Rogan Gibson — Direct/Cross/Redirect
1,106 linesJUDGE NEWMAN: Call your next witness.
MR. WATERS: Thank you, Your Honor. We call Rogan Gibson.
The witness, ROGAN GIBSON, was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take a seat in the witness stand. State your name for the record, and spell your last name.
ROGAN GIBSON: Rogan Gibson, G-i-b-s-o-n.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. WATERS:
MR. WATERS: Mr. Gibson, how are you doing today?
ROGAN GIBSON: Good.
MR. WATERS: I asked the court reporter something. We'll give her a chance to catch up.
MR. WATERS: Mr. Gibson, why don't you introduce yourself to the jury a little bit. Tell us, you know, where you grew up, where you went to high school, just a little bit about yourself before we get your testimony.
ROGAN GIBSON: I went to Wade Hampton High School. I'm from Hampton.
MR. WATERS: All right, and are you working now?
ROGAN GIBSON: I am.
MR. WATERS: All right. What field do you work at?
ROGAN GIBSON: The agriculture field.
MR. WATERS: Why don't you see if you can pull that mic up just a little bit and speak up just a hair so you're -- if you can speak into it, I appreciate it. You said you were working in agriculture. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And currently still working in agriculture?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: All right. Back in June of 2021, what were you doing? Working in agriculture?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And what kind of job did you have?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was farming, operating equipment.
MR. WATERS: Operating equipment? And let me ask you. Did you get to know Paul Murdaugh?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: And tell me. How old were you when you got to know Paul Murdaugh?
ROGAN GIBSON: I've known him all my life, real good probably when I was eleven or twelve years old.
MR. WATERS: And how did y'all get to meet one another? How did y'all become closer?
ROGAN GIBSON: I lived next to him.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and when did that happen?
ROGAN GIBSON: When I was eleven or twelve years old.
MR. WATERS: Eleven or twelve. Y'all went to school together?
ROGAN GIBSON: Paul was a little bit younger than me, and I didn't go to school with him.
MR. WATERS: Okay. When y'all were growing up, what kind of things did y'all like to do together?
ROGAN GIBSON: We enjoyed the outdoors: hunting, fishing, and hanging around the farm.
MR. WATERS: Were you close friends with Paul until the day he was murdered?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was.
MR. WATERS: Tell the jury just a little bit about Paul. Give us a little sense of who he was as a person.
ROGAN GIBSON: He loved the outdoors: hunting, fishing, hanging around. Really enjoyed the farm out there at Moselle.
MR. WATERS: Fun guy to be around?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was.
MR. WATERS: Over the years as you got to be close friends with Paul, did you get to be close friends with the rest of the family?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was.
MR. WATERS: And was that just Paul and his brother and his parents, or was it sort of the Murdaughs, the larger family as well?
ROGAN GIBSON: The whole family.
MR. WATERS: And over those years as you became close with them -- how close would you say? How close did you become?
ROGAN GIBSON: Real close, like a second family.
MR. WATERS: Like a second family to you?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: Paul, did you have a nickname for him, or did he have a nickname?
ROGAN GIBSON: Rooster.
MR. WATERS: His brother, Buster, did he have a name or a nickname?
ROGAN GIBSON: We called him Bus.
MR. WATERS: Bus? What did you call Maggie?
ROGAN GIBSON: Ms. Maggie.
MR. WATERS: What did you call Mr. Randolph, Paul's grandfather?
ROGAN GIBSON: Handsome.
MR. WATERS: Handsome? How about Ms. Libby, his wife, Paul's grandmother?
MR. WATERS: M? How about Maggie's parents, did you have nicknames for them?
ROGAN GIBSON: I called them Papa T and Grandmar.
MR. WATERS: Papa T and Grandmar?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Like m-a-r at the end?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: What did you call Alex?
ROGAN GIBSON: Mr. Alex or Big Red.
MR. WATERS: Mr. Alex or Big Red. You said they were like a second family to you.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Being that close to this family, did you frequently go out to Moselle?
ROGAN GIBSON: All the time.
MR. WATERS: Did you ever go to -- did they have other properties, too, that you ever went to?
ROGAN GIBSON: They did.
MR. WATERS: What were the other properties they had? Hold on for the sirens if you would.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. WATERS: What were the other properties that they had?
ROGAN GIBSON: Edisto Beach, we went there a lot.
MR. WATERS: They had a house at Edisto Beach?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Any other properties while you were growing up that you recall?
ROGAN GIBSON: The property in Hampton, the house in Hampton.
MR. WATERS: All right, and did they ultimately sell that property?
ROGAN GIBSON: They did.
MR. WATERS: Do you remember about how long ago that was?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not real sure.
MR. WATERS: When you would go out -- when did they get Moselle? I mean, just roughly.
ROGAN GIBSON: I believe it was, like, my freshman year in high school, so '14 --
MR. WATERS: 2014 or something like that?
ROGAN GIBSON: No. It was -- I graduated in '14, so probably around 2010 maybe.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and over the years, did you spend a lot of time out there?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: What were some of the things that you would do with Paul out there?
ROGAN GIBSON: We would hunt, fish, just hang around.
MR. WATERS: Ride around the property?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. Worked the food plots with equipment.
MR. WATERS: I've got State's 303 right here. It's a poster board. I'm going to ask you to come on down, with the Judges's permission, and let's kind of point out some things to the jury.
ROGAN GIBSON: (Witness complies.)
MR. WATERS: All right. Do you recognize this image?
ROGAN GIBSON: I do.
MR. WATERS: And what is that? Keep your voice up, if you could.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's a picture of the upper view of the Moselle property.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and where is the residence in this picture?
ROGAN GIBSON: Right here.
MR. WATERS: All right, and is there a driveway to that residence?
ROGAN GIBSON: That would be the main driveway.
MR. WATERS: All right. Do you see Moselle Road on this particular image?
ROGAN GIBSON: (Witness points.)
MR. WATERS: That one right down there? All right. What's this red roof building right there?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's the old airplane hangar.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and did y'all have a name for that? Did you call it the hangar?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. The shed or the hangar.
MR. WATERS: The shed or the hangar? Any other structures out there?
ROGAN GIBSON: That was a newer shed, a tractor shed. Dog kennel.
MR. WATERS: Okay.
ROGAN GIBSON: And that was the skinning shed.
MR. WATERS: Skinning shed? And just real quick, what's the skinning shed for?
ROGAN GIBSON: We just processed wild game out there, skinned wild game out there.
MR. WATERS: Was there a driveway to that part of the property?
ROGAN GIBSON: There was.
MR. WATERS: Okay. Is that where it went right there?
ROGAN GIBSON: What's that?
MR. WATERS: That's where it went, right there that you just pointed?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. The driveway to the shed is right there.
MR. WATERS: Okay. Was that driveway commonly used?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. WATERS: Was there -- what is this structure right here?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's the old cabin, the hunting cabin.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and how about across the street? Was there any structures across the street?
ROGAN GIBSON: There was.
MR. WATERS: All right, and what was there across the street?
ROGAN GIBSON: The shooting house.
MR. WATERS: And can you just point roughly where that would be --
ROGAN GIBSON: Somewhere right in here.
MR. WATERS: Right at the top of the picture?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Okay. All right, and what is this right here?
ROGAN GIBSON: It's a pond.
MR. WATERS: All right, and when y'all were -- what was the shooting house used for?
ROGAN GIBSON: When we were sighting in rifles, shooting at kind of an angle there, it was a target down here.
MR. WATERS: All right. Would y'all shoot rifles from the shooting house?
ROGAN GIBSON: We would.
MR. WATERS: What about shotguns? Would y'all shoot those over at the shooting area?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. Most of the time we shot them around the pond.
MR. WATERS: Around the pond?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Okay. Is this a line of trees right here?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And on the other side of that line of trees, what did y'all call that?
ROGAN GIBSON: The dove field.
MR. WATERS: The dove field? All right. You can go ahead and have a seat. You mentioned that y'all liked to ride the property and shoot property -- and shoot and hunt out there. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: What kind of hunting did y'all do out there?
ROGAN GIBSON: Anything we could hunt.
MR. WATERS: All right. Well, give me some examples if you would, please.
ROGAN GIBSON: Hog hunting, deer, turkeys.
MR. WATERS: Hog hunting, deer, turkeys?
ROGAN GIBSON: Dove, quail.
MR. WATERS: Let me ask you this. Turkey season, do you know when that is in South Carolina?
ROGAN GIBSON: It's, like, March, mid-March to early May.
MR. WATERS: Okay. All right. So, it's a fairly short period of time in that time period?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: You mentioned hogs first. Tell me about the hog hunting. How would y'all go hog hunting?
ROGAN GIBSON: A lot of times we would shoot them at night with a thermal scope.
MR. WATERS: And what weapon would y'all use to shoot those hogs with a thermal scope?
ROGAN GIBSON: 300 Blackout.
MR. WATERS: And whose weapon was that?
ROGAN GIBSON: I think it was Buster's.
MR. WATERS: Well, tell me what you know about the Blackouts, how the family got those Blackouts.
ROGAN GIBSON: They bought two of them, one for Paul and one for Buster.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and do you know -- can you describe those two? Did you see both of them back in the day?
ROGAN GIBSON: They -- yes. They were -- they were similar built. One was black. One was, like, a green/tannish color.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and did anything ever happen to one of them?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, one of them was stolen.
MR. WATERS: And were you present when that happened or around when it happened?
ROGAN GIBSON: I wasn't present. I was just told about it.
MR. WATERS: And what was the story you were told about that?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was told somebody took it out of Paul's truck at a party.
MR. WATERS: At a party? Okay. How long ago was that?
ROGAN GIBSON: I'm not exactly sure.
MR. WATERS: Okay. Years?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. It's been five or six years probably.
MR. WATERS: Well, let me show you something real quick. I'm going to show you what's already been entered into evidence as State's 163. I'm going to have you look at that evidence, and particularly what's there on a pool table. Do you recognize that?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's a picture of a 300 Blackout.
MR. WATERS: All right, and is that the one that you and Paul would take hog hunting?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, that's one of them.
MR. WATERS: You said one got stolen. To your knowledge, was there ever a replacement gun?
ROGAN GIBSON: I don't remember a replacement, no, sir.
MR. WATERS: You don't remember a replacement. You remember Paul using the black one. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct, or either the green and tan one before it was stolen.
MR. WATERS: Before it was stolen.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Five or six years ago.
ROGAN GIBSON: Correct.
MR. WATERS: What other guns did Paul use a lot that he favored?
ROGAN GIBSON: He favored a Super Black Eagle shotgun, a 12 gauge.
MR. WATERS: All right. I'm going to show you another image, if I could. I'm going to show you what's already been admitted into evidence as State's 3 and see if you recognize that.
ROGAN GIBSON: I do.
MR. WATERS: All right. Tell me what that is.
ROGAN GIBSON: A Super Black Eagle.
MR. WATERS: All right, and do you specifically recognize that gun?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes.
MR. WATERS: And what gun is that?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's Paul's gun.
MR. WATERS: And how can you tell?
ROGAN GIBSON: The camo pattern and the strap.
MR. WATERS: Would Paul frequently have weapons with him when he was on the property or in his truck or that sort of thing?
ROGAN GIBSON: He would.
MR. WATERS: All right, and what sort of weapons would he -- frequently have with him?
ROGAN GIBSON: A lot of times he carried the 300 Blackout in his vehicle, and then he would -- I mean, sometimes pistols, different shotguns.
MR. WATERS: Okay. Would he carry that shotgun a lot as well?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. I have seen him carry that shotgun.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what's been previously entered into evidence as State's 4. Will you do me a favor? Do you see that box of gloves right there? Would you just put them on the floor behind you, just kind of out of the way? I'm going to have you look in here and see if you recognize that.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's the Super Black Eagle 3 of Paul's.
MR. WATERS: That's Paul's favorite shotgun?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: What about deer? Did he have a weapon he liked to hunt deer with?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did. It was 7 millimeter 08.
MR. WATERS: Okay. Did Paul have any pistol, to your knowledge, or carry around any pistols?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did sometimes.
MR. WATERS: Did sometimes. What were his favorite two guns, or the guns he most commonly had around?
ROGAN GIBSON: Probably that 300 and the Super Black Eagle. That's the ones I seen him use the most.
MR. WATERS: Tell me about -- a little bit about the hog hunting. You said y'all would hunt them at night?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: All right, and tell me how that works. What would y'all do? Were y'all walking around? Were y'all riding around? How does that go?
ROGAN GIBSON: Most of the time we drove a four wheeler vehicle. We didn't hardly ever walk, but that scope -- the thermal scope would pick up the heat.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and where on the property would y'all hunt?
ROGAN GIBSON: All over.
MR. WATERS: The hogs you hunted all over?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: When you and Paul were together hunting with that Blackout, did you usually have a gun and shoot, or did Paul usually have a gun and shoot?
ROGAN GIBSON: It would just depend.
MR. WATERS: Who had the gun more?
ROGAN GIBSON: Probably Paul.
MR. WATERS: One guy is driving, the other guy is looking?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Is that something y'all did frequently?
ROGAN GIBSON: A good bit, yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: If y'all ever killed a hog, what would y'all do with it?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometimes we would give it to people that wanted to butcher it, and sometimes we would just let nature take its course, just leave it wherever it was shot at. It would just depend. Sometimes we would skin them out ourselves.
MR. WATERS: Are hogs a nuisance animal?
ROGAN GIBSON: They are.
MR. WATERS: We were talking a little bit about Paul and who he was. How was Paul with his cell phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was on his cell phone a lot.
MR. WATERS: Let me ask a little bit about Ms. Maggie. You mentioned before that the family had a couple of properties. In the summertime, where did Ms. Maggie prefer to stay?
ROGAN GIBSON: She liked to stay at Edisto.
MR. WATERS: And did you know why she preferred Edisto?
ROGAN GIBSON: Because of the yellow flies at Moselle.
MR. WATERS: The yellow flies?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: What about Paul and Alex? Where would they stay most of the time?
ROGAN GIBSON: Well, Paul, if he was back home, he would stay at Moselle, but a lot of times he was in Columbia or Charleston.
MR. WATERS: Did he have an apartment in Charleston?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not to my knowledge in Charleston, no.
MR. WATERS: I'm sorry, in Columbia.
ROGAN GIBSON: In Columbia, yes.
MR. WATERS: All right. Back on June 7th of 2021, you were working in agriculture?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Working in farming?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Hard work?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: What time did you have to get up in the morning to go to work?
ROGAN GIBSON: Normally get up about 5:00.
MR. WATERS: 5:00. Where were you staying at that point in time?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was staying at my girlfriend's house in Beaufort.
MR. WATERS: In Beaufort? You don't have to say her last name, but what was her first name?
ROGAN GIBSON: Mary Ann.
MR. WATERS: Mary Ann? And why were you staying in Beaufort at that period -- at that point in time? Was that where your house was or not?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, my house was not there. I was working on St. Helena. It made it a closer ride for me to go to work.
MR. WATERS: So, you were staying with your girlfriend because of that?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Did you have a dog at that time?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: And what kind of dog?
ROGAN GIBSON: A chocolate lab.
MR. WATERS: A chocolate lab? Do you still have the chocolate lab?
ROGAN GIBSON: I do.
MR. WATERS: What's the dog's name?
ROGAN GIBSON: Cash.
MR. WATERS: Cash? How old was Cash about that time?
ROGAN GIBSON: I'm guessing somewhere -- he was a puppy, four or six months old maybe.
MR. WATERS: Did you -- were you able to keep Cash with you when you were staying at your girlfriend's in Beaufort?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was not able to.
MR. WATERS: And why was that?
ROGAN GIBSON: Because she wasn't allowed. She was renting a house and we couldn't keep one there.
MR. WATERS: What arrangements did you make for Cash when you were staying in Beaufort and you couldn't keep him at your girlfriend's house?
ROGAN GIBSON: I would leave him at the kennels at Moselle.
MR. WATERS: And tell me how that came to be. How did you work that out?
ROGAN GIBSON: I asked Mr. Alex if I could leave him there, and I would be gone a week at a time.
MR. WATERS: All right.
ROGAN GIBSON: Just leave him there for a week, pick him back up when I come back home on the weekend.
MR. WATERS: All right. Did you leave food for him and that sort of thing?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: So, where was he staying when he was at Moselle during the week when you were working?
ROGAN GIBSON: In the kennel.
MR. WATERS: In the kennel? Describe the kennels a little bit for the jury. What was the structure like?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was like a lean-to shed with about -- somewhere around eight kennels under it, a feed room on the end.
MR. WATERS: And Cash was staying in one of those.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And you would go get him on the weekend.
ROGAN GIBSON: Friday night or either Saturday, yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: And where would you take him then?
ROGAN GIBSON: Back to my house.
MR. WATERS: And just where were you living at that time?
ROGAN GIBSON: In Colleton County.
MR. WATERS: In Colleton County. You get up at 5:00 a.m. and get to work. About what time do you get to work if you're working farming?
ROGAN GIBSON: I would roughly get to work somewhere around 7:00 or 7:30.
MR. WATERS: 7:00 or 7:30? And then what time would you get off?
ROGAN GIBSON: It would all depend.
MR. WATERS: What time typically would you get off?
ROGAN GIBSON: 5:00, 6:00, 7:00.
MR. WATERS: Just depending on how much needed to get done?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Were you pretty tired when you got home?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was.
MR. WATERS: During the course of that day, June 7, 2021, did you have any communications with Paul?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: What's the first one you remember?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometime around lunchtime.
MR. WATERS: All right, and what did y'all communicate? Did y'all talk on the phone, did y'all text, or what?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. I think he called me and told me about the sunflowers had been sprayed in the dove field and they were dead.
MR. WATERS: Okay. What did he say about that?
ROGAN GIBSON: He said he was getting ready to replant them.
MR. WATERS: They had been sprayed with some Roundup or something?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Did y'all talk about anything else that you remember?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not that I remember.
MR. WATERS: While I'm thinking about it, I asked you about Paul's use of a cell phone. Do you know where he kept his cell phone when it wasn't this his hand?
ROGAN GIBSON: Most of the time in his pockets.
MR. WATERS: Was he typically one to respond pretty quick to you when you were talking about something?
ROGAN GIBSON: Normally, yeah. If we were talking about something, he would respond pretty quick.
MR. WATERS: That evening -- well, did you pull -- did you talk to Paul again after that initial conversation?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: All right, and when was that roughly?
ROGAN GIBSON: Around 8:40.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and what -- what was that conversation about?
ROGAN GIBSON: He called and said -- asked if something was wrong with the dog's tail.
MR. WATERS: Okay, and was that the first you were hearing about that?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Tell me about your conversation.
ROGAN GIBSON: I told him that, you know, I wasn't real sure. I just dropped him off there Sunday, and told him let's try to see if he could get me a picture, or FaceTime me and let me see what was going on with the dog's tail.
MR. WATERS: Where was Paul when he called you?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was at the dog kennels.
MR. WATERS: And how do you know that?
ROGAN GIBSON: I could hear the dogs barking in the original call.
MR. WATERS: Was he describing to you what he's seeing on Cash's tail?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And Cash was at the kennels?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was.
MR. WATERS: Did you hear any other voices when you were on the phone with Paul about 8:40?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: And what voices did you hear?
ROGAN GIBSON: I heard Ms. Maggie.
MR. WATERS: And who else did you hear?
ROGAN GIBSON: I thought it was Mr. Alex that I heard.
MR. WATERS: You thought it was Mr. Alex. You talked to Paul, and what did y'all talk about? What was he going to do?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was going to try to FaceTime me. He said you know how the service is out here. He said if I can't get the FaceTime to go through, I'll send you a video.
MR. WATERS: And why was he going to FaceTime you? What's the difference between FaceTime and regular call?
ROGAN GIBSON: So I could see what the dog -- what was wrong with the dog.
MR. WATERS: All right, and y'all talked about how the service is out here?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And what did you mean by that?
ROGAN GIBSON: Most of the time you've got enough service to make a call. I mean, sometimes calls will break up. But a FaceTime, you couldn't really get a whole lot of service to make the FaceTime call. It was kind of lagging.
MR. WATERS: Y'all have had times with that before?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Did y'all discuss what to do if the FaceTime didn't work?
ROGAN GIBSON: We did.
MR. WATERS: And what was the discussion?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was going to send me a video of the dog.
MR. WATERS: He was going to video it, and then do what with it? Text it to you?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Was that the last time you ever talked to your friend?
ROGAN GIBSON: That was.
MR. WATERS: Did y'all try to FaceTime?
ROGAN GIBSON: We did.
MR. WATERS: Did it work?
ROGAN GIBSON: It came through but it was kind of lagging. I couldn't tell what was going on.
MR. WATERS: And you never heard from him again.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Did you ever get that video?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did not.
MR. WATERS: After you never got the video, did you try to reach back out to Paul to see if you could get him to respond?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did. I called him a few times and texted him.
MR. WATERS: Did he ever respond?
ROGAN GIBSON: He didn't.
MR. WATERS: Did you reach out to anyone else trying to get Paul to respond?
ROGAN GIBSON: I texted Ms. Maggie.
MR. WATERS: Did she respond?
ROGAN GIBSON: She didn't.
MR. WATERS: About what time do you think you went to bed that night?
ROGAN GIBSON: I'm not exactly sure. It was some time right after I probably tried to contact them.
MR. WATERS: You never heard from Ms. Maggie either.
ROGAN GIBSON: I didn't.
MR. WATERS: Did you ever talk to her at all that day?
ROGAN GIBSON: I didn't.
MR. WATERS: What time -- about what time do you think you went to bed?
ROGAN GIBSON: I'm going to say somewhere around 10:00.
MR. WATERS: 10:00? Are you a pretty sound sleeper?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: You'd been working on the farm all day?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Did calls come in that you didn't realize because you were asleep?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. I woke up with some missed calls.
MR. WATERS: What time did you wake up the next morning?
ROGAN GIBSON: Some time around 5:00, 5:30.
MR. WATERS: When did you find out that your friend, Paul, and his mother, Maggie, had been murdered?
ROGAN GIBSON: That same time, 5:00 or 5:30.
MR. WATERS: How did you find out?
ROGAN GIBSON: I called one of my friends that had left me a -- or I had a missed call from, and he told me what had happened.
MR. WATERS: All right, and tell me his first name, please.
ROGAN GIBSON: Nolen.
MR. WATERS: What did you do after that?
ROGAN GIBSON: We got our little boy up and got him to school without talking about it a whole lot, and then we headed back home.
MR. WATERS: And by home, you mean Colleton County?
ROGAN GIBSON: Colleton County, that's correct.
MR. WATERS: And where did you go from there?
ROGAN GIBSON: I went to my house first. Then I ended up going to Moselle.
MR. WATERS: About what time do you think you got there?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometime maybe 8:30, 9:00.
MR. WATERS: And what did you see when you got there? Where did you go on the property?
ROGAN GIBSON: I went to the dog kennels.
MR. WATERS: And who did you see there? Did you talk to anyone there?
ROGAN GIBSON: I didn't. I seen John Marvin but I didn't speak to him.
MR. WATERS: Did you talk to anybody at the scene when you first went there?
ROGAN GIBSON: The only person I seen was John Marvin.
MR. WATERS: What did you do after that?
ROGAN GIBSON: My cousin let the dog out of the kennel.
MR. WATERS: That being Cash?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And did you take Cash with you?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: And where did y'all go from there?
ROGAN GIBSON: To the convenience store down the road from the house.
MR. WATERS: And who did you meet there?
ROGAN GIBSON: I met a game warden.
MR. WATERS: And what did you do after that? Did you have a conversation?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did. I had a conversation with him, and he said that law enforcement was going to be wanting to speak with me, and I told him, I said, well, if you've got a contact, let's get them up here and let's talk.
MR. WATERS: So, did you wait for law enforcement to arrive?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: Do you remember who you talked to?
ROGAN GIBSON: I do.
MR. WATERS: And who did you talk to?
ROGAN GIBSON: Jeff Croft and Katie McCallister.
MR. WATERS: And did they do an interview of you?
ROGAN GIBSON: They did.
MR. WATERS: Did they ask you about your communications with Paul the night before?
ROGAN GIBSON: They did.
MR. WATERS: And did they ask you to see your cell phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: They did.
MR. WATERS: And did they take screen shots of your cell phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Were you showing them your communications the night before with Paul and Maggie and others the night before?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: Were you holding up the phone and they were taking screen shots?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what has been marked for identification 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, and 172, and just flip those real quick and see if you recognize those images.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. WATERS: Do you recognize those?
ROGAN GIBSON: I do.
MR. WATERS: And what are those?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's all the activity on my phone: missed calls, texts.
MR. WATERS: Stand by for me one second.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. WATERS: Your Honor, just out of an abundance of cautions, I believe these are in evidence but just to be clear, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, we would make sure those are in evidence. We move those into evidence, I believe without objection.
MR. GRIFFIN: That's correct, no objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: They're admitted.
(STATE'S EXHIBITS 165-172 WERE PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. WATERS: All right, may I have the ELMO, please?
MR. WATERS: Mr. Gibson, I'm going to put these up on the screen, and you've got a screen up there, so take a look at that, okay?
ROGAN GIBSON: Okay.
MR. WATERS: All right, 165.
MR. WATERS: Can y'all turn the screen around for me, please?
MR. WATERS: And that's a screen shot that Jeff Croft took of your phone that -- on June 8, 2021, the next day?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: All right, and that reflects a call from who?
ROGAN GIBSON: Paul.
MR. WATERS: And which Paul is that?
ROGAN GIBSON: Paul Murdaugh.
MR. WATERS: All right, and what time is that call?
ROGAN GIBSON: 8:40 p.m.
MR. WATERS: And how long does it last?
ROGAN GIBSON: 4 minutes.
MR. WATERS: And is that the call you just described to this jury?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: It's the call y'all were talking about Cash, the dog, and trying to figure out the tail?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what's been marked as 166. Now, again, you told this jury that when y'all got off the call, he was going to try to FaceTime you and if not, send a video.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: All right. I'm going to show you 166. Is that another screen shot of it?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And that's the FaceTime call. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: 8:44 p.m.?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: For 11 seconds?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: That FaceTime didn't work, though, did it?
ROGAN GIBSON: It came through but it was lagging; you couldn't communicate through it.
MR. WATERS: So, y'all stopped.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And you were expecting what after that?
ROGAN GIBSON: A video.
MR. WATERS: And I'm going to show you what's been marked as State's 167. Are these texts that were on your phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: They are.
MR. WATERS: And who were those texts between? Who were you trying to text right there down on those last two bubbles?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was sending those texts to Paul.
MR. WATERS: All right. It's got a little glare on it, but what time is that text right there?
ROGAN GIBSON: 8:49 p.m.
MR. WATERS: And that's on June 7, 2021?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And what are you telling Paul right there? Can you read that to the jury, and then explain what you were trying to say to Paul, please?
ROGAN GIBSON: See if you can get a good picture of it. Mary Ann wants to send it to a girl we know that's a vet. Tell him to sit and stay, and he shouldn't move around too much.
MR. WATERS: Who were you talking about when you said tell him to sit and stay?
ROGAN GIBSON: Cash, the dog.
MR. WATERS: Did you send another text right here?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: What time was that? Can you read it?
ROGAN GIBSON: 9:58 p.m.
MR. WATERS: What do you say?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yo.
MR. WATERS: And when you say yo to Paul, what are you trying to get him to do?
ROGAN GIBSON: Just trying to get him to call me back or text me back.
MR. WATERS: Because you hadn't gotten that video.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what's been marked as 168, State's. Is that another screen shot of your phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And these are missed calls from June 7, 2021?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And these are outgoing calls?
ROGAN GIBSON: They are.
MR. WATERS: Who were you trying to call?
ROGAN GIBSON: Paul Murdaugh.
MR. WATERS: Tell me the times you tried to call him. Start from the bottom, please.
ROGAN GIBSON: 9:10 p.m., 9:29 p.m., 9:42 p.m., 9:57 p.m.
MR. WATERS: Did he ever respond?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what's been marked as State's 169. Is that another screen shot of your phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: Who were you trying to call right there?
ROGAN GIBSON: Paul.
MR. WATERS: What's that last call?
ROGAN GIBSON: 10:08 p.m.
MR. WATERS: Did he answer that call?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did not.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what's been marked as State's 170. Is that another screen shot of your phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And who were you trying to text right here?
ROGAN GIBSON: Ms. Maggie.
MR. WATERS: And what time did you try to text her?
ROGAN GIBSON: 9:34 p.m.
MR. WATERS: And what did you text?
ROGAN GIBSON: Tell Paul to call me.
MR. WATERS: Tell Paul to call you?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did she ever respond?
ROGAN GIBSON: She didn't.
MR. WATERS: You said you woke up the next morning on June 8th of 2021, and you saw you had some missed calls. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to show you what's been marked as State's 171. Was this also a screen shot or a picture that Special Agent Croft took of your phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And who are those missed calls from?
ROGAN GIBSON: Mr. Alex.
MR. WATERS: And what time did they come in?
ROGAN GIBSON: 10:21 p.m. and 10:24 p.m.
MR. WATERS: And did you -- that would have been on June 7, 2021?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Were you asleep at that time?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was.
MR. WATERS: Unaware they were coming in?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: 172. Is that another screen shot of your phone?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And are those other missed calls that came in?
ROGAN GIBSON: 10:25 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.
MR. WATERS: When you spoke to Special Agent Croft on June 8th of 2021, did you tell him and Special Agent McCallister who you thought you heard on that phone call at 8:40?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: And who did you say you heard?
ROGAN GIBSON: I thought it was Mr. Alex but I wasn't exactly sure.
MR. WATERS: And did you give him a percentage?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: What did you say?
ROGAN GIBSON: 99 percent.
MR. WATERS: That you heard Mr. Alex on that phone call at 8:40.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: As time went on after the murders, did you go to Moselle where all of the family and friends were gathering?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: Were you there a fair amount?
ROGAN GIBSON: Probably the whole part of that -- or that -- later that week.
MR. WATERS: While you were there at the house where the family and friends had gathered, did anyone ever ask you about your last contact with Paul?
ROGAN GIBSON: There was.
MR. WATERS: And who asked you?
ROGAN GIBSON: Grandmar.
MR. WATERS: And that would be Ms. Branstetter?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Maggie's mother?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And what did you say?
ROGAN GIBSON: I told her, yeah, that I had talked to Paul about the dog. I told her that I heard Ms. Maggie in the background, and I heard a male voice that I thought was Mr. Alex.
MR. WATERS: Was he in the room then?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes.
MR. WATERS: Did he stand up and say no, I wasn't there?
ROGAN GIBSON: He didn't.
MR. WATERS: Did you ever have any conversation with Alex Murdaugh about what happened that night?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did he ever ask you about whether or not you heard him on that phone that night?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did he ever tell you what he did that night?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did you ever ask him what he did that night?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Not a subject you wanted to talk about, was it?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Over time as the months passed following the murder of Paul and Maggie, did you -- you were ultimately interviewed by law enforcement and, and other -- part of the process and that sort of thing. Is that correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And as time went on and you were asked about who you heard on the phone that night, that call at 8:40, and you said hey, I thought it was Alex but I can't be sure.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: You told law enforcement the night of 99 percent sure, correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: Say that question again, please.
MR. WATERS: You told law enforcement the next day, June 8th, that you were 99 percent sure. Is that correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: At time went on you said I thought it was Alex, but I can't be sure.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: In November of 2022, did law enforcement ask you to come in and look at a video?
ROGAN GIBSON: They did.
MR. WATERS: And did you watch that video?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: And what was on that video?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was the video Paul was supposed to take of Cash. Cash was on the video.
MR. WATERS: And did you hear -- recognize the voices on there?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: Did you recognize the voices of your second family?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: What voices did you hear?
ROGAN GIBSON: Paul's, Ms. Maggie, and Mr. Alex.
MR. WATERS: How sure are you now?
ROGAN GIBSON: Positive.
MR. WATERS: 100 percent?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Your Honor, I need one second for the computer to boot up. Court's indulgence.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Let's all stand for a moment.
(Break in proceedings.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: Okay.
MR. WATERS: Before I play the video, I want to ask a couple of more questions. So, when you received that phone call from Paul at the kennels at 8:40 p.m. on the night of June 7, 2021, did Paul sound normal to you?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did.
MR. WATERS: Did he sound stressed to you?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did not.
MR. WATERS: Did he sound like someone was there that he didn't know?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did he sound worried?
ROGAN GIBSON: He didn't.
MR. WATERS: Did you hear Maggie's voice?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. WATERS: Did she sound stressed?
ROGAN GIBSON: She didn't.
MR. WATERS: And did she sound worried?
ROGAN GIBSON: No.
MR. WATERS: Did she sound normal?
ROGAN GIBSON: She did.
MR. WATERS: Did she sound like there was somebody there that she didn't know?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Or that she was in danger?
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did you hear Alex's voice?
ROGAN GIBSON: What I thought was his voice at the time, yeah.
MR. WATERS: When Maggie or Paul would go down to the kennels, how did they usually get there?
ROGAN GIBSON: They would drive. Sometimes Ms. Maggie would walk or ride a bike. But if they had a ATV or golf cart in the yard, sometimes they would ride that.
MR. WATERS: Paul more likely would be one to ride or one to drive down there?
ROGAN GIBSON: Most of the time he will drive.
MR. WATERS: Was it usual for the family to go down there sometimes and let the dogs out?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. WATERS: Let them run around?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Did Ms. Maggie like to do that?
ROGAN GIBSON: She did.
MR. WATERS: Was it common to your knowledge for guns to be left down at the kennels?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometimes there was, yeah.
MR. WATERS: I'm going to play that video for you. Okay?
ROGAN GIBSON: Okay.
(The video was played. Audio not transcribed.)
MR. WATERS: Is that the video you watched back in November of 2022?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. WATERS: And where is that video taken?
ROGAN GIBSON: At the kennels.
MR. WATERS: Do you recognize your dog?
ROGAN GIBSON: I do.
MR. WATERS: Did you recognize Paul's voice?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did you regular Maggie's voice?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: Did you recognize Alex's voice?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: 100 percent?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: Can you point out Alex Murdaugh, the person whose voice you recognized in this video, in this courtroom, please?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sitting right there in the gray jacket.
MR. WATERS: Please let the record reflect he's identified the defendant.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It does.
MR. WATERS: Thank you, Mr. Gibson. Nothing further.
JUDGE NEWMAN: By the defense?
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you, Your Honor.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. GRIFFIN:
MR. GRIFFIN: Good afternoon, Rogan.
ROGAN GIBSON: How are you doing?
MR. GRIFFIN: We've met many times, haven't we?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Tell the jury more about Paul, please. What did y'all like to do together?
ROGAN GIBSON: We loved hunting, fishing, just hanging around. We loved staying at the beach, going to the sandbars. He was -- he could get along with just about anybody.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was he one of your best friends?
ROGAN GIBSON: He is.
MR. GRIFFIN: Is this a hard day for you?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you live one summer in the cabin there on the property?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. Me, Buster, and Nolen lived in the cabin, and Paul was there a lot.
MR. GRIFFIN: And when you got a house of your own, I mean, it was just right down the road, wasn't it?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Down Moselle Road?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Is it your grandparents' house that you moved into?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And before that, Ms. Maggie and Big Red over here, Mr. Alex, they treated you as family, didn't they?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct, they did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Paul was like a brother to you?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Ms. Maggie was like a second mom to you?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Mr. Alex was like a second dad?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir, he was.
MR. GRIFFIN: And could you tell the jury how -- what you observed Alex's relationship was starting with you? What was his relationship with you?
ROGAN GIBSON: We had a good relationship. I mean, he treated me like one of his own. We had fun. He gave me permission to hunt the property.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you have permission to come and go down to the shop?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did you have permission to use any of the equipment?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did you help out on the farm for game management stuff?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And can you tell the jury a little bit about Mr. Alex's relationship with his son Paul?
ROGAN GIBSON: Very good relationship, very good.
MR. GRIFFIN: Were they close?
ROGAN GIBSON: They were. Nothing happened without Paul telling Mr. Alex about it.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did -- the jury has heard some -- Alex interviewed on the tape about how the Moselle property was Paul's passion.
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you agree with that?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Why do you think it was his passion? What -- what was he so passionate about out there?
ROGAN GIBSON: He just loved hunting and using the equipment to manage for wild game, fishing. He loved all of that.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was Paul a good friend?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was he a loyal friend?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was he a loyal son?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Tell me about Ms. Maggie.
ROGAN GIBSON: She was like a second mother to me, always took care of me. Treated me like one of hers.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you spend time with them down at Edisto?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you and Paul and Ms. Maggie sometimes just the three of you down there?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: What did Ms. Maggie like to do?
ROGAN GIBSON: She liked the beach.
MR. GRIFFIN: When they were down at Edisto, was it -- were you the only friend welcome at the Edisto house, or what was it like?
ROGAN GIBSON: There was many friends that were welcome to the house.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was it, like, adult friends, or was it --
ROGAN GIBSON: Most --
MR. GRIFFIN: -- was Ms. Maggie and Mr. Alex's home, was it open to all of Paul and Buster's friends?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was open to all of Paul and Buster's friends.
MR. GRIFFIN: And was that the case at Edisto?
ROGAN GIBSON: That is correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was that the case at Moselle?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did it appear to you that Mr. Alex enjoyed being around his family?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir, he did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did you enjoy being around Mr. Alex and Ms. Maggie?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do you remember -- and I apologize if I get the date wrong, but do you remember in early 2019 that Paul was in a boating accident?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And a beautiful young woman died in that accident, didn't she?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Her name was Mallory Beach.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Paul was eventually charged. Is that correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did Paul receive any threats or harassment that you knew about as a result of that boating accident?
ROGAN GIBSON: None that I thought was real serious. I mean, he mentioned it that, you know, he would get -- people comment about it, but nothing that I thought was real serious.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he -- would people just mouth off to him when he went out to bars or just with his friends?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir, he had mentioned that.
MR. GRIFFIN: But it wasn't anything that you thought was serious in it.
ROGAN GIBSON: No. A lot of times I wasn't there when that happened, so I didn't think it was that serious.
MR. GRIFFIN: Let me back up. I skipped over something. You played sports when you were a kid growing up?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: I think your dad was a coach, wasn't he?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And was Mr. Alex a coach to Paul and Buster?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did Mr. Alex, when he wasn't coaching, would he and Ms. Maggie come to all the sporting events for the kids?
ROGAN GIBSON: They were always there.
MR. GRIFFIN: Can you think of them ever missing a sporting event for Buster and Paul?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not that I can remember.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did they come to your sporting events?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, was -- when Paul had an apartment in 2021, he started to go back to school at Carolina? Do you remember that? He was in college --
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- in the school year?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And in June he'd moved back to -- he'd moved back home. Is that correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was he living in Moselle for the most part?
ROGAN GIBSON: I think he was staying at Moselle some, but kind of all over the place.
MR. GRIFFIN: And sometimes he stayed with his uncle John Marvin down in Bluffton?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he was working with his uncle John Marvin.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, when he was on the farm when he was at Moselle, and this get a little confusing to me. I frankly -- well, let me just ask you. Can you tell the jury about all of the farm trucks there at Moselle?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. There was a lot of different vehicles that could be used, anywhere from ATVs to tractors.
MR. GRIFFIN: Well, let's just talk about the trucks.
ROGAN GIBSON: Okay.
MR. GRIFFIN: What was Paul's primary truck?
ROGAN GIBSON: Around the farm most of the time the F250.
MR. GRIFFIN: All right, but what was his primary mode of transportation? Was it a truck?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was a F150.
MR. GRIFFIN: And was it white?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and then -- and did he drive that around the farm some?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometimes he did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then there was a big F250.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that was also white, wasn't it?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did that have a name, the big F250 farm truck?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah, White Boy. That was the older F250.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then there was another one called Dolly?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct. That was a newer F250.
MR. GRIFFIN: That was a newer F250. And then was a -- was there a black truck?
ROGAN GIBSON: There was.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that was an F150?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: And was that Buster's old truck?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: So, there were just -- so, Buster had a -- excuse me. So, Buster had another vehicle and his old F150 stayed at Moselle, correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then Paul had his white 150 pickup, and when he was not at Moselle there were still three other trucks at Moselle, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That1 is correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Dolly, White Boy, and then Buster's old black pickup.
ROGAN GIBSON: That is correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And when Paul was there, he would drive any one of those trucks, wouldn't he --
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: -- on the farm? And no matter which one he was driving, he would most often have a some sort of firearm in the truck, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct. Most of the time on the farm he had a firearm in the vehicle.
MR. GRIFFIN: And those trucks, they would either stay down at the shed, the workshop, or at the house. I mean, there was no set place for them, correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And they didn't lock the trucks up, did they?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not normally.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then Paul would leave guns in the truck, wouldn't he?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Paul would leave guns everywhere just about, wouldn't he?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. He could leave -- he left a lot of stuff different places.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he ever leave any guns at your house?
ROGAN GIBSON: I'm sure he has over the years.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and then he would leave guns in the workshop, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: I have seen guns in the workshop, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then did they keep the work shock -- workshop locked?
ROGAN GIBSON: It just depends. Not a whole lot, but I have remembered it being locked, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Was it more often not locked than locked?
ROGAN GIBSON: Probably more recent, yeah, it wasn't locked.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do they -- if someone were bent on mischief, would it be a hard thing to go up on that property and steal stuff?
ROGAN GIBSON: Probably not around the sheds, it wouldn't be too hard.
MR. GRIFFIN: And if someone were bent on mischief, would it be a hard thing to go open up and rifle through or look through White Boy or Dolly or Buster's old black pickup truck?
ROGAN GIBSON: That is possible, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And there were no security cameras down at the old airplane hangar, the workshop, the kennels, and the pole barn, and skinning sheds, were there?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not that I was ever aware of.
MR. GRIFFIN: And there were no -- and the cabin where you guys stayed that summer, there was no security cameras there either, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not that I knew of.
MR. GRIFFIN: And would that cabin, would it stay locked?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometimes it was locked; sometimes it wasn't.
MR. GRIFFIN: Paul left guns there, too, didn't he?
ROGAN GIBSON: I have seen guns in that cabin before, yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: I may have this thing upside down, but you talked about Handsome. Who is Handsome?
ROGAN GIBSON: Mr. Randolph Murdaugh.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Ms. Libby is --
MR. GRIFFIN: Who's Ms. Libby?
MR. GRIFFIN: M? And that's Paul and Buster's grandparents, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And do you know where they lived?
ROGAN GIBSON: In Almeda.
MR. GRIFFIN: Almeda. And just generally, where is Almeda?
ROGAN GIBSON: It's on the outside of Varnville.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. Is it like a crossroads?
ROGAN GIBSON: It's a veer-off. You go toward Ridgeland. If you go -- if you veer off -- if you stay on that road, you go to Yemassee.
MR. GRIFFIN: All right. Coming out of Hampton toward Varnville, then where the veer-off is, that's called Almeda?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, to get to Almeda the most direct route -- so, can you see from back there?
ROGAN GIBSON: I can.
MR. GRIFFIN: And so this is the main house right here, correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you can get down to Moselle Road by going one or two ways, right? You can either take a left and go down by the shop and the kennels, or you can go straight out the main driveway. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, you can go out both ways.
MR. GRIFFIN: But when you hit Moselle Road, would you turn right or left going the most direct route to Almeda?
ROGAN GIBSON: Turn right.
MR. GRIFFIN: And be going down this way.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: You were asked a little bit about Paul's cell phone usage. He was on it a lot?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was on it a lot, yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Yeah, and did the battery get down low pretty regularly?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. He would let his phone die sometimes, or he would lose it.
MR. GRIFFIN: Well -- and when it would get down low, did he have a habit of, you know, not using it to try to keep it from going all the way out?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. I have seen that happen before.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you have done that yourself?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And phone coverage, cell phone coverage on that property is somewhat -- and when I say that property, I'm talking about Moselle -- is somewhat spotty, isn't it?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. GRIFFIN: And is there better coverage up at the house than down at the kennels?
ROGAN GIBSON: I would not -- I wouldn't think so.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay.
ROGAN GIBSON: I mean, it's kind of hit and miss.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you would be down at the kennels and you would be -- well, 10 yards one way you would have some coverage, 10 yards the other way you wouldn't have coverage. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now back up here, you know, we don't have any measurements on what this distance is from the kennels to the house, but if you're just driving in a buggy or a car or what have you, tell the jury roughly how long it would take from -- in a vehicle to go from the kennels to the house.
ROGAN GIBSON: It all depends on how fast you're driving, but it don't take long to get from the sheds to the house.
MR. GRIFFIN: I mean, can you do it in under 2 minutes?
ROGAN GIBSON: Definitely under 2 minutes.
MR. GRIFFIN: Going fast enough you can do it in a minute or less, I suppose. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. If you're going fast enough, you would be able to make it from the sheds to the house in under a minute.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay. You were asked about turkey season and when it started and when it ended. Do you remember? And you tell me. I don't know. When does turkey season start?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. Most of the time mid-March to early May.
MR. GRIFFIN: How about duck season, when does that start?
ROGAN GIBSON: The first season starts around Thanksgiving, I think, the weekend before Thanksgiving.
MR. GRIFFIN: And when does the second season start?
ROGAN GIBSON: Some time in December.
MR. GRIFFIN: And when does it end?
ROGAN GIBSON: End of January.
MR. GRIFFIN: Do -- did you go duck hunting with Paul?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir, I have.
MR. GRIFFIN: And they had a duck pond on the property?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And did they keep it full all year, or did they drain it and plant it for another season?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah. They would drain it after duck season and be ready to plant in the springtime.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you helped with that?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Mr. Alex would be involved helped doing that, but --
ROGAN GIBSON: He would.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that was part of Paul's passion, doing things like that?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, waterfowl shells' load are different than turkey load. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And what's the difference?
ROGAN GIBSON: Steel shot.
MR. GRIFFIN: And steel shot for what?
ROGAN GIBSON: For ducks, waterfowl.
MR. GRIFFIN: And why -- is it just preferred or is it required?
ROGAN GIBSON: It's required.
MR. GRIFFIN: Because you don't want lead in the water?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: But for hunting purposes if you just had your choice, would you rather just hunt with lead or steel?
ROGAN GIBSON: Lead shot.
MR. GRIFFIN: Because it has greater knockdown power?
ROGAN GIBSON: It does.
MR. GRIFFIN: Is that why you would rather, or it was price, too, I suspect.
ROGAN GIBSON: What's that again?
MR. GRIFFIN: Why would you prefer lead over steel?
ROGAN GIBSON: It has better knockdown. It's better.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, you were asked questions about 300 Blackouts. And at one time Paul had his own and Buster had his own, and they had two 300 Blackouts. Do you remember that?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you heard that Paul had had one stolen out of his truck at a party?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And do you remember roughly when that was?
ROGAN GIBSON: I'm not exactly sure.
MR. GRIFFIN: Years ago?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. It's been a good many years ago.
MR. GRIFFIN: And -- and whenever -- in recent memory, have you ever seen Paul with a 300 Blackout other than the black one with a thermal scope?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not to my knowledge.
MR. GRIFFIN: So, whenever you were with Paul and he had a 300 Blackout, it was a black one with a thermal scope.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you ever see a 300 Blackout around the house that was black without a thermal scope?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not to my knowledge I haven't.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and just -- and the jury heard it. What's a thermal scope?
ROGAN GIBSON: Picks up the heat from the animal, and you can see it at nighttime because of the heat.
MR. GRIFFIN: Just perfect for night hunting?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that's the best time to hunt hogs?
ROGAN GIBSON: It is.
MR. GRIFFIN: Because during the daytime they stay in the swamp?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: At night they come out?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And y'all had cameras out there to see when they were coming out?
ROGAN GIBSON: Sometimes we did.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, you listened to this videotape and heard. That was your dog, Cash?
ROGAN GIBSON: It was.
MR. GRIFFIN: A chocolate lab?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you heard Ms. Maggie?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you heard Paul obviously.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And Ms. Maggie was saying he's got a, I forgot --
ROGAN GIBSON: A guinea.
MR. GRIFFIN: A guinea, and then you heard a voice say: No, it's a chicken. Do you remember whose voice that was?
ROGAN GIBSON: That was Mr. Alex that said it the first time, and then Paul also said it was a chicken.
MR. GRIFFIN: And then someone says Bubba, let go of that chicken or something like that?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yeah, just hollered for Bubba.
MR. GRIFFIN: And whose voice did you recognize hollering for Bubba?
ROGAN GIBSON: Mr. Alex.
MR. GRIFFIN: And who's Bubba?
ROGAN GIBSON: Their dog.
MR. GRIFFIN: Does he have -- and -- was Bubba a yellow lab?
ROGAN GIBSON: He was.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did Bubba have his own kennel?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did.
MR. GRIFFIN: Which one was it?
ROGAN GIBSON: Most of the time he was in the first one right beside the feed room.
MR. GRIFFIN: Now, you had talked to Paul. I think the records show you had a four minute telephone conversation before that video was taken, which you didn't receive until law enforcement showed you. Do you remember you talked to Paul for about 4 minutes, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And I believe when you were interviewed, you said it sounded like Mr. Alex had pulled up or something to that effect, or driven up. Do you remember that?
ROGAN GIBSON: No. I don't remember really hearing a vehicle.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay.
ROGAN GIBSON: I just remember hearing a third voice.
MR. GRIFFIN: Okay, and the next day -- excuse me, was it the 8th, the next day, when you went over and met with -- and went in the house at Moselle and you saw Maggie's parents?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And that's when Grandmar, Ms. Branstetter, asked you if you heard Maggie's voice?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you told her you did.
ROGAN GIBSON: I told her I talked to Paul and heard Ms. Maggie.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you told them in front of everybody that you had thought you had heard Alex's voice, too, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And he didn't push back whatsoever.
ROGAN GIBSON: No, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: What was Alex's demeanor when you first saw him after the murders and days after? What --
ROGAN GIBSON: He was just real distraught, sad, just tore up about it.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he cry a lot?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he hug you?
ROGAN GIBSON: He did.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did he cry?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you cry?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: Did you cry the day after and the day after?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was really sad.
MR. GRIFFIN: One second, Your Honor.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. GRIFFIN: On this video -- you've been around Alex, Maggie, and Paul most all your life. Was there any -- did you notice any signs of distress or anxiety or anything out of the ordinary?
ROGAN GIBSON: I did not.
MR. GRIFFIN: And you've been around Maggie and Alex and the whole family a lot.
ROGAN GIBSON: Almost all of my life, yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And would you see Alex openly show his display of affection and love to Maggie?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. GRIFFIN: And from your observation, did they have a close, good relationship?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: And they were loving to each other, and to Paul, and Buster, and their friends, correct?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. GRIFFIN: Can you think of any circumstance that you can envision, knowing them as you do, where Alex would brutally murder Paul and Maggie?
ROGAN GIBSON: Not that I can think of.
MR. GRIFFIN: Thank you.
MR. GRIFFIN: That's all of the questions I have.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. WATERS:
MR. WATERS: You were asked some questions about the sheds being unlocked. Did Paul ever complain to you that people were up there stealing all kinds of stuff all the time?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was never aware of people stealing anything.
MR. WATERS: When you talked to Paul and heard Maggie and Alex at 8:40, was there any problem with that voice call or did it come through just fine? The reception was good.
ROGAN GIBSON: The call came through, yes.
MR. WATERS: And the last conversation you had with Paul was he was going to do what if the FaceTime didn't work?
ROGAN GIBSON: Send me a video.
MR. WATERS: But he never did.
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: And you've heard that video and you hear three voices, is that correct, Maggie, Paul, and Mr. Alex?
ROGAN GIBSON: In the video, yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: When you're up standing, if you're at the house or in the house on the second floor, or something like that, can you see the roofs of the sheds and -- down there?
ROGAN GIBSON: The last time I had been out there, yes, you would be able to see the top of the structure.
MR. WATERS: And if you're standing out here in front of the sheds, could you see the top of the house the other way?
ROGAN GIBSON: Same thing, yeah. The last time I was there, you would be able to see the top of the structure. There was trees going between the houses.
MR. WATERS: And that was a long time ago, right?
ROGAN GIBSON: That's correct.
MR. WATERS: Down there at the sheds, did they have, like, outdoor lighting down there?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir, they did.
MR. WATERS: And if all of that was on, could you see all of that lighting from the house?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes. You would be able to see that there were lights on from the house.
MR. WATERS: And if those lights were on, it would be pretty well lit up. Is that right?
ROGAN GIBSON: If all of them were, yes.
MR. WATERS: You were asked about the boat wreck. Were you aware that Paul had been charged in that boat wreck?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was.
MR. WATERS: Were you aware that Alex Murdaugh had been sued in that boat wreck?
ROGAN GIBSON: I was.
MR. WATERS: What was your perception of Alex's wealth? Did you believe he was a fairly wealthy man?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, sir.
MR. WATERS: How long have you known Alex Murdaugh?
ROGAN GIBSON: Pretty much all of my life.
MR. WATERS: As you sit here today, did you really know him?
MR. GRIFFIN: Objection, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Objection is overruled.
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, I knew Mr. Alex.
MR. WATERS: But as you sat here today, did you really know him?
ROGAN GIBSON: Yes, I know Mr. Alex.
MR. WATERS: Nothing further, Your Honor. Thank you.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. GRIFFIN: None, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: You may step down.
(The witness exited the stand.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: We'll take about a 10 minute recess.
(The jury left the courtroom.)
(A break was taken.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: Are you ready for the jury?