Alex Murdaugh trial reside right now: Protection rests case after brother John Marvin describes aftermath of murders

Alex Murdaugh’s defence has rested its case in his trial for the double homicide of his spouse Maggie and son Paul.

The disgraced legal professional’s authorized staff wrapped up its case on Monday afternoon, after spending every week bringing 14 witnesses to the stand in an effort to persuade jurors of his innocence within the 7 June 2021 shootings.

The ultimate defence witness was Mr Murdaugh’s youthful brother John Marvin Murdaugh who took the stand in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, and described his brother’s “nice relationship” along with his spouse and son, criticised key parts of the investigation and insisted that he nonetheless doesn’t know who killed his nephew and sister-in-law 20 months on.

The Impartial’s Rachel Sharp has extra:

Prosecutor Creighton Waters has mentioned the state is planning to name 4 or 5 witnesses in its rebuttal case, starting tomorrow.

He mentioned he anticipated the rebuttal to take in the future.

Mr Harpootlian replied by saying Mr Waters’ previous predictions on how lengthy issues would take have been “mushy”.

The plan is now for closing arguments to happen on Wednesday.

The defence has rested its case in help of Alex Murdaugh’s innocence.

John Marvin marked the 14th and ultimate witness for the defence staff.

Decide Newman dismissed the jury for the day earlier than defence legal professional Dick Harpootlian re-upped a movement for a direct verdict – that means the case wouldn’t be despatched to the jury.

Requested about his earlier testimony that police chief Greg Alexander had picked him up on the night time of the murders, John Marvin testified that he was unaware Mr Alexander had loaned Alex cash.

He additionally mentioned that Alex was functioning usually each day regardless of his opioid habit.

Mr Conrad went on to probe John Marvin about how he sat in on SLED interviews with Buster and his spouse on 12 October 2021.

He mentioned he doesn’t recall SLED citing the blue raincoat on that date. In keeping with Mr Conrad, it did come up throughout an interview with Buster that day.

As Mr Conrad continued to push, John Marvin insisted that he doesn’t keep in mind discussions of the jacket in that interview.

Jim Griffin concluded his questioning of John Marvin by asking about what he was considering when he cleaned up remnants of Paul’s physique on the scene on 8 June 2021.

He mentioned he promised Paul he would discover out who killed him and Maggie.

“Have you ever discovered?” Mr Griffin probed.

John Marvin replied: “I’ve not.”

Prosecutor John Conrad then stepped as much as start cross-examination.

John Marvin affirmed that he, Alex and everybody of their household have supplied full cooperation to SLED.

Mr Conrad went on to ask about how Alex lied for 20 months – till his testimony final week – about being on the kennels minutes earlier than the murders.

John Marvin conceded that Alex lied and that didn’t represent “full cooperation”.

John Marvin is constant his testimony after Decide Newman overruled an objection from the state.

He’s now describing a dialog with a SLED agent concerning “blood spatter” on Alex’s shirt.

Buster Murdaugh’s fixed presence within the Colleton County Courtroom has led to many viewers asking the place he was in the course of the murders.

Throughout his personal testimony final week, Buster mentioned he was on the house he shared along with his girlfriend Brooklynn White when his father referred to as to offer him the horrifying information.

“He requested me if I used to be sitting down, and I used to be like, yeah, then he sounded odd, then he informed me that my mother and brother had been shot,” Buster mentioned of his father.

He continued: “Brooklynn, my girlfriend, was with me … she might hear my dialog over the telephone, and he or she began packing stuff.

“I kinda simply sat there for a minute, I used to be in shock. However, ultimately, we acquired our stuff collectively and drove all the way down to Moselle.”

Right here, The Impartial’s Rachel Sharp recaps Buster’s full testimony:

The prosecution has raised an objection to John Marvin’s descriptions of conversations with legislation enforcement – claiming rumour and lack of relevance.

Prosecutors accused the defence of making an attempt to open a “again door” surrounding Alex Murdaugh’s clothes.

The objection arose after Jim Griffin requested John Marvin if SLED ever gave him data that turned out to be false.

John Marvin mentioned sure, and started speaking about blood spatter.

He was understood to be launching into a proof of early experiences that there was blood spatter on the shirt Alex was carrying when police arrived on the scene of the murders.

Remaining testing later discovered there was no blood on the shirt in query.

Decide Newman denied the state’s objection earlier than calling a 10-minute break.

After that break, defence attorneys may have an opportunity to reintroduce their narrative of investigators botching the case and unfairly concentrating on Alex.

Alex Murdaugh’s youthful brother broke down in tears on the witness stand as he revealed how he cleaned up “what was left” of his nephew Paul the morning after the grotesque murders.

John Marvin Murdaugh, the youngest of the Murdaugh siblings, took the witness stand in Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Monday afternoon the place his older brother is standing trial for murdering his spouse Maggie and son Paul.

John Marvin informed jurors how he cleaned up his nephew’s “blood, mind matter and cranium fragments” from the crime scene after legislation enforcement officers left behind elements of the 22-year-old on the Murdaugh’s Moselle household property.

“It’s the toughest factor I’ve ever been by means of in my life,” he mentioned.

John Marvin mentioned he had gone all the way down to the canine kennels on the household’s sprawling Moselle property on 8 June 2021 – the morning after the murders – and got here throughout a horrific scene.

“I simply felt like I wanted to go down, I wanted to see for myself what had gone on and simply sort of take it in,” he mentioned.

The Impartial’s Rachel Sharp has extra:

John Marvin’s testimony transitioned to handle the blue raincoat discovered at his mother and father’ home – which prosecutors allege Alex used to cover the weapons that killed Maggie and Paul.

He mentioned the closet the place the raincoat was discovered was primarily used for “junk” storage, not for on a regular basis objects, and that he informed investigators he believed it belonged to his father.

As for why there could be gunshot residue on the raincoat, John Marvin defined that he “by no means” noticed his father clear his gun – a shotgun named “Bo-Whoop”.

John Marvin additionally accused investigators of telling the household two totally different tales about the place they discovered the raincoat.

Decide Newman then despatched the jury out for a short recess, whereas John Marvin remains to be on the stand.