COLUMBIA, S.C. — The trial began today with testimony from the first responders.
It began with the very first officer to respond to the Murdaugh murder crime scene, Sergeant Daniel Greene with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office.
Greene was questioned by prosecutors about Murdaugh and how he acted when arriving to the scene.
Greene explained Murdaugh did not cry, but was visibly anxious, asking continuously if his wife and son were dead.
Another topic was the shotgun Greene found Murdaugh with when arriving to the scene and the shells inside that gun.
"Whenever I released the shotgun to the SLED agent who took possession of it, I was unaware of any shells that may have been inside of it at the time that it was handed over.," Greene said.
The next witness was corporal Chad McDowell with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office.
His questioning surrounded preservation of the crime scene. McDowell tells in his testimony that he put tape down in locations he saw gun shell casing, i.e. potential evidence.
The third witness to the stand was Tinish Bryson– Smith. She's a Hampton County Emergency 911 dispatch director.
She explained how she transferred a 911 call on June 7, 2021 from her area of coverage, Hampton County to Colleton County the night of the murders of Maggie and Paul.
Next was witness Angela Stallings, a Colleton County Sheriff's Office administrative services captain.
She told the court about receiving a call from Hampton County's 911 dispatch center at exactly 10:07:09 on June 7, 2021. She said their recording software will stop recording if there is a pause with a caller and they stop talking. But the recording picks back up in a new recording once it hears noise again.
Barry McCoy took the stand next. He's the fire chief with Colleton County Fire and Rescue. He explained hearing about the murder at Moselle (the name of their country home) on his way home from work through his dispatch radio.
"Shortly thereafter they dispatched fire rescue units and we have a standard protocol of what they send. There were multiple patients, so they dispatched two ambulances and put a helicopter on standby and then a supervisor is also dispatched. We also send the closest fire station, which in that case was the one from Islandton," McCoy said.
Captain Jason Chapman took the stand after McCoy.
He said he was familiar with the Murdaugh family and added that Sheriff Hill advised him to notify SLED and request that they assume primary in the investigation because of a conflict of interest with the family.
"He was emotional, distress on his face. I didn't see him cry. Not everyone cries. I don't have an issue with that. There were times that when we got to certain places or asked certain questions, that you could see a slight demeanor change or body language shift and I took note of that but again, just as a point of investigation. But he remained at the scene. He wasn't forced to stay. He was cooperative," Chapman said
Witness testimony wrapped up for the night around 5:30 p.m.
The total list of potential witnesses is 255.
