David Owen

David Owen led SLED's Moselle investigation after the agency moved from assisting local authorities to taking the lead. He testified about preserving and collecting evidence, securing phones and clothing, canvassing for leads, pursuing firearm, DNA, property, and digital inquiries, and conducting repeated voluntary interviews of Alex Murdaugh.

Owen said changes in Murdaugh's accounts about his time at Almeda, time with Paul, and presence at the kennels became significant when compared with other evidence. He testified that Murdaugh was the only known suspect by the August 11 interview and that investigated alternative leads had not credibly pointed elsewhere. A later full extraction of Paul's phone produced the kennel video, on which Owen said he heard Paul, Maggie, and Alex.

Cross-examination focused on investigative omissions and forensic limits. Owen agreed that investigators missed an early opportunity to search Almeda, recovered no murder weapons, found no trace blood in the Moselle house, and did not request the clothing shown in the June 7 Snapchat video. He acknowledged that the blue raincoat had gunshot-residue particles but no detected blood or DNA, and that the residue could not be dated. He also acknowledged inaccurate grand-jury descriptions of alleged blood spatter and shotgun ammunition, as well as his use of trickery when discussing ammunition during an interview.

On redirect, Owen explained that repeated interviews were intended to obtain greater detail and compare Murdaugh's accounts with other evidence. He said Murdaugh named no specific alternative suspect during the three interviews and described the physical, firearm, witness, and digital information considered in the investigation. He maintained that a referenced shotgun could not be excluded, but was not conclusively identified as a murder weapon. On recross, he acknowledged limits in the Almeda inquiry and explained that his date for a later visit came from his own research despite Shelley Smith's different sworn date.