is it normal for y'all to have calls routed from Hampton County to Colleton County?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: Why does that happen?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Depending on the location of the call within the county. We border several counties. Depending on -- if it's a cell phone that is calling 911, depending on the closest available cell tower, it will hit that tower. Wherever that tower is located, it routes to that PSAP.
MS. GOUDE: All right. On June 7th of 2021, did Colleton County receive a transferred 911 call from Hampton County?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am, we did.
MS. GOUDE: And what time did that call come in?
ANGELA STALLINGS: May I look at my notes?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes.
ANGELA STALLINGS: That call came in at 22:07:09, which is 10:07:09 p.m.
MS. GOUDE: And the notes you're referencing up there, that's the kind of report that's generated when the call comes in, or what are you looking at?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am. This is a report that's generated through our recorder software.
MS. GOUDE: So, you received a call from 10:07 p.m.
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am.
MS. GOUDE: Who was that call from?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Hampton County.
MS. GOUDE: And who was the caller?
ANGELA STALLINGS: The caller was Alex Murdaugh.
MS. GOUDE: I'm showing you State's Exhibit 11. Do you recognize State's Exhibit 11?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am, I do.
MS. GOUDE: What is it?
ANGELA STALLINGS: It's a disc of a 911 call.
MS. GOUDE: And how do you know that?
ANGELA STALLINGS: It has my initials and date that I reviewed it.
MS. GOUDE: And this is a true and accurate depiction of the 911 call made by Alex Murdaugh?
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am, it is.
MS. GOUDE: Your Honor, at this time I would move State's Exhibit 11 into evidence.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted without objection.
MS. GOUDE: Thank you, Your Honor.
(DVD OF 911 CALL MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 11 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(The 911 audio was played. Audio not transcribed.)
MS. GOUDE: And Captain Stallings, there's a break between parts of this call. Why is that?
ANGELA STALLINGS: The way our recorder system is set up, if there is a pause with either the call taker or the caller not talking, the recorder automatically cuts off. As soon as it starts to hear someone talking, it automatically kicks back on and starts recording.
(The 911 call continued to play.)
MS. GOUDE: Thank you, Captain Stallings. The State has no further questions.
ANGELA STALLINGS: Yes, ma'am.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No questions, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: All right. Thank you. You may step down.
ANGELA STALLINGS: Thank you.
(The witness exited the stand.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: You may call your next witness.
MS. GOUDE: Barry McRoy.