WASHINGTON (TND) — The prosecution in Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial called six witnesses to the stand Tuesday in its rebuttal of the defense's case as the trial stretched into its 26th day.
The witnesses included pathologist Ellen Reimer, as well as former law partners and friends of Murdaugh, who are now poking holes in the defense's case that Murdaugh could not have murdered his wife, Maggie and son, Paul.
In her testimony, Reimer unequivocally reiterated that Paul did not suffer a contact gunshot to the head, contrary to expert testimony for the defense.
In my 20-plus years ... no way these features are consistent with contact to the head," she said.Reimer also said she stood by the findings of her autopsy that the fatal shot was fired upward.
The final witness, crime scene forensics expert Dr. Ken Kinsey, agreed with Reimer saying that in his opinion, the shot that killed Paul was fired from down low and headed up through the head instead of downward with the gun pressed against his head.
Kinsey also criticized the defense's theory that there were two shooters — which is based in part on the fact that the victims stopped using their cellphones within seconds of each other and that both victims appeared to be surprised with their hands down — as well as claims about the shooter's height. Kinsey maintained that he did not believe the defense's theory of Murdaugh being too tall to commit the murders and acted out how he believes the shooting happened.
The defense argues that a single shooter wouldn't have had time to kill Paul with a shotgun before shooting Maggie several times with a rifle but the prosecution says evidence places Murdaugh at the scene when they were killed.
“I think it was a very effective and a very good day for the prosecution,” said former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon, who has been in the courtroom throughout the trial. “We have the Attorney General of South Carolina, Alan Wilson — he's the one that directly examined Dr. Ken Kinsey — and he was just really effective, I thought, in challenging the opinions of the defense experts.”
On Wednesday, jurors will get a first-hand look at the isolated Colleton County property where the former South Carolina attorney’s wife and son were found shot to death. Condon explained what this process will look like for jurors.
They're on their own, so to speak. When they're out there, they're not to ask anyone any questions no one's to offer them information,” Condon said. “I think it'd be a good opportunity for them to see how the buildings are juxtaposed to one another. I've been carefully watching this trial for the last six weeks and I must say I do find it a bit confusing on the layout of the property, so I think it will be helpful to them to render a fair and just verdict.”Closing arguments will happen once they return to the courtroom, moving into the final phase of what's been a dramatic and lengthy trial. The case is expected to be in the jury's hands for deliberation by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, depending on the length of those final arguments.
“The defense does have some evidence that they can point to that would poke holes in the state's case — the theory of the case — so I think there needs to be a strong push in closing argument to point to the pieces of circumstantial evidence that add up to a very strong case," Condon said.
Murdaugh is also awaiting trial on about 100 other charges, including financial crimes.
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