At Murdaugh Trial, Defense Floats a New Theory

A defense expert in the double murder trial of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh testified Monday that he thinks two different shooters killed Murdaugh's wife and son, the AP reports. While the idea has hovered over the trial because two different weapons were used and no evidence has been presented suggesting either victim tried to defend themselves, crime scene expert Tim Palmbach was the first witness to suggest the two-killer theory in testimony. Investigators have said 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh was shot four or five times with a rifle, while 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh was killed by two shotgun blasts near kennels on the family's sprawling Colleton County property on June 7, 2021.

Palmbach testified that the likelihood of two shooters was mostly common sense. All evidence so far has indicted the two people killed were shot close to the same time. They stopped using their cellphones within seconds of each other. Both victims appeared to be surprised, with their hands down and no evidence either of them tried to come to the other's aid or was running away. The second, fatal shotgun blast to Paul Murdaugh's head was at close range, meaning blood, skull fragments, other matter, and possibly pellets would have been launched back at the shooter, Palmbach said.

That shooter ”minimally was stunned—probably blood and material in his eyes and maybe have been injured and would have taken some degree of time to recover," Palmbach said. In addition, carrying two long guns would have been cumbersome and awkward given that the rifle used to kill Maggie Murdaugh could have had a clip carrying 20 to 30 bullets. “You can’t handle and shoot both of them," he said. The defense also used Monday's testimony to point out that neither weapon used in the shootings has been found, that state agents at the scene didn't look for footprints or fingerprints and that no evidence of blood, brain matter, or other material from the killings were found on Alex Murdaugh or his clothes. (More from Monday's testimony here.)