The defense called forensic experts to dispute gunshot evidence and showed autopsy photos during the murder trial of disbarred South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who is accused of fatally shooting his wife and son in June 2021.
Murdaugh's wife and son, Maggie and Paul, were shot and killed at the dog kennels at the family's estate on June 7, 2021, and he is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as 99 charges relating to financial misconduct.
WATCH LIVE: ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER TRIAL CONTINUES WITH MORE DEFENSE WITNESSES
On Monday, the defense, which called a total of 14 witnesses by mid-Monday, focused on testimony from forensic pathologist Jonathan Eisenstat and blood spatter expert Tim Palmbach. Both witnesses disputed information derived from the autopsies of both Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
Eisenstat testified that, based on his examinations, Paul Murdaugh was shot in the head from behind, with the gun pressed against his head.
During the testimony, which included graphic photos showing the bodies of the victims and autopsies conducted, Alex Murdaugh could be seen sobbing and dabbing his eyes with a tissue.
Eisenstat said that Paul Murdaugh appeared to be shot from an elevated angle shooting downward, which could indicate the shooter was taller than him, but did not guarantee that as fact.
Palmbach testified that the shooter would have been covered in gunshot residue and bodily fluid, due to the proximity of the shooting.
Alex Murdaugh testified that he had not gotten blood on his clothing, a claim from his indictment that proved to be false. However, prosecutors have pointed to a Snapchat video showing Alex Murdaugh shortly before the murders wearing different clothes than the clothes he was found in by police, and the first set of clothing was never recovered.
Palmbach said in his testimony that the evidence suggests a "two-shooter scenario."
He said that, if there were one shooter, the shooter of Paul Murdaugh could have either been disoriented or injured himself from the blast and would not have had enough time to recover to then shoot Maggie Murdaugh. The victims were shot with different firearms, Paul with a shotgun and Maggie a rifle, and Palmbach said he believes Paul Murdaugh was shot first.
"Therefore, I think that particular shooter, for a brief period of time, is out of this," Palmbach said. "It is not as if they could instantaneously suffer that, drop the shotgun, run to wherever the blackout rifle is, pick that up, and then — in any kind of a reasonable time period — engage in a meaningful assault."
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said the defense expects to rest by the end of Monday, with the prosecution presenting a few more rebuttal witnesses and both sides anticipating closing arguments on Wednesday before the jury begins deliberation.
The trial entered day 25 on Monday, and began on Feb. 17. The prosecution called 61 witnesses, leaning mostly on circumstantial evidence, including videos placing Alex Murdaugh at the crime scene moments before the murders, cellphone data (missing and present), and gunshot residue.
Prosecutors have also argued throughout the trial that Murdaugh, who belongs to a powerful family that has long dominated the legal field, killed his family members in a desperate attempt to hide his financial crimes, which they said included swindling clients and his firm out of millions of dollars.
The lawyer, who took the witness stand on Thursday and Friday, has adamantly denied that he killed his family.
"I did not shoot my wife or my son any time — ever," he said of Maggie, who was 52, and Paul, who was 22.
However, he admitted that he lied about his whereabouts and the timeline of events the night that his wife and son were killed, apologizing to his surviving son, Buster, and other family members.
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The jury will visit the scene of the crimes where Murdaugh's wife and son were fatally shot in June 2021.
Judge Clifton Newman ruled in favor of the jury's visit to the Murdaugh's estate, Moselle, at an undetermined date. The defense requested that law enforcement prevent tourists or visitors from visiting the estate when the jury arrives.