Daniel Greene

Sergeant Daniel Greene arrived as the first law-enforcement officer at the Moselle kennel area and found Paul and Maggie Murdaugh with extensive injuries and no apparent signs of life. He encountered Alex Murdaugh nearby, recorded Murdaugh's initial account and unsolicited reference to the boat case, and secured the loaded shotgun Murdaugh said he had retrieved.

On direct examination, Greene authenticated his body-camera recording, the shotgun and its custody documentation, and scene photographs. He described rifle casings, water near Paul, a phone on Paul's clothing, possible tire impressions, and the initial consideration of a murder-suicide scenario. He also explained that he directed deputies to tape and log the scene while treating his role as immediate security and preservation rather than detailed crime-scene processing.

Cross-examination tested the reliability of that initial response. Greene acknowledged that he did not photograph, preserve, or report possible tire tracks or footprints, that patrol officers did not use protective foot coverings, and that movement by people or vehicles could possibly have created or erased impressions. He limited his answers to his own actions and acknowledged only the possibility that unpreserved evidence could have incriminated or cleared someone.

On redirect, Greene said he knew of no contaminated evidence, described efforts to avoid contamination, and explained the limits facing first responders in a fluid scene. On recross, he said the possible tire impressions probably remained until SLED arrived but acknowledged that he did not point them out, and he declined to speculate about what an expert might have learned from them.