Dylan Hightower — Direct/Cross/Redirect
705 linesEND OF IN-CAMERA HEARING
JUDGE NEWMAN: Well, we're running up on lunchtime, Mr. Waters. What's next?
MR. WATERS: Well, we can certainly continue this. We have Annette Griswold, who is Alex's former paralegal who in large measure will testify to similar events with Thomas Moore, Hershberger, and Faris fees. Again, I don't want to be cumulative for purposes of this, but she will certainly add to that. We also have available on this particular issue Michael Gunn, who is the principal in Forge who, of course, will testify that he had never had any discussion with Alex about structuring, or at least nothing had ever been set up, and that this account is not his, and that all of the money in these various transactions never went to him, and that they were diverted. And then we have Chris Wilson as well who can describe the circumstances of those Faris fees. All of that will be very lengthy, but we have all of that available in as much as that's necessary to complete the story for purposes of the in-camera hearing.
We do have, though -- we have arranged to get additional SLED and other witness here related outside of this for the afternoon if you wish to make use of the jury for that. And also as it relates to this -- and we're also prepared to offer testimony about these particular instances, but we do have a confession of judgment that I would offer to the Court at this point in time in the Satterfield case. And, again, before the jury we would have testimony about that, but for purposes of clear and convincing evidence, we have this confession of judgment that we would offer for purposes of this hearing as well. In addition, we have his disbarment from the Supreme Court, which also refers to his admission of financial misconduct, which we believe also are relevant to the Court's decision at this point as to whether or not there was clear and convincing evidence established by these various other crimes, and so we would offer those as well to the Court for its consideration now.
However, we can certainly offer testimony about those aspects as well. I think, Your Honor, if we can get to a decision point on the law firm witnesses, then we can move forward. And, again, we have some witnesses related to Satterfield that we can address and try to work that in over the next few days of court time, and then finally with the boat case as well. So, that would be some of the financial witnesses that we would offer. And then finally, Your Honor, we do have some witnesses from Palmetto State Bank who will talk about the extent of Alex Murdaugh's financial condition at the time the murders happened and the reasons why, explaining the reason why all of these things were occurring and why they were all coming to a head in June of 2021.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Mr. Griffin?
MR. GRIFFIN: Your Honor, I think there's more than enough in the record from this witness to establish that this evidence is not admissible under 404B, and -- I mean, without even getting to whether they can prove it up by clear and convincing evidence. I'm happy to make that argument at any point in time. But the whole landscape that he just talked about, Your Honor, in 403 he also includes a component of undue delay, and as he just described, all of the financial misdeeds or crimes that he wants to prove up, we're going to be here until end of February, I suspect, or March because that's adding two weeks to this trial.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes, sir?
MR. WATERS: Yes, sir. And obviously as I even pointed out with this witness, we're trying to streamline the presentation. Frankly, the extent of misappropriation is very, very broad and we're trying to focus on just a few areas. And the ones that we're focusing on are the ones that really came out of his mouth within seconds of law enforcement being on the scene, within seconds of the 911 call happening, and that is, of course, the boat case. And what does that mean? That there was -- there's two things that are very temporally connected with this particular crime, and that is the confrontations with Ms. Seckinger that morning over the Faris fees that have been percolating for awhile, and then number two is that pending hearing that very week in the boat case, which again, the purpose of that hearing is to -- in a specific request for production and interrogatory to identify all accounts. And, again, once you do that, once those accounts are identified, just like Ms. Seckinger was able to do, just like law enforcement was able to do, and the State Grand Jury was able to do, it doesn't take long to figure all of that out. And then lead to not only know what's happened here, his disbarment, but also -- you know, I don't have to get into this specifically, but 99 counts for which he's facing a possible sentence of life without parole on that alone. And so that kind of consequence that's hanging out there is very much relevant and very timely to what was going on June the 7th in his life. The defense asked the question can you think of any reason, and all of this going on in his life, which is a stellar series of events like nothing ever seen. It's certainly relevant for the jury to consider when they consider a perfect storm that was arriving for this man on June the 7th.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Mr. Griffin, the witnesses that are here, Ms. Griswold, Chris Wilson, Mr. Gunn, the confession of judgment, and the disbarment, do you contest the matters which they are here to testify concerning?
MR. GRIFFIN: It depends on how far they go with their testimony. But I would certainly, you know, as a predicate for Mr. Gunn to testify that they didn't have an account at Bank of America and those checks were not deposited with us and I didn't know anything about that, I mean, we're acceptable to that. Just, you know, without knowing the full scope of what they intend to offer, it's hard to say yes. But, that's all. Just like this witness, I mean, she has a lot of information that is -- that she learned through an investigation, but if we had to try this case, you know, 90 percent of it she couldn't testify to.
MR. WATERS: And, Your Honor, I would point out that those witnesses that I mentioned, as well as every single one of those victims, all testified. You know, there is transcripts on that which the defense has had, which, you know, Your Honor has access to as well. So, I don't know that necessarily it all needs to be repeated for Your Honor's determination now because again, as he just said, those facts have already been testified to. It's just a question of the parameters for this particular trial, which again, the State's intent is not to try 100 white collar cases in the context of this murder case. It's only to explain to the jury enough of what was going on, an unfathomable set of events for a lawyer, what was going on in his life that were all coming to a head on June 7th. I can't -- I think that's extremely relevant, and we plan to do so in a very expedited and focused fashion.
MR. GRIFFIN: Your Honor, I would say for the purposes of the trial going forward with the jury, I mean, we're not stipulating to any facts. THE COURT: Yes, sir. Well --
MR. GRIFFIN: But for purposes of this hearing, I've been very candid with the Court.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes, sir. As far as the Court's view of things and what the Court needs to determine to be convinced that clear and convincing evidence exists, clear and convincing evidence is not proof beyond a reasonable doubt and all of that, it says that degree of proof which will give me a firm belief as to the facts sought to be proven. And if those specific facts are not being contested, what the communication with Ms. Griswold that's in the record, with Chris Wilson, there may be -- Attorney Wilson may be some dispute. I don't know, Mr. Gunn. You know, Forge is a well known consulting firm, and the Bank of America accounts says Richard A. Murdaugh, sole proprietor, DBA Forge. A confession of judgment, disbarment, you know, the -- I'm happy to sit and hear any and all of the testimony.
You know, one of things that did occur in the Siegel case was the judge who got reversed didn't want to spend time listening and hearing all of the evidence because of the expediency of things, and the Court says although we sympathize with the Court's concern about the length and complexity of the trial, we nevertheless conclude that the importance of the evidence -- due to the importance of the evidence, that it must be presented and the Court must receive it. So, I am happy to do that without needles presentation of evidence twice, more than once. And now I understand the defense's position, and I'm not seeking any waiver on the question of whether or not this should be admitted or not admitted. I know you each have your arguments on -- regarding 404 issues, and I haven't heard much argument on the res gestae issue, which is equally important, or perhaps more important. But if you are interested in contesting the nature of each one of these witness's testimony, if they're here and available, we can hear them. I mean, we can -- you indicate that there are some other witnesses on other matters that can occupy the jury for a bit of time this afternoon?
MR. WATERS: Yes, sir. After our discussion this morning, we got some folks rolling, and after the lunch hour I think we can take us through the end of the day with witnesses that don't relate to this specific issue.
JUDGE NEWMAN: We can go in that direction, and then resume with this with more witnesses later this afternoon, tomorrow morning, tomorrow afternoon. I just don't want the jury to sit and to be in an idle format. To the extent that you all can be in agreement with the path forward, that's best. If you can't, then, you know, then I make the call.
MR. GRIFFIN: Your Honor, as I mentioned earlier, I strongly believe that, based on what you've heard thus far, it doesn't meet the elements of 404B and you don't need to get to whether it's been proven by clear and convincing. If you rule against us on that, then we have --
JUDGE NEWMAN: Well, how about res gestae?
MR. GRIFFIN: Well, the only thing that would come close to res gestae --
JUDGE NEWMAN: Gestae. I say res gestae. You said gestae. Go ahead.
MR. GRIFFIN: Tomato, tomato, right? So, the only thing that comes close to that is, you know, the encounter on June the 7th by Ms. -- by this witness up there about the Faris matter. So, one matter is the Chris Wilson cocounsel fee issue, and that was the only thing he was confronted about on the afternoon before the murders. And --
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yeah, but the State has to prove the state of mind of the defendant.
MR. GRIFFIN: Right.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Not solely what this witness knew at that moment in time but what the defendant knew --
MR. GRIFFIN: And, Your Honor --
JUDGE NEWMAN: -- that was subject to exposure.
MR. GRIFFIN: And so, Your Honor, in the -- with regard to the res gestae issue, we had briefed State v. King, 334SC504, and that is somewhat similar in that it involved thefts where someone is stealing money and there were remote thefts, and there was a theft the night before, or close in time to the murders. And the claim was that the murders were done to get money from the victim and that we had thefts earlier in the day, or the day previous, and then a number of thefts months and years before.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Did the judge do the 403 analysis, 403 and 404 analysis in King?
MR. GRIFFIN: Well, the trial judge allowed it in and the Supreme Court justice, Justice Burnette in 1999 overturned Judge Hicks Harwell for admitting the evidence.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Without conducting the 404 analysis, 403 analysis?
MR. GRIFFIN: Well, I mean, they have a footnote in there --
JUDGE NEWMAN: Got to have a hearing. You have to do what we're doing now.
MR. GRIFFIN: Yes, sir, but in the case they said while the remote thefts may have been mentally -- minimally relevant to show motive under Lyle, the prejudicial effect of this evidence far outweighed the slight probative value. So, the Supreme Court did a 403 analysis, and that's in footnote five, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Well, anything else before we break? We'll resume at 2:00 with -- at 2:15 with witnesses, and we will resume with witnesses in the -- jury witnesses, and we'll resume with this in-camera hearing involving witnesses later.
MR. WATERS: Yes, sir, Your Honor.
JUDGE NEWMAN: We'll be in recess until 2:15.
(A lunch break was taken.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: You may bring the jury.
(The jury returned to the courtroom.)
COURT BAILIFF: The jury is present, sir.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Thank you. All right, thank you and welcome back. You may call your next witness.
MR. CONRAD: The state calls Investigator Dylan Hightower.
The witness, DYLAN HIGHTOWER, was first duly sworn and testified as follows:
COURT CLERK: Take a seat in the witness stand. State your name again for the record and spell your last name.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: My name is Dylan Hightower, H-i-g-h-t-o-w-e-r.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. CONRAD:
MR. CONRAD: Investigator Hightower, good afternoon.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Good afternoon, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Where are you employed, sir?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I currently work for the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office as an investigator; I also supervise the Criminal Intelligence Unit within our office.
MR. CONRAD: What is the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: The district attorney of the Fourteenth Circuit, which is comprised of five counties: Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper counties. Our office handles all general sessions related criminal offenses in court.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and specifically your role as an investigator, what are your duties in the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. My duties are to prepare cases for trial, locate and identify witnesses, interview witnesses, obtain any additional evidence that may be needed prior to trial. We also prepare witness testimony for all of our potential witnesses for all of our trials. Also outside of preparing cases for trial I assist with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies with active and criminal investigations.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and can you just briefly describe your background in law enforcement that lead you to -- lead to your employment at the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes. So, in 2010 I graduated from the University of South Carolina in Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. Soon thereafter a criminal intelligence position became available within the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office, to which I then applied and accepted. Initially when I first was hired, I attended a four week on the job training at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in the Fusion Center for Criminal Intelligence Analysis School. Afterward I attended the PenLink Call Analysis Training Center there in Columbia as well. In 2013 I became a class one certified law enforcement officer. In 2014 I attended the Fundamentals -- ETS Fundamentals of Call Detail Record Analysis in Pinehurst, North Carolina. In 2015 I attended and became a Susteen Security Cellular Forensics Operator to obtain the evidence from a specific device for telephone, cellular telephone. In 2016 -- if I may refer to my notes?
MR. CONRAD: Yes.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: For timing? Later on in 2015 I attended a course, Gladiator Cellular Forensics Course where we learned about ESPA and GAR. ESPA stands for Enterprise Sensor Processing Analytics; GAR stands for Gladiator Autonomous Receiver. Essentially that class taught us to use specific devices in software to identify digital footprints of cellular towers within a specific area. In 2017 I attended an operator course for BlackBag Mobilyze, which is a forensic tool to extract data off of a cellular telephone. In 2018 I attended the FBI CAST -- cast stands for Cellular Analysis Survey Team -- on a class involving historical cell site analysis, which identifies tower activity, tower orientation, sector information of incoming and outgoing calls, and a specific telephone number.
MR. CONRAD: Investigator Hightower, I'm going to stop you there. So, in -- as part of your job as an investigator for the Fourteenth Circuit, your role is to help with cell tower -- cell records and cell tower information, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, among other things.
MR. CONRAD: And you've also had training on downloading and doing extract -- extracts from phones as well, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I do, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right. Is it unusual for you to respond to murder scenes in the Fourteenth Circuit?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, not at all.
MR. CONRAD: And you personally met the defendant in this case, Mr. Alex Murdaugh. Is that correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and does Mr. Alex Murdaugh, or at least at one point, have an association with the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, he did.
MR. CONRAD: What was that association?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: He was identified as a volunteer solicitor within our office.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and when you say assistant solicitor, what does an assistant solicitor do?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: They prosecute cases in general sessions court.
MR. CONRAD: And you've -- in your role, you've participated in a number of trials before, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I have. I've been doing this for approximately coming up on twelve and a half years.
MR. CONRAD: Have you had an opportunity to participate in any trials with the defendant, Richard Alexander Murdaugh?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, there was one.
MR. CONRAD: And approximately when was that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Probably 2015 or 2016. It was a murder case out of Hampton County.
MR. CONRAD: And what role did Mr. Alexander Murdaugh fill in that case?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: He was essentially one of prosecutors on the case. His father, Randolph Murdaugh, was technically the lead on the case and who I spoke with and met with prior to my testimony in the trial.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right. Let's move forward to June 8th of 2021. Do you recall that day, sir?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: And did you have an occasion to respond to 4147 Moselle Road here in Hampton -- or Colleton County?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. CONRAD: And briefly explain how you became involved and why you responded out there along that road.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So that morning, multiple phone calls were crossing through multiple employees throughout our office regarding the incident that occurred. We then all -- we being myself, two other investigators, my solicitor, my deputy solicitor -- traveled to SLED Lowcountry here in Walterboro and attended a briefing involving all of the law enforcement agencies responsible for the investigation. During that briefing, we learned more about the particulars of what occurred, and then afterward we had all traveled together in multiple vehicles to 4147 Moselle Road.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. So, yourself and several other Fourteenth Circuit investigators responded, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. I drove with one other investigator riding with me; one additional investigator met us there. Captain Ryan Neill with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was in the vehicle with Solicitor Stone and Deputy Solicitor Thornton.
MR. CONRAD: And you just testified that it's not and usual for you, yourself, to respond to a murder scene, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir. In all of the murder cases that I've been involved in, any type of criminal proceeding, probably 95 percent of those scenes I've actually gone to.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and was it unusual for the solicitor to respond to a scene that quickly after an incident, in your experience?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, not at all. Again we -- as a staff that are involved with the prosecution team, we have always traveled to a crime scene if we go to a courtroom.
MR. CONRAD: And just so it's clear, I don't know if you said it yet, but who is the solicitor of the Fourteenth Circuit?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: The solicitor is Duffy Stone.
MR. CONRAD: And he would be your direct boss, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I go through the Deputy Solicitor Sean Thornton, but --
MR. CONRAD: He's the ultimate boss.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: -- the ultimate boss is Solicitor Stone, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and once you got to the scene, what did you do?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Once we arrived on scene, we met with Captain Ryan Neill kind of all in a group. Captain Neill then walked around the scene and kind of noted different points of view, different pieces of -- the crime scene had already been relinquished at that point by the crime scene agents. There was no crime scene up; it was wide open. There were multiple members of the law firm there, other SLED agents as well. We had all kind of walked around the scene, around the barn, around the kennels, identified the points of interest, and where each of the bodies were with Paul and Maggie, and then kind of circulated around the property and got a better visual of what all actually occurred.
MR. CONRAD: And while you were there, did you bring any equipment with you to help aid the investigation?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. CONRAD: And what did you bring?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Our Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor's Office drone.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. I'm going to show you some pictures, and they are marked Exhibit 242, 241, 240, 239, 237 -- pull these papers apart -- 238. Do you recognize those pictures, sir?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and what are those pictures?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: This is drone imagery of the scene right around the kennels, in the general vicinity around the kennels.
MR. CONRAD: And that was from a drone you operated?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it is.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and about what time do you recall that you took those pictures and what day?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It was on June 8th of 2021, between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. that afternoon.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right.
MR. CONRAD: At this time the --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection, Your Honor.
MR. CONRAD: At this time, the State would move to enter into evidence Exhibits 242, 241, 240, 237, 238 and 239.
JUDGE NEWMAN: They're admitted without objection.
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 237 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 238 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 239 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 240 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 241 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 242 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. CONRAD: I'll need the ELMO, please.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. CONRAD: Okay. Can you see this picture on your screen, Mr. Hightower?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I can.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and what is this an image of?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So, this is closest kind of in the direction of the house looking back towards the hangar area, as well as the dog kennels off to your right. My vehicle is right dead center in the picture, and then other SLED agents' vehicles were over on the left.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and I'm going to ask you to step down real quick to point out a couple of things, if you don't mind. All right, and you might have to step over these boxes. But can you point out from what you were told when you were on scene approximately where Paul Murdaugh's body was found on that picture?
(Break in proceedings.)
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Paul's body was right here near the dog kennels.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and where was Maggie's body?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: She would have been right under this area here just on the corner.
MR. CONRAD: And you testified by the time you got to the scene, SLED Crime Scene had cleared it and then departed, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And when you say -- you can take a seat again. When you say that crime scene had cleared, what does that mean?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It was no longer an active crime scene. Once the crime scene tape is removed, it's no longer active.
MR. CONRAD: So, other individuals could walk and view the crime scene at that point.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and that was Exhibit 240. And I'm going to show you Exhibit 241, and that's the same general area, a little bit closer on where Maggie and Paul's body were, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: And now I'm going to show you 242. All right, and that's a little bit lower angle of looking at the scene area where Maggie and Paul's body were, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and I'm going to show you Exhibit 239. Okay. What is this angle and what is it looking at? And, in fact, if you want to step down again and point to the jury. Yeah, that's better. Okay. So, at the top of this picture and kind of in the center, what is that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So this here is the residence, 4147 Moselle Road; it is the actual residence. This is the field between the residence and the kennels. Again, the kennels -- the edge of the kennels is right there, but you can see the top of the hangar there as well. This is a direction looking directly over the hangar pointing directly back towards the residence.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and I'm going to ask you to sit down a second, but I want to call your attention to this line of trees right here. Do you see that, sir?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and this picture -- you can take a seat. This picture was taken again when?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: These were taken on the afternoon of June 8, 2021.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and we see some pine trees kind of running diagonally in between the kennels and the house, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, you do.
MR. CONRAD: And you were out there at the scene first, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was.
MR. CONRAD: And can -- from the best of your recollection, can you remember the approximate height of most of these trees during this time?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I would approximate probably 6, 7, maybe 8 feet on certain ones, but you did get a clear channel and a clear view back towards the residence.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and you've been out there more recently, haven't you?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I have.
MR. CONRAD: And did you notice any differences with those trees at least at present day compared to June of 2021?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. It's much more overgrown than what it looks like in that picture.
MR. CONRAD: Have those trees grown higher?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Much higher, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: I'm going to show you -- this is going to be Exhibit 238, and this is approximately the same angle, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: The same angle, just the drone shifted backwards a little bit so you could actually see the full hangar, the full kennels, as well as the residence.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and finally I'm going to show you Exhibit 237. And what angle is this in relation to the kennels?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So, the idea behind this was to identify both driveways accessing the residence, as well as accessing the barn area. So, this is further back kind of closest to the field area looking back towards the hangar, the dog kennels, and the two driveways that you can travel or arrive on from the property.
MR. CONRAD: And this gives a good angle of those trees that we were just discussing to show how closely -- or how closely they're spaced, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, let's step back a little bit chronologically a little earlier in the day of June 8th of 2021. While you were at the scene, did Maggie's cell phone come up in conversations?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it did.
MR. CONRAD: All right. Describe the context of that. How did it come up, and who was there when it came up?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It was during the general overview of the scene. We started asking questions about pieces of physical evidence that might have been identified. I learned at that time that Paul's phone was found on him, and Maggie's phone was not located anywhere near the scene during the scene processing. So, therefore, I explored other options to try to identify where her phone may be.
MR. CONRAD: And you testified awhile ago you've got pretty extensive training and experience dealing with cell phones, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. Every case -- I would say 95 percent of all of or cases we put to a courtroom involve all forms of digital forensics: cell phone extractions, cell phone records, things of that nature. It's a part of our everyday life.
MR. CONRAD: So with that background, when you learned Maggie's phone was missing, what -- did you have any ideas?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And what idea did you have?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Knowing that they were -- the Murdaughs were a close knit family, I figured one of the family members might have had a direct location on Find My IPhone, knowing that they all utilized IPhones.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and did you communicate that idea to anyone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did. I spoke with John Marvin Murdaugh on the scene.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and what did he do in reaction to your suggestion?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: He believed that one of the family members did have access to Maggie Murdaugh's phone location via Find My IPhone. He left for a few minutes, short minutes, and came back to me with a cell phone I believed to be Buster Murdaugh's phone.
MR. CONRAD: You're not 100 percent --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Not 100 percent positive.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and what did you do once this phone was handed to you by John Marvin?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I took possession of the phone, obviously looked at the virtual map, walked into the direction of where I believed it to be to see if it might be in the general vicinity of where we were around the dog kennels. As I walked probably 30 or 40 yards, I realized it was much further away than I originally anticipated, so I then backed -- went back to my vehicle. I got in with John Marvin. I had possession of the phone the entire time. Two of our other investigators, Solicitor Jojo Woodward and Solicitor -- or, excuse me, Investigator Donnie Hutto rode with me back towards the general area of where the device was showing.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and so you had this family phone the entire time, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. CONRAD: And you were tracking to where Maggie's phone exactly was.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was driving and looking down at the phone making sure I was going in the proper direction.
MR. CONRAD: Approximately how far did you drive?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: About a half a mile from the entrance to the barns, the driveway to the barns.
MR. CONRAD: I'm going to show you what's been marked as Exhibit 227. Do you recognize that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and what is that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That's an overview from Google maps that shows both the residence, as well as the general location of where I ultimately located Maggie Murdaugh's phone along the edge of Moselle Road.
MR. CONRAD: And you prepared that --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did.
MR. CONRAD: -- to show the location.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
MR. CONRAD: The State moves 227 into evidence.
JUDGE NEWMAN: It's admitted.
(GOOGLE MAP MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 227 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. CONRAD: Okay. Can you see that on your screen, Investigator Hightower?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I can.
MR. CONRAD: All right. We're going to ask you to step down one more time. All right. On this overview, can you point out where the residence is for 4147 Moselle Road?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: The residence is here, you can see the driveway here as well, and then the kennels are up here.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and there's a marker on there, correct, that says general location of phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that would be right here.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and that's where you found Maggie Murdaugh's phone, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. So, I was walking -- when I was trying to get a better idea of where the phone actually was, I was walking up and down the driveway here to the kennels, obviously looking down at the phone trying to identify the general location. Once I started to realize that the phone was much further away, that's when I jumped into my vehicle. I turned and went southeast of the residence area. Once I got to this specific area where the field kind of opened up, I started getting closer and closer to the blue dot you would see on Find My IPhone. Once I got closer and closer, we all got out on foot and walked the property to identify where that phone was.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. You can take a seat.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No objection, Your Honor.
MR. CONRAD: And I'm going to hand you Exhibit 236, 235, 234, 233, 232, 231, 230, 229, and 228. Do you recognize any of those photos?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and what are those?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: These are photographs that I took of Maggie Murdaugh's phone as it was laying in the -- in the brushed area, or leafed area closer to Moselle Road, about 15 or 20 feet away from Moselle Road.
MR. CONRAD: And did you ever personally pick up Maggie's phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I never touched the phone. Once I identified the location of where the phone was, I contacted captain Ryan Neill with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. He sent a team with Special Agent Katie McCallister and Special Agent Jeff Croft to take possession of the device.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. So, when you took these pictures, Maggie's phone had not been touched, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It has not been touched, no, sir.
MR. CONRAD: All right.
MR. CONRAD: At this time, the State is going to move Exhibits 236, 235, 233, 231, 228, 227 (sic), 230, 232, and 234 into evidence.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I said no objection.
JUDGE NEWMAN: They're admitted without objection.
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 228 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 229 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 230 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 231 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 232 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 233 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 234 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 235 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
(PHOTO MARKED AS STATE'S EXHIBIT NUMBER 236 WAS RECEIVED INTO EVIDENCE.)
MR. CONRAD: Okay. I'm going to show you first Exhibit 230. All right, and in the center of this I see two orange flags. Do you see those?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: What are those orange flags?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So once I located the device, I found some standard landscape flags laying around. I then obtained those, walked over towards where the phone actually was, put one towards the phone and one kind of where you could see it from the roadway as the SLED agents were responding to collect it.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. So, where was Maggie's phone in relation to these two orange flags again?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So, it would be the furthest one away. This is just a point of view from the street looking back towards where the phone was.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and we see what looks like pavement in the foreground. Is that correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. That is Moselle Road.
MR. CONRAD: And so that represents the edge of the road, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And just so it's clear, is this the north side of the road or south side of the road?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: This would be --
MR. CONRAD: Well, let's go back to -- let's go back to Exhibit 227. So, this -- does this represent north -- north, south is up and down on this map you prepared?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it does.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right. So, was the phone found on the right side of Moselle Road on this picture or the left side?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It would be on the right side on this angle.
MR. CONRAD: I'm going to show you Exhibit 234. And do you recognize what's in that picture?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and right in the center of that picture, what is it?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That's the Apple IPhone that actually had a camouflage case with an orange tint to it, and there was standing water on top of the screen.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and I see the little black area if you look up and left of the phone in the center of picture there. Do you know what that was, or was that of any significance?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I don't believe it was anything significant from what I recall. It might have been a bottle or something of that nature.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. I'm going to show you now Exhibit 231. Okay, and I believe in the center of this picture towards the bottom, what is that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is the cell phone identified as Maggie Murdaugh's phone.
MR. CONRAD: And we see an orange flag just a little bit in front of it. Is that correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and is that the orange flag you placed?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It is.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and then in the distance I see a line, a white line. It doesn't show very clear on the ELMO, but what is that? And I can bring the picture to you if you need me to.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I could explain what this picture is of looking back towards because I -- based off of the glare, I can't even see the roadway.
MR. CONRAD: Right. I'll show it to you. What -- on this far line here, what is that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Of this back here?
MR. CONRAD: In front of that.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Okay. This is Moselle Road here.
MR. CONRAD: Okay.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: This is just on the opposite side of the cell phone looking back towards the field area. The trees were a line of reference to identify where it was actually located.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right, and can you -- did you -- can you approximate the distance from the road that you found this phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I didn't step it off or measure it, but I would say between 15 and 20 feet.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. I'm going to show you exhibit -- excuse me. All right, we are looking at Exhibit 228. All right, describe what's in this picture, please.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is just a more close-up picture of the Apple IPhone recovered from the leaves.
MR. CONRAD: And do I see something on the screen of that phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. It's standing water believed to be from the moisture from the night before.
MR. CONRAD: And that screen, is that facing up or facing down?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: The screen is facing up.
MR. CONRAD: All right. I'm showing you Exhibit 235. All right, and what's in this picture?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It's just the opposite angle on the other side of the phone, more of a close-up of the IPhone.
MR. CONRAD: And you can see those water droplets on the phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And I see some sort of vine on top of phone. Can you tell what that is?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It appears to be some sort of a plant or --
MR. CONRAD: All right, and finally 236. What is in this picture?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Again, more of a close-up from the top of the phone looking down.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and this is Exhibit 233. All right, what is -- describe this picture.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: So, the reason behind this is to obviously identify the location of where the device was. I had walked out to Moselle Road, got into the center of the roadway, and taken a picture of the trees in the field directly on the opposite side of the road of where the phone was found.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and this is Exhibit 232. If you would, describe this picture, please.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: This is me standing in the same location as the previous picture. This is me just turning right towards the residence to show the pitch in the road, as well as the start of the break of the field off to the left.
MR. CONRAD: So, you're standing basically across the road where Maggie's phone was found, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct. It will be directly to my right in this picture.
MR. CONRAD: And facing down that road, what's that way?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That's back towards the residence and the kennels.
MR. CONRAD: And whose vehicle is -- do you recall whose vehicle is in that picture?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That was Captain Ryan Neill's.
MR. CONRAD: And finally Exhibit 229, and what's in this picture?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is a close-up of the back of the picture, or back of the IPhone. That's Special Agent Katie McCallister that has possession of it. At that point in time, we had put it in airplane mode and sealed it into an evidence bag.
MR. CONRAD: Now, you did not physically pick the phone up, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I never once touched the phone, no, sir.
MR. CONRAD: You observed it being picked up, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And did you have anything further to do with Maggie's phone after it was collected?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was provided the extraction once that was completed, yes.
MR. CONRAD: Okay.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: But, yes, nothing further with the actual device.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and that was from Lieutenant Dove?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, let's go forward to the date of June 10th, which was three -- or two days after you found Maggie's phone. Is that correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and did you have reason to respond back out to Moselle on that date?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It was not Moselle, but I believe it was John Marvin's hunting property.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right. You responded to John Marvin's hunting property, and why did you go there on that day, June 10th?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was requested to extract cellular phones from Alex Murdaugh, Randy Murdaugh, John Marvin Murdaugh, and Buster Murdaugh while they're all being questioned by SLED agents.
MR. CONRAD: And to your knowledge, did all of those individuals provide consent?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, they did, as well as their pass codes.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right. So, how many phones did you download again? I'm sorry.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: During that timeframe I had extracted three total phones. There towards the end, once the interviews were being concluded, a phone call was made to multiple family members explaining Randolph's condition, and they all had to leave and go back to Almeda.
MR. CONRAD: Okay.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was only able to extract three phones at that time.
MR. CONRAD: And whose phones were that, those three?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That would have been Alex's, Randy's, and Buster Murdaugh's phone.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and just generally speaking, why did you download -- why were you needing to download those phones on that day? What was the purpose?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was tasked by multiple SLED agents to assist them while they were conducting all of their interviews to extract the contents of their phone to see if there might be any evidence of the murders on any of their phones.
MR. CONRAD: And was it unusual for SLED in this area to request your assistance with some cell phone evidence?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, not at all.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right. So, you downloaded those three phones. This jury has heard testimony about different types of extractions. What type of extraction did you do on June 10th? Let focus on Alex's phone. What type of extraction did you do?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: The initial extraction was an advanced logical that I had done there on scene at the hunting property.
MR. CONRAD: How long do you recall approximately that that logical extraction took?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Advanced logical is basically just a surface area of the phone identifying the call logs, incoming and outgoing phone calls, text messages, any emails. General location information. You won't always get a whole lot of location information, but ideally to get a pretty good idea as to what's happening on that phone during that timeframe.
MR. CONRAD: And just time wise, you know, I know every phone is different, but do you recall approximately how long it took to download Alex's phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I would say between 30 minutes and an hour. None of the phones took any longer that an hour to conduct an advanced logical. Full file system takes much longer.
MR. CONRAD: So, between the three phones you successfully downloaded data. It took you between in total an hour and a half to 3 hours approximately, would you say?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. This jury has heard about the whole file system and physical extraction before. You have that capability, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. CONRAD: All right, but you did not perform that on these three phones on June 10th, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and just, again, generally speaking, knowing every phone is different, you know, how much longer does a physical extraction take than a logical extraction?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It depends on the size of the phone. Obviously phones these days are getting much larger. Depending on the size of those phones, depending on how long a full file system extraction will actually take, it could be hours, it could be days. It just kind of depends.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and did you feel like you had hours and hours and days and days to download these phones?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, I did not.
MR. CONRAD: Because what did you do after you were done extracting them?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I supplied each of their phones back to them, obviously because of the issues dealing with Mr. Randolph at that time.
MR. CONRAD: And you felt some pressure because of the health issues of Mr. Randolph to give -- return their phones to them so they could take care of family business?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: And so just -- you said a minute ago. So, all you removed from these phones was that surface layer of information, correct? Is that what you --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and that surface information includes texts and call logs, pictures, and things of that sort, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it does.
MR. CONRAD: And you said sometimes you get some location data but not always, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Now, in relation to Alex's phone, was there a concern about his status as an attorney on that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, there was.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and that could potentially contain privileged information, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: All right. So, you did the raw download, logical download, and did you initially look at anything on Alex's phone on June 10th?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did not. I was -- once the extraction was completed, I obtained the UFDX file, which is the raw file for a Cellebrite file. I then transferred that electronically over to Sergeant Paul McManigal at the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, who also serves in the United States Secret task force, the Cyber Crime Task Force. I also did that with Randy Murdaugh's phone as well. So, I sent him two of the UFDX raw files from Cellebrite for him to dump into what's called physical analyzer to extract the data. At that time a taint attorney was assigned from the Ninth Circuit Solicitor's Office. She had met with Sergeant McManigal and gone over all of the attorney/client privilege information, and I was provided a working copy of Alex Murdaugh's phone from Paul McManigal a few days after that.
MR. CONRAD: And just so it's clear, you said that she's from the Ninth Circuit?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And that's a totally separate office from your circuit, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it is.
MR. CONRAD: Once you received this redacted logical phone extraction from Sergeant McManigal, what did you do next?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I opened it in what's called Cellebrite Reader, which is an executable file. It allows you to go in and view the content of the phone. It's essentially a dashboard that allows you to maneuver around the device itself in a more readable format and identify incoming and outgoing calls, read text messages, any type of emails, photographs, videos, or anything that might be in that person's camera roll.
MR. CONRAD: And in the course of your assistance in this investigation, did you acquire any other records to assist you in looking through these phones?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. CONRAD: What did you acquire?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was supplied with all of the call detail records from Verizon for all of the parties that we had obtained information on, or obtained a search warrant on to identify ideally location information. What I like to do in my cases if we have a phone extraction as well as phone records, I like to compare the two and identify any discrepancies or any issues that might occur. But the call detail records allow you to obtain location information if you don't get it from the Cellebrite extraction.
MR. CONRAD: Okay, and so you obtained via search warrant, or assisted obtaining via search warrant cell records for Mr. Alex Murdaugh and some other individuals, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And those records have been entered into evidence as 268, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I believe so, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and you said -- you just testified that you took those cell phone records, which, to remind the jury, that's information that's stored by who?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: By Verizon. In this case Verizon.
MR. CONRAD: By the cell company, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And you compared it to the information you found on these phones, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And specifically with Alex's phone, what did you discover when you were comparing these phone records to the phone itself, the call log?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Once I started -- I essentially build a digital timeline of all forms of digital evidence that we had had during that timeframe, and it was kind of a working copy. During that timeframe, I compared the call logs from the extraction from the actual device to the phone logs that I saw in the call detail records provided from Verizon. On the date in question, on June 7th, I only saw two FaceTime calls on the phone extraction, and I saw a series of around 73 phone calls on the Verizon call detail record.
MR. CONRAD: And what did that tell you when you saw that, that missing information?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It could be a multitude of things. They were either removed by the user or the one responsible in using the device. It could have overlapped from the call log history. It could have been a series of things. But I just wanted to make sure that I identify the phone records that were in communication during that timeframe and the lack of that information on the actual data.
MR. CONRAD: You just said it could have overlapped. What does that mean?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Over time your call log obviously gets -- historically it just kind of removes itself from the call log history on your actual device. It's nearly impossible to -- actually, I know of no way to delete any phone calls that you might have made that have processed through the network, in this case Verizon.
MR. CONRAD: So, there's no way for a user to delete records from Verizon, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: All right, but, you know, in your investigation in this phone, of Alex's phone, I mean, is that what happened, that this call log overlapped, or were you able to determine that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was not able to determine it because it was an advanced logical, so I was not able to recover any completed items during that timeframe.
MR. CONRAD: So, you didn't recover any deleted artifacts of the phone calls.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, no, sir, I did not.
MR. CONRAD: And when I say deleted artifacts, what do I -- what does that mean?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Anything that was manually deleted from the device itself.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and there's sometimes a trace left in memory when something is deleted, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: The logic extraction is not going to find that, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right, but in your review of the call logs, did you discover whether prior -- some time prior to June 7th that there was still calls in those logs?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, there was.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and so this is -- is this a case where the simply -- the calls just simply overlapped and the oldest went out as the new calls were made?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It's possible.
MR. CONRAD: Well, if there's a gap, you just testified there were phone calls --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Objection, Your Honor. Leading.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Don't lead the witness.
MR. CONRAD: Did you just testify that there were phone calls from prior to June 7th still on that phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: FaceTime calls, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: Okay.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: On the call log on the phone extraction. The report that I was provided, because it was a working copy, was from June 1st to June 10th.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right, but there were FaceTime calls prior to that, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: And when a user accesses just the phone itself and they look at a call log, does that display both calls made over Verizon -- will display calls with over the Verizon network call log?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. Anything that connected to the network.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and will display FaceTime calls as well.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It would, yes, sir.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and you found FaceTime calls from prior to June 7th, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. CONRAD: All right, and -- but as far as you can tell, as far as calls themselves, when did you start seeing call records start?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Right around the morning, late morning, early afternoon of June 8, 2021.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right, and is there -- other than this overlapping situation, is there any other way that you're aware of that could have removed that gap in the phone call records?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: If the user would have went in and manually removed it themselves.
MR. CONRAD: But there's no other automatic process other than what we've already discussed.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And did you discuss with Sergeant McManigal whether his process in redacting certain things, did that process remove any call logs from that download?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. I did review with Sergeant McManigal, and obviously we had discussed the results that were provided to me, and we both agreed on the same opinion.
MR. CONRAD: In that Sergeant McManigal did not delete those records, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct.
MR. CONRAD: Nothing further of this witness.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Please the court, Your Honor?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Yes, sir.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. HARPOOTLIAN:
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Help me understand. You -- it's sort of an alien concept to me, the solicitor's office going to murder scenes. Do you go to a bunch of murder scenes?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. Among my other duties, I am involved with ATF. I'm a task force officer with the ATF, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, out of Charleston, so I do some proactive roles there, as well as reactive roles in investigating crimes that would ultimately be my case anyways coming to court.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: If they arrest somebody.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: If they arrest somebody. In some cases when no arrests are made, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: When they're what?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: In some cases when no arrests are made, I would still arrive or respond to a crime scene.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And you took Solicitor Duffy Stone with you, the chief prosecutor for the circuit, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: We rode in separate vehicles, but yes, he was along with me, yes.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And I think I saw somewhere in the evidence he actually took photographs that morning, did he not?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, he did.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Is that usual, that the solicitor would go around doing evidentiary photos?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Not at all. With the way his mind works, he goes in, he thinks of every idea possible of what could possibly be an issue later on down the road if he prosecutes a case, and he wants to make sure that's all documented in his own mind.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And so if he takes a picture and wants to use it in the prosecution, does he introduce it and authenticate it -- take the stand and authenticate it and then come back down, asks himself questions?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, he does not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. We'll move on to something a little more productive. You went to a briefing that morning, you said, when you got there.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did. SLED Lowcountry.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Who was the briefing by?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: There were probably thirty, forty plus investigators, officers, but multiple -- essentially SLED, Colleton County Sheriff's Office, a few Walterboro Police Department, I believe, and a few from my office.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I guess when I think of a briefing, I think of someone standing in front of the room and saying here's what we've got. Was there one person speaking?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: There were multiple people speaking, but that was the whole idea was to get a better grasp as to what had occurred the night before.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I guess -- so, who spoke?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Multiple agents, multiple responding officers from the sheriff's office. I don't recall exactly who spoke.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: How long did the briefing take?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Approximately 45 minutes, if I had to guess.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And you had no specific memory of any specific person saying any specific thing?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: There were multiple people speaking, going over the --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, the answer is no.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I do not recall exact people's names and exactly what they said, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Do you recall any one person that spoke?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I know Captain Ryan Neill spoke. Special Agent David Owen spoke. I believe Captain Jason Chapman with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office spoke. There was a multitude of people talking about different things that they had seen the night before or the morning of.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Had they indicated to you, any one of those people, that they had a suspect, that they were focused on any particular person?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Did they have an explanation or anything -- I mean, at that point, was there some theory about what happened?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: At that point in time, we were trying to identify all the physical pieces of evidence, as well as obtain and preserve all digital pieces of evidence to make sure we had a strong enough case moving forward.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Were you aware that the Colleton County Sheriff's Department had issued a statement to the public saying there's nothing to be afraid of, people? You know, this is not something that you should view as a threat?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir. I'm not aware of that media release.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: You did not hear of anything like that that morning? Well, let me ask you this. If you have an active shooter at large, would police take any proactive steps? Would they put up roadblocks, or would they put out a statement saying that two people were brutally murdered, and we don't know who did it so keep your doors locked. Be careful if you see somebody in the woods or walking along the road. I mean, you see these unfortunately much too often these days --
MR. CONRAD: Your Honor, I object. Mr. Harpootlian seems to be testifying. Are we getting to a question?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Yeah.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: The question is did y'all do anything -- not you. Did you see any evidence of that or hear any evidence of that that morning?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Not that I recall, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Not that I recall means --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I don't remember. I wasn't focused on what was -- I -- what was on the media at that time.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, but did you see any roadblocks?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, I did not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Did you see anybody searching fields or the woods around the place?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: There were multiple tasks that were provided to each investigator during the briefing, and multiple people went out and did their own thing on whatever they were tasked with.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Do you remember what those tasks were?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Following up with potential witnesses --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Right, but I'm talking about did you see anybody going through the woods armed looking for a person or persons?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, I did not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. Did you -- you didn't see any roadblocks, you didn't see any active search for a suspect in the sense of somebody was armed -- well, they knew at that point there were shotgun -- spent shotgun shells and spent Blackout casings, right? You heard that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, somebody, either two people or one person with two guns, was at large at that point as far as y'all were concerned.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. I mean, ideally.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Did any of those agents indicate during your briefing that they felt that it was somebody at large that posed a danger to the community? Did you hear any of that?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I don't believe so.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, so, when you got there the next morning there were no bodies. There was no physical evidence there. It was after all of that had been removed?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: All of the bodies had been removed. All of the trash from the crime scene units were stacked up. You could some blood stains in the ground, as well as some body matter over towards the dog kennels.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And I'm not going to belabor this and put these pictures up, but you had a drone up, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And did you ever go up to the residence?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did not go all the way to the residence, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and I don't see any pictures taken from the kennels that you took, or under your direction, up towards the residence. Are there any?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: From the kennels looking back towards the residence?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I mean, but looking from the murder scene back up towards the residence.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. I did take those photographs.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But that was during the day, not the night, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, you don't know what somebody from the house could see at night looking down towards the kennels.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. I just wanted to make sure it was clear that you weren't testifying that somebody up at the house at night would have an unobstructed view from where the bodies were found or the front of the kennels. You're not testifying to that, are you?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, I'm not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, let me just talk a little bit about the phone. I forgot the exhibit number of the phone. Do you know it off the top of your head? Oh, okay. It's -- I think it's 204, which I'll find.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Is it in that box there?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: While he's looking for that --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: If you would continue to look for that, I would appreciate it.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Let me ask you some questions. You indicated the distance from the shoulder to the road -- the shoulder of the road to the phone was about 15 or 20 feet?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and you took a number of -- did you take those pictures of the phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Was there any other person there taking pictures other than you?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was the only one with a camera, so I took the photographs.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and were you there the entire time until the phone was removed?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I was. I stayed right next to the phone until Jeff -- Special Agent Jeff Croft and Special Agent Katie McCallister arrived on scene and collected and took possession of the cellular phone and placed it into an evidence bag.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and during that period of time, did anyone from the forensic team come up and measure how far the phone was from the shoulder of the road?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, they did not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Did anyone attempt to come up with a specific location for that phone in terms of measurements, a forensic assessment of where that phone was?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and the --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Where are those exhibits?
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: For the record, this is State's Exhibit Number 204.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: It looks like the case and the phone are separated.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, this is the actual phone. Is that correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Based off of this case. I remember seeing a camo and orange labeled case.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Somebody has written on this. That's not you --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, that's not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: -- because you never touched the phone.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I did not, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: All right, and this is a SIM card. What is a SIM card?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It's stored within the device. It's a secondary form of storage for a cellular device.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And so if you -- anything you do on the device is stored on the SIM card?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Not necessarily, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: What's stored on here?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It depends on the network, depending on the provider that you utilize. Different providers offer different resources through your SIM card, but --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Did you ever examine the SIM card?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I have never examined anything on that phone, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: You did a download but you didn't examine it.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Not on Maggie's phone.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Oh, you didn't do Maggie's phone.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I stand corrected. Okay, but somebody could look at the SIM card and get perhaps information that's not on the phone?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yeah. In some scenarios, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. Now, what I'm going to try to figure out by looking at these pictures while -- I'll bring this phone back in just a minute -- is -- so that Exhibit Number 228, and that's what you saw when you came on the phone, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And I think we see -- I think you pointed it out awhile ago. There's a piece of straw and other things around it, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, you would agree with me, if someone had carefully walked over and placed this phone, there wouldn't be anything above it. Everything, including this straw, would be under it, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It's possible, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And in addition to that, did you -- did they -- did anybody forensically check the area around it to see if there were footprints?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir. I mean, it was heavily treed, heavily wooded. A lot of leaves there. You could not see the foot impressions around that phone.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. A lot of weeds.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And so is this sitting -- I mean, it's sitting there with straw over it. Is it sitting flat on the ground? Is it tilted? What do you remember? Or if you don't --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: There was a slight tilt, probably centimeters. Nothing major. Nothing out of the ordinary around the phone. No holes, no pushed up leaves or anything like that.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, you couldn't, I mean -- strike that. Let's look at --
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, again, that's another picture taken by you of the same phone and the same location, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it is.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And it's heavily wooded in that area, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Around the edge, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And it's almost a thicket where you found this, right? There was bushes around it?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No bushes. There were a lot of trees.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: A lot of trees and underbrush.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: And underbrush, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, nobody actually took measurements of where this was found. No one actually measured from the road, nor did they measure -- I mean, there's no way to figure out exactly -- if you had to go back today and find the spot, could you find it, the exact spot?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Within a couple of feet, yes, sir, I probably could, based off the angles and photographs that were originally taken.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. You could give us the exact spot.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I couldn't give you an exact step for step from the actual device to where it was over in the woods.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And this is Exhibit Number 232, and that's a vehicle on the same side of the road as where the phone was found. Is that correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that's correct.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And so car window you see in this photo, the driver's side --
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: The driver's side window would be 15 to 20 feet from where that phone was, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I would add a few more feet just because of the roadway, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, 28 -- 25 to 30 feet, fair?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It would be fair, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But nobody measured it so we --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No one measured it, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And so if that car was going towards Almeda, do you know where I'm talking about?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I do.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: It would be on the other side of the road, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: On the right lane of the road, yes.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I mean, it would be on the right, but here it's improperly parked, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Sure.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: I mean, the driver's window is -- I mean, if there's a car coming, they would hit head-on, would they not?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes. You would be operating the vehicle on the right side of the road -- or left in that image.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. So, if someone was driving towards Almeda on this road and they want to get rid of that phone, they would either have to throw it 40 feet out the driver's side window or pull over the car and throw it out, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: It's a series of things that could have happened, the reasons why that phone got there, but it's possible.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But it's -- just assume with me for a second if they want to get rid of that phone by throwing it out the window, they could either throw it from their lane of traffic if they're going towards Almeda, or they could pull over like that and throw it out. It would be easier -- and when I say easier, it would be a much tougher toss that far in from if they'd never left their lane of travel, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I gets it depends on who's throwing it. There's a multitude of things.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: It would be me and I don't throw very well.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Well, I do, so I could 100 percent make that throw from my vehicle.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: You could throw it from -- okay. So, you wouldn't even have to change lanes. You would just throw it out the window.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, 100 percent.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And you would throw it overhanded or underhanded?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I would throw it sideways, flick it.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Sideways. Okay. So, there's no way to tell -- we don't know if somebody threw it out the window -- I mean, out of the driver's side window. Are you throwing with the left hand or right hand out of the driver's side window? I mean, you said you could toss it pretty far.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I would throw it with my left hand from the driver's side, and could easily land it to where it actually was found and located in the woods.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But you could still be right handed or left handed?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I'm right handed, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But you could still throw it with your left hand with that much power?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, 100 percent.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay. Now, let me ask you this. When you found it, you wanted to put -- or somebody with you wanted it put in airplane mode, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir. I wanted it to be placed in airplane mode to preserve its contents.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Because in airplane mode there's less chance of any data being overridden, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: That is correct, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Now, it doesn't prevent all data from being overridden, but most data, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: A lot -- 99 percent, I would say, prevent any issue with the phone.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Does it prevent the GPS data from being overridden?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: From another device?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No. I mean just --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Internally just automatically deleting itself?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Yeah.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I've never seen that happen.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: But you don't know whether it can happen or not.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Presumably no.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, you needed to put it in airplane mode to prevent anything from being overridden, right?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Any outside tampering from another device that had access to its ICloud information.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And you told the agents with you to unlock it and put it in airplane mode, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I did.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: And to do that, you have to have -- you have to be able to open it. You need the pass code.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, you do not.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: You don't?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Not on an IPhone, no, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, you can put it on airplane mode without opening it.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Well, but did something -- what did you need the pass code for because somebody called and got the pass code.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: We did not get the pass code at that point in time. No one knew we had located the phone, so there was no way to ask for the pass code to do that.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Court's indulgence, Your Honor.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Later on we received the pass code, but not at that point.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: When did you receive it?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I was not present. I did not analyze the device, so --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Was it at the scene or was it somewhere else?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I do not recall. I was not there.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: So, no one told you that Alex Murdaugh had provided Maggie's --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, no one told me that.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Now, if someone had the pass code, they could go in that phone and eliminate -- delete text messages, phone calls, just about any piece of data that was captured in it, correct? Even apps, you could delete those, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: They could have, but once the full file system extraction was done by Lieutenant Britt Dove --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No, you misunderstood my question, I'm sorry. If you had that phone -- and obviously Maggie Murdaugh had been murdered. Somebody threw it on the side of the road. During that period of time after her murder before it was thrown on the side of the road, if you had the pass code, right --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: -- to open it, without the pass code typically you can't open it, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Do you agree?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I do, yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: All right. So, if you had that pass code you could open it, delete photos, delete phone messages, delete texts, delete whatever you want, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and when you found that phone, it was locked.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it was.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Okay, and was there any evidence that you saw that anything had been deleted by that -- from that phone in any of your -- after your download extraction?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Again, I did not download or extract the contents of the device. The only thing that I saw was the home screen and made sure the airplane mode was activated and applied at that point, and then it was placed into an evidence bag. We never got past that lock screen or home screen that allows us to turn on the airplane mode. Obviously the device was on because we were able to locate it from Find My IPhone, and the battery level was significantly low.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Was significantly low.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, it was.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Beg the Court's indulgence.
(Break in proceedings.)
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Thank you, sir.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. CONRAD: Just a couple of things, Your Honor.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. CONRAD:
MR. CONRAD: You testified -- you talked about call logs, and so you downloaded Alex's phone on June 10th, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, that is correct.
MR. CONRAD: Three days after the murders, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir.
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Your Honor, this is not responsive to my cross-examination. I never mentioned Alex's phone, not once.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Response.
MR. CONRAD: I'll proceed, Your Honor.
MR. CONRAD: At some point after you were involved in the investigation, you were informed by Solicitor Stone -- you were informed by Solicitor Stone to stop it, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, I was.
MR. CONRAD: And do you recall approximately when Solicitor Stone --
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Objection, Your Honor, again not in response to a matter raised by me on cross.
JUDGE NEWMAN: I sustain the objection.
MR. CONRAD: And Mr. Harpootlian asked about the crime scene and the state of it, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: Yes, sir, he did.
MR. CONRAD: Did you notice any vandalism?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, not at all.
MR. CONRAD: Did you notice -- were you informed or did you notice anything missing?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: Objection, Your Honor. How would he know it was missing?
JUDGE NEWMAN: Whatever the witness knows. Overruled.
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: I knew Maggie's phone was missing and that's it.
MR. CONRAD: Did you notice any vandalism or anything --
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, not at all.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. All right, and when it comes to Maggie's phone, at least her model, are you aware whether that can be placed into airplane mode without the unlocked code being entered while the phone is locked?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: You can place the phone -- that phone in airplane mode while it's locked, yes.
MR. CONRAD: Okay. So, you don't need a code to just simply put it in airplane mode, correct?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir.
MR. CONRAD: And did anybody manipulate anything -- any data on that phone in your presence?
DYLAN HIGHTOWER: No, sir, not at all.
MR. CONRAD: Okay.
MR. CONRAD: Nothing further of this witness.
JUDGE NEWMAN: Anything further?
MR. HARPOOTLIAN: No, sir.
JUDGE NEWMAN: You may step down.
(The witness exited the stand.)
JUDGE NEWMAN: We'll take a 10 minute break, ladies and gentlemen. Please do not discuss the case.
(The jury left the courtroom.)
(A break was taken.)
(The jury returned to the courtroom.)
COURT BAILIFF: The jury is present, sir.