Jury visits Murdaugh family home as part of murder trial

WALTERBORO, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The jury visited the Murdaugh’s home along Moselle Road Wednesday morning after the Defense requested that they see the site where Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were killed in 2021 as part of Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial.

The 12 jurors and two alternates gathered at the Colleton County Courthouse around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, along with Judge Clifton Newman, the Clerk of Court, and other Colleton County officials.

Once the group arrived at the property, they entered through the kennel entrance and had 30 minutes to view the area. Most of this time was spent at the kennels and shed where the shootings happened, but the jury also saw the main house’s exterior before leaving.

During the viewing, Dick Harpootlian from the Defense and Attorney General Alan Wilson joined the group as they moved through the property.

The jury left the property around 10:30 a.m., and media members from Court TV, The Wall Street Journal, and the Post and Courier had a chance to see the area. The property has been vacant since the 2021 murders, so they said the grass was high, and there was no visible farm equipment remaining. According to the group, the concrete pad where Paul Murdaugh fell following the shooting was about 12 steps from where Maggie Murdaugh’s body was found. They added that the feed room appeared to have been redone. However, the bullet hole in the quail house was still visible.

Media members that visited the property noted that the shed where Maggie’s body was found and the kennels were very close to each other. They also pointed out that they could barely see the tin roof of the main house from the shed. However, they clarified that the pine trees that lined the house on both sides had reportedly grown approximately two feet since the murders.

The media group mentioned they did not hear traffic noises or planes overhead during their visit.

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