Laura Rutland described the Moselle scene, Alex Murdaugh's first recorded interview, and her observation that he appeared clean, while cross-examination established limits in the initial questioning and visual inspection. Dalila Cirencione and Melinda Worley then addressed evidence custody and scene processing, including phone handling, footwear impressions, a mislabeled shell, and qualified presumptive testing of clothing.
Full day summary
Before the jury entered, the prosecution clarified that photographs and drone videos had already been admitted during Captain Chapman's testimony without defense objection. Detective Laura Rutland then described obtaining the Moselle search warrant, assisting SLED, and observing the victims, shell casings, biological material, window defects, and footwear impressions. Alex Murdaugh's first recorded interview was admitted and played, although its audio is not transcribed in the supplied record. Rutland recounted that Murdaugh reported napping, visiting his mother, checking the victims' pulses, trying to turn Paul over, and handling Paul's phone, but did not report an earlier visit to the kennels. She saw no apparent blood on him. On cross-examination, she acknowledged that this was an ordinary visual inspection, that investigators had not asked several follow-up questions about his account, and that everyone was initially considered a suspect. She later said his clothes appeared fresh because he was sweating while they remained dry, while allowing that they could have come from the laundry.
SLED Agent Dalila Cirencione established custody of the victims' buccal swabs and a phone whose owner she did not know. The swabs were admitted, while the phone was marked for identification only. Cirencione disclaimed expertise in electronic evidence and knew of no special isolation instructions, but testified that the phone was handled with gloves, sealed in a paper bag, and taken directly to the forensic laboratory.
After Melinda Worley was accepted as an expert in footwear and tire impressions, she described processing the kennel area and collecting firearms evidence, projectiles, biological material, and impressions. She said feed-room impressions were consistent with Paul's shoe outsole design. Worley acknowledged mistakenly labeling a 16-gauge shell as 12-gauge. She also described presumptive-positive reactions on areas of Murdaugh's shirt and shorts, while explaining that the reagent could react to substances other than blood and would eventually discolor treated material. Several items remained marked for identification pending additional chain-of-custody or analysis testimony, while a cartridge case recovered from a Ford F150 was admitted over a defense relevance objection.
9:02:01