WALTERBORO, S.C. (WSPA) – Testimony in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial concluded Tuesday.
State prosecutors called on witnesses to rebut some of the defense expert testimony the jury heard the last two weeks.
Prosecutors brought some repeat witnesses to the stand. Including the pathologist who did the autopsies on Paul and Maggie Murdaugh and an expert who studied the crime scene.
Forensic pathologist Dr. Ellen Riemer said the evidence supports her analysis that the fatal shotgun blast that killed Paul came up from a close distance and at an upward angle. Defense experts testified Monday that the fatal shot was a contact wound to the back of the head.
Murdaugh’s attorney Dick Harpootlian pressed Dr. Riemer on why she didn’t take an x-ray of Paul’s brain to confirm her report.
Riemer said she ‘felt comfortable with her determination.’
Tuesday afternoon, state prosecutors called on crime scene expert Dr. Kenny Kinsey. He testified earlier in the trial.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson questioned Kinsey about the crime scene and tried to poke holes in some of the defense’s witness testimony.
Attorney General Wilson asked Kinsey about the defense’s argument that Paul was shot in the back of the head while standing in the feed room. Wilson stood in a doorway in the courtroom with one of the Murdaugh family’s shotguns and used Kinsey as a stand-in for Paul.
Source: Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool
“What did you find odd about the theory first of all?” Wilson asked. “I think the theory is preposterous, in my opinion,” Dr. Kinsey responded.
Murdaugh’s defense team pushed back on this.
Wednesday morning, jurors will visit the murder scene. Closing arguments are expected later.
