Brian Varnadoe — Direct/Cross/Redirect
394 linesJUDGE NEWMAN: Yes, sir, thank you. You may call your next witness.
MR. MEADORS: May it please the Court, Your Honor? The State of South Carolina now calls -- would now call Dathan Varnadoe.
The witness, DATHAN BRIAN VARNADOE, was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take your seat. State your full name again for the record. Spell your last name.
BRIAN VARNADOE: My name is Dathan Brian Varnadoe. Last name is V-a-r-n-a-d-o-e.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. MEADORS:
MR. MEADORS: Good afternoon.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Afternoon.
MR. MEADORS: Dathan Varnadoe?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, I go by Brian.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and your rank, sir?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I'm a Sergeant.
MR. MEADORS: Sergeant Varnadoe, will you tell the ladies and gentlemen of this jury, please, about Brian Varnadoe, where you're from, your background, a little bit of your family, and how you got in law enforcement?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I'm from right here in Walterboro, South Carolina. I started in the Department of Corrections in 1996. I worked in the Department of Corrections state prison system for eighteen years, and now I've been here with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office almost ten.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and I know you're kind of soft -- if you would pull up and maybe speak in there a little bit if you don't mind, Sergeant. So, you worked the prison system for how long?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Eighteen years.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and then after that you came to Colleton?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, I came to Colleton in 2013.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. Tell the folks. What different areas have you worked in the Colleton Sheriff's Office?
BRIAN VARNADOE: In the sheriff's office for about a year, I worked the road. Then in 2014 I went into investigations, primarily gang investigations, and I worked in that area until now, present.
MR. MEADORS: Tell them about your training in law enforcement. Have y'all been through the Criminal Justice Academy periodic?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Criminal Justice Academy.
MR. MEADORS: Talk about it a little bit, please.
BRIAN VARNADOE: South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, I believe at that time it was eleven weeks. It changes. I was there eleven weeks, and you go through the basic training for law enforcement through the legals, traffic stops, so forth. And they also have training there in gang investigations, also they provide.
MR. MEADORS: And are you married?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: How many children do you have?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I have two.
MR. MEADORS: All right. Does your wife work?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Where does she work?
BRIAN VARNADOE: She works for the City of Walterboro.
MR. MEADORS: City of Walterboro. And if I could, please, take you back, Sergeant, to June, specifically June 7th of 2021. What was your role -- your role in the Colleton County Sheriff's Department that day, please?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I worked investigations during that time also. Of course, the night of this incident I was off at that time. I was called in later.
MR. MEADORS: And were you on call?
BRIAN VARNADOE: We somewhat --
MR. MEADORS: Did pretty much everybody get called in?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, sir. All investigation or investigators got called in.
MR. MEADORS: And where were you told to respond to, and where did you respond to, Sergeant?
BRIAN VARNADOE: The location on Moselle Road.
MR. MEADORS: 4147 Moselle Road?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's right.
MR. MEADORS: In Colleton County?
BRIAN VARNADOE: In Colleton County.
MR. MEADORS: Please tell the ladies and gentlemen of the jury as you're coming up to Moselle -- well, first of all, do you remember what entrance, how you went in?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes. I went in by the dog kennels, that entrance, not all the way down. I parked near the roadway and walked in.
MR. MEADORS: Had you been to that residence prior to June 7th when you got there in 2021?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It had been some years. When I was on the road, I responded to an alarm call out there one time.
MR. MEADORS: Years prior to this.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Did you know where to go when you got there, and what were you instructed to do? Did you know where to go on the property?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I was told that driveway where the dog kennels -- don't come in where the brick columns are.
MR. MEADORS: And --
MR. MEADORS: Beg the Court's indulgence.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. MEADORS: I'm going to show you what's marked as State's 303, Sergeant. I have never shown you this before, have I?
MR. MEADORS: Do you recognize this as an aerial view of Moselle, and where you responded?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay.
MR. MEADORS: Your Honor, without objection 303.
MR. GRIFFIN: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
(BLOW-UP OF PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 303 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. MEADORS: And you said you came in the second entrance?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, going --
MR. MEADORS: Can you do that?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Right here. I parked somewhere in this area, and I walked the rest of the way.
MR. MEADORS: And, Sergeant, you get out of your car, and tell us what you did next.
BRIAN VARNADOE: When I got on scene, there was other emergency vehicles there, other investigators that had beat me there. Pretty much I made contact with my supervisor and asked him what he needed me -- what area he needed me in, what he needed me doing.
MR. MEADORS: And who was your supervisor?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Captain Jason Chapman.
MR. MEADORS: And what did he tell you or ask you to do or instruct you to do?
BRIAN VARNADOE: He instructed me to find Mr. Alex Murdaugh and take GSR of his hands, gunshot residue.
MR. MEADORS: And prior to that, did you have an occasion -- did you see the bodies of who we all know now were Paul and Maggie? Did you see their bodies?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Did you get close to them or inspect them?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I didn't inspect them, maybe 10 feet maybe.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. So, you had to see them from a distance. Is that fair?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, uh-huh.
MR. MEADORS: So, your captain had instructed that you find Alex Murdaugh and attempt to get a GSR kit or take GSR kit?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Administer a kit to him, yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and I don't think there's any objection to this. Tell the folks. What is GSR?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Well, it stands for gunshot residue. The kit itself tests for gunshot residue on the hands is where it's administered, to the hands of an individual.
MR. MEADORS: At the Colleton County Sheriff's Department and maybe other places, are you trained in how to collect that from the individual?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, we're trained in-house.
MR. MEADORS: And --
BRIAN VARNADOE: It's pretty self explanatory.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. A pretty simple procedure.
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's right.
MR. MEADORS: Had you taken GSR of a person prior to this?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: About how many times? Have you got any idea?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Twenty.
MR. MEADORS: Now when you got there, how far was the defendant, Alex Murdaugh, from where you were? Where was he? When you were told to go check his hands --
BRIAN VARNADOE: He was about -- at this time when I saw him, he was behind the yellow tape that they had up, the back side. It's actually -- it was an area between the sheds or the dog kennels and his home.
MR. MEADORS: And after the captain asked you to do that, what did you do?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I went and got a kit and I approached Mr. Murdaugh.
MR. MEADORS: Had you ever seen Alex Murdaugh before that night?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Did you know him before that night?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. Well, can you tell us how you knew him?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I testified as an expert witness in one of his cases.
MR. MEADORS: An expert witness?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Is that the gang which you'd said earlier --
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, it had to do with a gang case.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. MEADORS: And do you mind telling, what did you testify to?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It was some terminology that was used in a phone call and he wanted -- and my area of expertise was gang lingo and gang slang. He wanted me to testify to a statement that was said on a phone call.
MR. MEADORS: So, you weren't involved in the actual case.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. So the defendant, Alex Murdaugh, asked you to come testify as an expert?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: And was he sitting over here at the time, at this table?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: I mean the prosecution table.
BRIAN VARNADOE: The prosecution table, yes.
MR. MEADORS: In this courtroom.
BRIAN VARNADOE: It was here or Hampton. I'm not 100 percent sure.
MR. MEADORS: In a courtroom.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Right.
MR. MEADORS: I'm curious. What were you called to testify about?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Like I said, it was some terminology used in a phone call he was prosecuting in his case.
MR. MEADORS: What were you asked to testify the terminology of? I'm just curious.
BRIAN VARNADOE: An individual was on the phone telling someone to go and get the whistle, and he wanted me to clarify what that term meant.
MR. MEADORS: Get the whistle?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: What was --
BRIAN VARNADOE: He was referring to a firearm.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. The whistle. So, you were interpreting that a whistle is a firearm?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Right.
MR. MEADORS: And the inmate was -- wanted somebody to do something with a whistle?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's what I was told that the phone call was about, yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and did you testify?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I did.
MR. MEADORS: And when was that?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It was probably five or six years.
MR. MEADORS: So, on June 7th of 2021 when you saw the defendant, did he recognize you as far as you could tell?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Did he recognize you as far as you could tell? Did he say your name?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. Did you say his name?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, sir.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and can you tell the jury how you went about to do your job?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I'm sorry, say again.
MR. MEADORS: How did you go about doing your job? What did you do? What did you say him?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I approached him. I had the kit, and I went up to Mr. Murdaugh and told him I had to administer this kit to his hands. He stated he understood the procedure, and just a few minutes and I was out of his way.
MR. MEADORS: And I do think not to do --
MR. MEADORS: But, Your Honor, can he come down here?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Please?
MR. MEADORS: I'm going to show you what's been marked State's 301. Do you recognize this kit in general, not --
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: And have you looked inside?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Not of this one.
MR. MEADORS: Would you look inside of it? Do you recognize this type of kit?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Is this the type of kit you used on the defendant, Alex Murdaugh, on June 7th of 2021?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Actually the type of kit had -- I believe it had four bottles, but it's the same -- it's the same idea.
MR. MEADORS: Well, they used to have four but now they have two, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay.
MR. MEADORS: Your Honor, 301 without objection.
MR. GRIFFIN: That's correct, no objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
(GSR KIT MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 301 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. MEADORS: You can stay here. Let's pull out 301 and just show the jury what you did, and I've got some questions, Sergeant.
MR. MEADORS: Are you okay? Are y'all good? Okay.
MR. MEADORS: What is the first thing you do when you get ready to take a gunshot residue on somebody?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Well, I have on gloves. I put on gloves before I administer this kit.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. All right.
BRIAN VARNADOE: I explain to them what I'm doing and what this is.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Keep your voice up, please.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, sir.
BRIAN VARNADOE: I explain to them what it's for and why I'm doing it.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and are you looking at them?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: How far are you from them?
BRIAN VARNADOE: About you and I.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and this night, let's go back there right now to June 7th. Were you looking at Mr. Murdaugh?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. Y'all knew each other.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Did you smell any alcohol on him?
MR. MEADORS: Did he appear to be under the influence of anything to you, alcohol, drugs, or anything else?
MR. MEADORS: Could he understand what Brian Varnadoe was asking him as far as you knew? Did he understand your questions?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, as far as I knew.
MR. MEADORS: And could you understand his responses just talking?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: And were his answers to you timely?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, they were.
MR. MEADORS: Subject matter appropriate.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: When you asked him to -- if you could take a gunshot residue, did he comply?
BRIAN VARNADOE: He complied.
MR. MEADORS: And I believe there were just two used this time. They used to do four.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yeah.
MR. MEADORS: Can you show the jury how you do it specifically?
BRIAN VARNADOE: You see it's labeled. It's pretty self explanatory. It has the left hand, right hand.
MR. MEADORS: Do you mind touching me and just do it to me like you did on him?
BRIAN VARNADOE: (Witness complies.)
MR. MEADORS: All right, and what's that one marked over there?
BRIAN VARNADOE: This is for the left hand. It has a flat surface on the inside of the cap. Touch all the fingers, thumb, flip the hand over, back of the hand, and full extent of the fingers.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. Did you place it back?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, sir. I put it back inside the bag, and you move on to the next one and do the same thing with the other hand.
MR. MEADORS: Same thing with the other hand.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Go ahead and do it, please.
BRIAN VARNADOE: (Witness complies.)
MR. MEADORS: And so this whole time, you were that close to him and you were doing that.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Were his hands shaking?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I do not recall his hands shaking.
MR. MEADORS: Now after you do that -- and I've got a couple of other questions and I'll let you sit down, all right, sir, if you don't mind.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Okay.
MR. MEADORS: To be right where we are now, but tell them what we're doing. Do you document it?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and I'm going to show you what's 300. Does this look like what we're doing right now, Sergeant?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It does.
MR. MEADORS: And, Your Honor, 300 without objection.
MR. GRIFFIN: No objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
(GSR FORM MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 300 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. MEADORS: Now, Sergeant, does it say what time you just took that gunshot -- potential gunshot residue from the defendant?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes. It's right here at the bottom.
MR. MEADORS: And did you fill this out?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I did. It's my handwriting.
MR. MEADORS: You put your name at the top?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Badge number?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Everything but this. This is not me.
MR. MEADORS: And date of birth. It's got the suspect's name, Richard Alexander Murdaugh.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Correct.
MR. MEADORS: And his date of birth is what?
BRIAN VARNADOE: 5/27/68.
MR. MEADORS: Now, you didn't know that, did you? You didn't know his date of birth.
MR. MEADORS: So, did you have to ask him?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Did he have any trouble telling you his date of birth?
MR. MEADORS: So you put that down, what he told you. Subject is living, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: And that's -- we'll bring that out to SLED later, but you took the sample off a live individual.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: No question about it. All right, and you filled out the rest of the form, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I did.
MR. MEADORS: No gunshot wounds?
MR. MEADORS: No. It says: Any debris or blood on subject -- this is what the form says -- Any debris or blood on subject's - - on the hand. And what did you mark?
MR. MEADORS: So, does that mean you had to look at his hands to mark no?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and so when you were looking at his hands, did you see any debris or blood on the suspect's hands?
BRIAN VARNADOE: No, I did not.
MR. MEADORS: And you looked at it.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Right.
MR. MEADORS: Okay. How would you describe it?
BRIAN VARNADOE: What I recall, his hands were clean.
MR. MEADORS: And underneath here it says lawyer -- the rest of --
BRIAN VARNADOE: I didn't ask those questions, sir.
MR. MEADORS: And he signed it, correct?
MR. MEADORS: Okay. That's your signature --
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's me.
MR. MEADORS: I couldn't see. One final question while I've got you up here. Did you observe what he was wearing? His shirt, his shorts, his shoes?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I remember his shirt. I do not remember his shoes or his pants or what he had on. I do remember his shirt.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and can you describe the shirt?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It was a white T-shirt.
MR. MEADORS: Did it appear to have any blood on it from looking right here?
BRIAN VARNADOE: On the naked eye, I didn't see.
MR. MEADORS: Did it appear to be dirty?
MR. MEADORS: And this is -- is this also the chain of custody that you filled out for the GSR?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. MEADORS: And you turned it over, I believe, to Agent Worley?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Worley, yes.
MR. MEADORS: Okay.
MR. MEADORS: I believe 12 without objection.
MR. GRIFFIN: No objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
(GSR CHAIN OF CUSTODY FORM MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 12 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. MEADORS: Now referring to State's 300 again, down at the bottom it's got date and time shooting occurred, and it's got 6/7/21?
BRIAN VARNADOE: The shooting occurred? Yes.
MR. MEADORS: And where did you get that information from?
BRIAN VARNADOE: From the other people on the scene there.
MR. MEADORS: Okay, and time, what time does it have by there?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I have 10:00 p.m.
MR. MEADORS: And where did you get that from? Do you know?
BRIAN VARNADOE: More than likely it was from my supervisor from there on the scene.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. MEADORS: And the time this was collected was 11:15, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That is correct.
MR. MEADORS: Sergeant Brian Varnadoe, is the individual that you collected the gunshot -- performed a gunshot kit on and the individual you described as his hands as clean sitting in the courtroom?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, he is.
MR. MEADORS: Would you please point him out for the ladies and gentlemen?
BRIAN VARNADOE: He has a gray blazer and a white button-up shirt.
MR. MEADORS: We would like the record to reflect it. That's all we have. Thank you, Judge.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It does. Cross-examination.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. GRIFFIN:
MR. GRIFFIN: Deputy Varnadoe, this individual right here, the defendant, Murdaugh, Richard Alexander Murdaugh, consented to you taking his GSR, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he cooperated with you fully that night, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, he did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you had talked about a case that he had worked, and he was a prosecutor of criminal drug cases in this courthouse or maybe Hampton, but --
BRIAN VARNADOE: Correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- right? And you worked on that case, not only with Richard Alexander Murdaugh but his father, Randolph Murdaugh, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that was a drug prosecution of a defendant who was suspected to be involved in the Cowboys drug gang. Is that correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: He was an affiliate, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that was an dangerous outfit that a lot of folks --
MR. MEADORS: Objection, Your Honor.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- is that correct?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Basis for the objection?
MR. MEADORS: Never mind. I withdraw it.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Can you ask the question again, please?
MR. GRIFFIN: The Cowboys were known for being dangerous in this area, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And in that case -- I think you mentioned you thought maybe five years, but it could have been sooner than that, two or three years ago?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It could have been. It's been some years. I'm not exactly sure what year it was.
MR. GRIFFIN: Yes, sir. Now, you were shown this aerial photograph, and this is Exhibit Number 303. Have you been out to the property since the night on June the 7th?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Now this aerial photograph, you don't know what date this photograph was taken, do you?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I do not.
MR. GRIFFIN: But you do know that this land here, frankly right through there, were you aware at one point in time that area right there was used as a runway?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I did not know that.
MR. GRIFFIN: But you do know that pine trees were planted all through here, correct? And there --
BRIAN VARNADOE: There are trees there, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And there's a stand of pine trees there that are not in this photograph. Is that fair?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's fair.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and the -- now the form, if I could find it, sir, the collection form asked -- it says subject's full name, and the subject was Mr. Murdaugh, right?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and did you -- was he cordial and respectful to you?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Oh, yes. Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you've been around him on multiple occasions, I take it, working on that case and perhaps other things?
BRIAN VARNADOE: A few times, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And in your presence, has he always been respectful to law enforcement?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Has always treated you with respect?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he treat you with respect on the night of June the 7th?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, he did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did he tell you he understood that you had to do a job and take his gunshot residue off his hands, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's right.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he was shook up, was he not?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes, he was shook up.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, you showed how the collection is done and how you put the stamp on the front and on the back. Did you do a thorough collection of Mr. Murdaugh's hands that night?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did you intentionally, intentionally leave any part of his hand untested?
MR. GRIFFIN: And you did your level best to get every particle of GSR off his hands according to -- using that equipment that you had. Is that right?
BRIAN VARNADOE: I did it the way I was trained and taught, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And were you aware that earlier in the night after he called 911, that he went up to the house to get a shotgun and came back down, and when the first responding deputy, I believe it was Greene, came to the scene that he seized that shotgun? Did you know that when you got there?
BRIAN VARNADOE: At that time, no.
MR. GRIFFIN: You learned it later?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you're aware that gunshot residue can transfer from a gun onto a subject's hands, correct?
BRIAN VARNADOE: It's possible.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Now, you didn't -- you don't do any testing of gunshot residue, do you?
MR. GRIFFIN: That's done back at the SLED lab?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's right.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and you didn't test any gunshot residue or -- well, scratch that. I apologize. Did you collect any gunshot residue or attempt to collect any gunshot residue off any other part of Mr. Murdaugh's body?
MR. GRIFFIN: So, you didn't try to take anything off his legs or --
BRIAN VARNADOE: No. The test is not for that.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Later that evening, his clothes were collected for gunshot residue testing. Were you involved in that in any form or fashion?
MR. GRIFFIN: Deputy Varnadoe, I'm going to show you Exhibit 59, and I just want to ask you if 59 fairly and accurately depicts Paul Murdaugh as you saw him lying on the ground by the -- outside of the feed room that night?
BRIAN VARNADOE: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Your Honor, I would introduce Defendant's 59 into evidence under seal. I'm not going to publish it. We just need to get it in for the record. Without objection, I believe.
MR. MEADORS: That's correct.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
(PHOTO MARKED AS DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 59 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. GRIFFIN: If I can have the Court's indulgence? That's all I have, Deputy. Thank you.
MR. MEADORS: Your Honor, just one follow-up.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION1
BY MR. MEADORS:
MR. MEADORS: He was asking about that case you testified in. So, Alex Murdaugh called -- did he call you an as expert on how to interpret whistle from an inmate's phone call who was trying to hide a weapon?
BRIAN VARNADOE: That's what I understood it to be, yes.
MR. MEADORS: A whistle.
BRIAN VARNADOE: I wasn't part of the actual investigation.
MR. MEADORS: That's all, thank you.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. GRIFFIN: No, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you.
BRIAN VARNADOE: Thank you, Your Honor.
(The witness exited the stand.)