Will Loving

Will Loving testified for the State about his close friendship with Paul Murdaugh, his hunting experience at Moselle, and his familiarity with firearms used there. He distinguished a black .300 Blackout that Paul had left at his home from a tan or brown .300 Blackout that he and Paul equipped with a red-dot sight and sighted near the Moselle gun-room stairs. After reviewing a receipt on cross-examination, Loving placed the sighting-in on March 6, 2021, estimated that they used the rifle again about three weeks later, and said he had not seen it since that period.

Loving described his final communication with Paul on June 7 and authenticated a Snapchat video showing Paul and Alex Murdaugh looking at planted trees. He also identified Alex's clothing in that video. When the kennel video was played, Loving identified the voices of Paul, Maggie, and Alex and said he was 100 percent certain.

Cross-examination established that Paul sometimes left firearms in friends' homes, golf carts, unlocked trucks, and other locations around the farm, though Loving did not believe guns were permanently stored at the workshop. Loving described Alex's relationships with Paul and Maggie as close from his own perspective and recalled Alex crying and struggling to speak after the killings. On redirect, he emphasized that these were personal observations and disclaimed knowledge of Alex's finances, debts, law practice, relevant boat-case developments, civil discovery, and the alleged missing-fee confrontation.