About this transcript: This is a full AI-generated transcript of Alex Murdaugh’s Son Buster Testifies in Family Murders Trial — Full Testimony from Law&Crime Network, published June 29, 2026. The transcript contains 13,209 words with timestamps and was generated using Whisper AI.
"If you swear or affirm, the testimony you give today will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So I hope you've got it. Thank you. You'll have a seat up on the witness stand. Adjust your chair and your microphone. And if you'll state your full name and spell your last name...."
[00:00:00] Speaker 1: If you swear or affirm, the testimony you give today will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So I hope you've got it. Thank you. You'll have a seat up on the witness stand. Adjust your chair and your microphone. And if you'll state your full name and spell your last name.
[00:00:33] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr., M-U-R-D-A-U-G-H. I go by Buster.
[00:00:44] Speaker 3: Mr. Murdoch, is your father sitting over here at the defensive table? Yes, sir. Tell the jury a little bit about yourself. Where were you born, where were you raised, where did you go to school?
[00:01:00] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Right. So my name is Buster, 26 years old. I live in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. I was born in Savannah and lived in Beaufort for about two years when I was a little child. We moved to Hampton in about 2000. And I grew up in Hampton, went to Wade Hampton High School. And after high school, I went to a small college in Spartanburg called Walford.
[00:01:31] Speaker 3: Is your mother Maggie? Yes, sir. And your brother Paul? Yes, sir. When you moved to Hampton, do you remember how old you were when you first moved to Hampton? Three or four. Okay. And did you live in Hampton in a house in the city limits? Yes, sir. In the town limits? Yes, sir. And you did that with your mom and dad and brother for how long?
[00:02:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, around 20 years.
[00:02:13] Speaker 3: Right. And what schools did you go to coming up through in Hampton County? You go to grade school.
[00:02:22] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Went to Ben Hazel Primary School, Hampton Elementary, Elementary School, North District Middle School, Wade Hampton High School.
[00:02:32] Speaker 3: And as you were growing up, what were your interests, Buster?
[00:02:41] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Sports, playing sports, doing things outdoors, hunting, fishing.
[00:02:48] Speaker 3: And was your father involved in those interests with you? Yes, sir. And was your mother also? Yes, sir. And in what way?
[00:02:56] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Well, my father coached every Little League team I played on up until I started playing for the schools in which I had a coach. And what about Paul? What were his interests growing up? Paul's interests were outdoors mostly, hunting, fishing, playing around in the woods. Right. Did he also play sports at times? He did.
[00:03:23] Speaker 3: Yeah, he played basketball and baseball. Did your dad coach him as well? He did. And would your parents attend all of your and Paul's sporting events that you were growing up? Every game.
[00:03:35] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And it was a rarity for them to miss one. And then if they had to, they would call and explain. Right.
[00:03:46] Speaker 3: And at some point in time, did your parents buy this property off Moselle Road? Yes, sir.
[00:03:54] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Do you remember roughly when that was? Right around 2012, I think. I would have been a sophomore in high school.
[00:04:01] Speaker 3: And when that property was first purchased, did you move out to Moselle or are you still living in Hampton?
[00:04:08] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So we had a house in Hampton and also purchased the property of Moselle, which had a house. And for the beginning stages of owning Moselle, Hampton was still working as our primary residence. But I believe it was Hurricane Matthew or one of the hurricanes came through and blew a bunch of pine trees over on the house. So it had to get work done to it. And from that point, we moved out from Hampton to Moselle while the house was getting fixed. And more or less, it just kind of never transitioned back to Hampton. It just almost like Moselle became the primary residence.
[00:04:50] Speaker 3: And during this time, did your family also have a house at Eddestow? Yes, sir. How frequently would you stay at the house at Eddestow? Very frequently during the summertime. Almost every weekend. And when your family essentially relocated to the Moselle property and making it primary residence, were you still living at home in high school? Do you remember how old you were at that point in time? I'm sorry, Jim. Were you living at home at that point in time while you were still in high school? Yes. Do you remember when you transitioned to Moselle and started staying there basically full-time during the school year?
[00:05:29] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So when I was still in high school, we were living in the Hampton house. And then I'd gone off to college, which is when this stuff happened. And they moved out to Moselle. So I was living in college.
[00:05:44] Speaker 3: And when did you go off to college? 2014. Okay. So sometime after around 2014, family relocated to Moselle for the most part because of the hurricane damage. Tell the jury a little bit about the Moselle property. I know they've heard a fair amount, but I think you probably know it better than anybody.
[00:06:08] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah. So the Moselle property is roughly 1,700 acres. And a lot of that is really not even accessible. It's a lot of swamp lands, a lot of stuff that you just, you know, no road systems or anything like that. But a big portion of it is, you know, has road systems and everything. And it's a big property. It's broken up into several different parcels that border each other. And, you know, we have 20-some-odd deer stands, dove fields, duck ponds, just all over the property.
[00:06:51] Speaker 3: And what type of hunting did you and your brother and your father do at Moselle? Everything. Deer, duck, quail, dove, hogs. You have a duck pond? We have a duck pond. Okay. And the hunting was – did you have a lot of friends come out and hunt as well? Yes, sir. Okay. Now, the jury has seen an aerial view of the property, and there's a main house, there's shed, kennels, and then there's a house sort of right on Moselle Road. What do you call that house? That's the cabin. The cabin. And did you live in the cabin with friends over summers at some point in time? I did.
[00:07:34] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: The summer of my sophomore year, after my sophomore year, me and two of my buddies lived in the cabin. Okay. And who were those buddies? Nolan Tootin and Rogan Gibson. Okay.
[00:07:48] Speaker 3: And the – so we've – we can get more of this. We've heard about hogs and pigs on the property. Can you tell the jury a little bit about that? About the hogs? Yes, sir.
[00:08:02] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: We had a lot of hogs, and if you don't know, hogs are very destructive to a piece of property. You know, we plant food plots for the deer, plant the fields for the doves and the ducks, and they basically go through and ruin it all. So given the high population of hogs, we, you know, would frequently go out and hunt them, try to cut the numbers down a little bit.
[00:08:30] Speaker 3: You did – what kind of guns did you have there at Moselle? We had a lot of guns.
[00:08:40] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Did you have shotguns? We did shotguns. You have 12-gauge shotguns? 12-gauge shotguns, 20-gauge shotguns, 16-gauge shotguns, 28-gauge shotguns.
[00:08:50] Speaker 3: And how many rifles, type rifles, did you have on the property? A lot.
[00:08:55] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Can you just name some of them? Yeah, .270, .270 short mag, 7mm 08, .308, .243, .223, .300 blackout. And what type of ammo did you keep on the property? Well, I mean, all ammoes for those calibers. Sure.
[00:09:18] Speaker 3: And where were the guns kept primarily? In the gun room at the main house at Moselle. And was there a pool table in the gun room? There was. Okay. Were there times when guns were left elsewhere on the property? Yes. Where else on the property would guns be left?
[00:09:34] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Well, just myself. I mean, I've left them up at the shed before. I've left them on golf cart, used that day, left them in a truck. I mean, guns would just not always find their way back to the gun room. How about Paul?
[00:09:54] Speaker 3: How was he with securing guns?
[00:09:58] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Not good. What do you mean by that? He would. Paul left guns probably more on the property than anybody else. And just, and sometimes if he, like, sometimes he would use my gun and then he would leave it. And then I'd have to track it down. Right.
[00:10:16] Speaker 3: Did Paul carry guns in his truck? He did. Would he keep his truck locked up?
[00:10:25] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No.
[00:10:26] Speaker 3: No, not all the time. Okay. Did at some point in time you and Paul receive 300 blackouts for Christmas? Yes, sir. Do you remember roughly, was that 2016 or 2017? Sounds right. Okay. And what color was your 300 blackout? It was black. And have you been sitting in this courtroom during the entire trial? Yes, sir. And the jury's seen a black 300 blackout. Is that yours? It is. That is my 300 blackout. Is that the one you got for Christmas? Yes, sir. And what color was Paul's?
[00:10:57] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Paul's was black and tan. And when you say black and tan, what part was tan and what part was black? So I, so the receiver would have been tan and the, I think, and barrel would have been tan. What part would have been black? Stock, maybe.
[00:11:14] Speaker 3: Okay. And so yours was all black, his was black and tan. That's right. What happened to his that he got for Christmas in 2016?
[00:11:24] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: His gun was apparently stolen, lost, taken. Yeah. Do you, how do you know that? That's just what Paul told me.
[00:11:38] Speaker 3: Did, what happened to your gun after Paul's was stolen? My gun became, you know, what we would both use. And would, what, did that create some confrontation between you two at times? Yes, sir.
[00:11:52] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And what, why? Well, kind of like I just touched on. So he would use it. He's not very good about putting it back where he found it. I leave it somewhere. I go back and, you know, want to get it and it's not there.
[00:12:06] Speaker 3: Did, did you notice, were you aware that Paul got a response? A replacement at some point in time?
[00:12:17] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[00:12:18] Speaker 3: Well, you heard about that in the courtroom. Yes, sir.
[00:12:21] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Okay.
[00:12:22] Speaker 3: But up to that point, did you ever see Paul use the replacement? No, sir. I've never seen a replacement. So every time in your presence Paul was using a 300 blackout, which one would it be?
[00:12:33] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Mine.
[00:12:38] Speaker 3: There's, I'm not going to pull these guns out, Buster, but there's been this discussion and the jury has seen a 12-gauge Spinelli with a Mojo sticker on it. Whose gun is that? That's mine.
[00:12:52] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And what's Mojo? Mojo is a brand of a decoy. It's basically what it is, is it's, you know, say you buy a wood duck Mojo and it sits on a pole, but the wings are motorized. So it's to replicate, you know, a more alive duck.
[00:13:13] Speaker 3: And did you, why does your Benelli have a Mojo sticker on it?
[00:13:18] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Because I bought a Mojo decoy and in the box it came with a sticker and I put the sticker on the gun barrel. And so that way you know that's your gun. That's right.
[00:13:30] Speaker 3: I believe the evidence in the case is that that Mojo Benelli, when it was seized, was loaded. Did you frequently put the gun away loaded? Yes, sir. Why?
[00:13:43] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I, you know, knowing that I might need it again at any point. Okay. Just, you know, put it back on the shelf. I kept the safety of them. Okay.
[00:13:55] Speaker 3: And I think it was loaded with a three inch and a three and a half inch turkey load. Do you remember that you would load that gun with a three inch and a three and a half inch?
[00:14:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. And why would you do that? I do that because when I go turkey hunting, the goal is to, you know, get the turkey close to you and shoot it in the first try. But if I were to miss and the turkey goes running away and I try to shoot it again, I put a bigger shell, larger shell behind the smaller one for that purpose.
[00:14:28] Speaker 3: And that's something you commonly did. Yes, sir. Did you ever load in a 12 gauge, 20 gauge, 28 gauge, a buckshot followed by a birdshot? No, sir. I've never done that. Have you ever known anybody to do that? No, sir. You know of any reason to do that? No, I can't think of any reason to do that. And specifically, have you ever loaded in any gun a buckshot followed by a dry lock, steel, waterfowl pellet? I have not. You know anybody to do that? No, sir. You know any reason to do that? No, sir. Okay. And have you ever seen any guns on your property loaded in that fashion?
[00:15:13] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[00:15:14] Speaker 3: A buckshot with some sort of birdshot right behind it? No, sir. The jury's heard testimony about goings and comings, which way you go in and go out at Moselle. How many entrances were there at Moselle?
[00:15:34] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Two entrances.
[00:15:35] Speaker 3: And will you describe the two entrances?
[00:15:37] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So the main entrance is pretty much straight out of the front door of the house. You would go down a dirt road, and then you would come up on big brick columns, and that's what I refer to as the main entrance. But down by the kennels is another entrance, and that one is a little bit different. That one has the mailbox beside it, and those are the two entrances.
[00:16:02] Speaker 3: So let's talk about coming on to the property. Which entrance coming on to the property would your mother normally take?
[00:16:16] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I would say normally everybody took the main entrance, unless there was a reason that you needed to go down the other one, which for her, her reasons of going down the other one would be the mailbox, and also when we got packages delivered from Amazon, they actually would be or would go to the shed as opposed to the house.
[00:16:37] Speaker 3: So your deliveries would go not to the yellow or whatever white house that you lived in, but down at the shed? That's right. Now, leaving Moselle, the property, which way would you, Alex, your mom, Paul normally go leaving Moselle? Out of the main gate. Okay. And if you're going to Almeda, which way do you turn coming out of the main gate? To the right. Okay. The, um, in, in 2020, 2021, um, during the summer months, where did your mother prefer to stay at a staff? And where were you staying? Say in the spring, summer of 2021, where are you living? Um, spring, uh, Moselle. And then, uh, summer, where'd you move to? Um, I was down at a still a lot in the summer. Okay. And then, um, and where was Paul living in the, say, spring of 2021? Um...
[00:18:17] Speaker 4: Is he standing in the spring of 20 or 21? 21.
[00:18:24] Speaker 3: Yeah, man, did you, maybe I said the wrong thing. In the spring of 2021, where were you living?
[00:18:31] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Spring of 2021. Uh...
[00:18:33] Speaker 3: Do you have an apartment in Columbia? Yes, yes, I did have an apartment in Columbia. You split time between Columbia and Moselle and... Yes, sir. And you have a girlfriend? Yes, sir. Okay. And then, in the summer of 2021, well, in, in June, uh, where were you living?
[00:19:03] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, between Columbia and between Rock Hill. Okay. And who lived in Rock Hill? Uh, my girlfriend's mom.
[00:19:11] Speaker 3: Okay. And then in the spring up through June of 2021, where was Paul living? In Columbia. He had an apartment in Columbia? Yes, sir. And, and was he at, was he enrolled at University of South Carolina in the spring of 2021? Yes, sir. Okay. And then once school got out, do you know where Paul relocated to? Um... Anywhere?
[00:19:35] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, not exactly. I know that... Let's see. I mean, I think he went down to live with John Marvin. He was working for him for the summertime. And who's John Marvin? My uncle. And what kind of business does John Marvin have? He has a rental business, and he sells Kubota tractors.
[00:20:02] Speaker 3: And, and where does he have, um, uh, store locations?
[00:20:07] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Uh, one in Ocatee, one in Hampton.
[00:20:10] Speaker 3: And was Paul working at the Ocatee location? Yes. Um, just sort of backing up, did, did, did you and your dad and mother and brother Paul do a, a lot of things with your mother's family, the, the Branstadders?
[00:20:30] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:20:31] Speaker 3: Um, what type of things would y'all do?
[00:20:33] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Well, we'd gather every, every holiday. And, you know, other than that, we would do trips together. We would go down to Key West, go over to, um, my Aunt Mary and Uncle Bart's lake house, river house. Just, stuff like that, take trips, family trips.
[00:20:54] Speaker 3: And, and I'm, I'm just going to pull up on the screen, Doug, uh, Defendants Exhibit 122, which is in evidence, Your Honor. Um, and, Buster, take a look on the screen, and, and I believe your Aunt Mary testified about this. Can you tell the jury what this photo is? This is a photo of me and my brother and my mom and my dad. And, and was this taken in, I think, May 21? You were up for a baby shower, is that right?
[00:21:21] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. And where, where was this? So this is in, um, this is at Lake Kiwi in a community called The Reserve. Okay. And, and y'all are visiting with whom? Uh, with my aunt and uncle, Aunt Mary and Uncle Bart. And for what purpose? Uh, for my oldest cousin's baby shower.
[00:21:39] Speaker 3: All right. And, um, and was events like this unusual or fairly frequent? They're common. And was your, your father close with Maggie's dad? Your grandfather, Papa T, has it been heard in this, has been known in this courtroom? Yes, sir. He was. And what kind of things would they do together?
[00:22:03] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: They would do a lot together. Um, for a long time there was a, my grandfather had a, um, camping trip and Papa T frequented the camping trip. He liked that. Dad and Papa T would go to Carolina sporting events together, play golf together.
[00:22:22] Speaker 3: And did, did, did you spend a lot of time with your dad and, and your grandfather, Papa T? Yes, sir. You played golf with him? Yes, sir. We'll get to that in a little bit. Um, and let's talk about, um, your dad's side of the family. Was it the close-knit, knit family? Yes, sir. Um, and, and your grandfather, your dad's father, his name was what?
[00:22:49] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Handsome.
[00:22:50] Speaker 3: Handsome. Um, and that was a nickname, I think?
[00:22:54] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. It's what grandchildren called him. Well, it started as grandchildren calling him, and then all of our friends started calling him that.
[00:23:01] Speaker 3: But that, that was Randolph Murdoch? Yes, sir. And then, uh, your grandmother's name, Libby? Yes, sir. And they live close by, is that correct? That's right. Where do they live? Alameda. And in relation to, I guess, Hampton, where, where's Alameda? So straight down 278, like you're going to Yemisee. Okay, and how far away is it from, say, the law office of, uh, PMPED to your grandparents' house? Right. How, roughly how far is that? Ten minutes. Okay. And how far of a drive was it, would have been from your house in Hampton? I mean, roughly the same. Right. And do you know roughly how far of a drive it would have been from the house in Moselle? Probably more like 20. And the, uh, and the, uh, and, and did, did you and your mom and your dad and your brother Paul spend a lot of time with, uh, the Murdoch side of the family? Yes, sir. And what would y'all do together?
[00:24:05] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, similar stuff, obviously, gathering during the holidays, various things like that. We would take trips with that side of the family as well. You know, get out everybody, rent a big house. You know, meet up on the water on the weekends. Just, you know, just a lot of stuff going on with that side of the family as well.
[00:24:27] Speaker 3: And so, um, I guess let's go back and, well, let's identify on your dad's side of the family. Do your dad have brothers and sisters? Yes, sir. Who are they? John Marvin, uh, Randy, and Lynn. Okay. And then John Marvin, Randy, and Lynn had children, did they? Yes, sir. So you had a lot of cousins? Yes, sir. And families would get together, those cousins and aunts and uncles? That's right. Okay. And was there property down on Chichesse that y'all would spend time at? Yes, sir.
[00:25:00] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: That was the family river house, Chichesse. And where is that located? So it's located in Ocatee, um, Waters Avenue, off the Chichesse River. Right. It's pretty, pretty desolate.
[00:25:15] Speaker 3: The, um, in the spring, in May and June of 2021, what was your grandfather Hanson's health condition as you knew it? Um, not, not good.
[00:25:31] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It wasn't in good health.
[00:25:31] Speaker 3: What did you understand as health problems to be?
[00:25:34] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, I understand he had cancer, and I understood that, you know, he was having a pretty big battle with it.
[00:25:41] Speaker 3: And what was your grandmother, what, what did you call your grandmother? M. M. Yes, sir. What, what health issues did she have in May and June of 2021? She has Alzheimer's. And would, um, would, um, would your dad frequently check on Hanson and M? Yes, sir. Would you go with your dad to check on Hanson and M? I would occasionally go with him too, yes, sir. Okay. And what times of day would you go with your dad to check on your grandparents?
[00:26:12] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It, it could have been any time, um, went over at lunch a lot of times, um, went over in the evenings a lot. Just no real set schedule, just kind of, kind of mosey on over there.
[00:26:24] Speaker 3: When, um, would, would your mother go with your dad? She would. Not, not regularly, but she, she went. Would, would, would Paul stop in and check on your grandparents? Yes, sir. Was that fairly regularly for something Paul to do? Yeah, Paul would do it regularly as well. Um, when you would go with your dad in the evenings, um, um, and maybe it's not limited to the evenings, what, where would you park when you go visit your grandparents?
[00:27:00] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, for the most part, um, just like a ordinary afternoon visit, park in, you know, the, the garage, the, um, carport. But if we went over a little bit later, then we would pull around to the backside of the house and be able to enter through the, the back door. Okay. And what, what's at the backside of the house? So when you walk in the backside, it's, it's like a, we call it a sunroom, but it's, you know, a dining table. It's got a TV in there and then that is right next to the kitchen. And then if you're in the kitchen and you go to the right, then that's where my, um, grandparents' room is. Okay.
[00:27:42] Speaker 3: Doug, if you could pull up page 38 from State's Exhibit 524, please. That's in evidence. 24, I believe it is. Page 38.
[00:27:58] Speaker 5: 524, correct?
[00:28:09] Speaker 3: Yes. And that's page 38. So, Buster, this is from State's Exhibit 524, which is in evidence, which is the, the, uh, GPS data off the OnStar provided from General Motors. And can you see that? Yes, sir. Can you tell us, uh, what's, what's that house? So that's my grandparents' house at Almeida. All right.
[00:28:38] Speaker ?: All right. All right.
[00:28:38] Speaker 3: And these, um, these dots in the back, and I'm going to point to this line of dots just right next to the circle that Doug drew. Do you see them where they seem to be connected right here on the far right?
[00:28:59] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:29:00] Speaker 3: Where is that on the property?
[00:29:02] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So that's right off the back corner of the house.
[00:29:07] Speaker 3: Is that a place where you'd normally park to go in the back of the house? Yes, sir. That is where. Have you parked there yourself? I have. Have you seen other family members park there?
[00:29:16] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I have.
[00:29:17] Speaker 3: Is that, is that a customary place to park when you go in the back door where the kitchen sunroom is? Yes, sir. Okay. I'm going to show you some photos, HR exhibits, 130 to 136. And I'm going to ask you if you can just identify them. Don't show them to the jury, but just tell us what those photographs are of.
[00:30:13] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So these photos are of the area we're talking about off the back corner of the house that I'll meet in. All right.
[00:30:21] Speaker 3: Your Honor, this time I've moved to finish exhibits 130 through 136 in evidence.
[00:30:26] Speaker 5: Okay. We are committed.
[00:30:28] Speaker 3: Thank you. So, Doug, please pull up exhibit 133. And, Buster, tell us what 133 is, please.
[00:30:45] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah. So this is the back door entrance to where I was just talking about to enter into the sunroom kitchen, into the kind of back quarters where my grandparents' bedrooms were.
[00:30:56] Speaker 3: All right. And if you'll pull up 134, Doug, please.
[00:31:04] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And what's 134? Same thing. Same backside of the property. Just a little bit of a different angle.
[00:31:11] Speaker 3: So the part of the house to the right of the photo, what's that? Can you see here?
[00:31:19] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah. So that right there would be my grandparents' bedroom.
[00:31:23] Speaker 3: Okay. So that's in the evening, your grandparents would be in that part of the house. Is that correct? Yes, sir. And if you went to the garage entrance, what would happen? What would be required of your grandparents or some sitter to let you in?
[00:31:44] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah. So you could go and knock, but a lot of times they're in the back part of the house and they don't hear you. So you'd normally call and say, like, hey, I'm at the front. I need to be, you know, let in. And they'd have to walk from the back to the front, unlock the door, and let you in. But if you're in the back, how far is the walk? Quarter of the distance it would be to walk to the – it's very short.
[00:32:08] Speaker 3: And was it common to go in the back door? Yes, sir. And is it – and then I'm going to show you Exhibit 131. Please pull that up, Doug. So, Your Honor, can you step down off the stand and point to the jury where – so, Buster, step aside so that the jury can – you're not blocking their view. I don't have a pointer, but can you point out in this photo where you would normally park? All right. Yeah, point out to the jury where you normally park to go into the –
[00:33:04] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So, you would park, you know, right about here, coming right off the – basically the corner of the house, and this is the same stairway to go up to the back door.
[00:33:14] Speaker 3: So, you'd park in the grass? Yes, sir. And near that satellite dish? Or not near the satellite dish? Yeah.
[00:33:21] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Objection.
[00:33:23] Speaker 3: Where would you park? In relation to the satellite dish?
[00:33:26] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, right there close to it.
[00:33:29] Speaker 3: All right. And that was – Now, hang on, Buster. I'm sorry. Come back. What's this structure right here?
[00:33:43] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: That's what we call the cook shed. And maybe there's – and what's in the cook shed? A couple couches, big TVs. That's mostly where – my grandfather used to have a cookout on every third Thursday of a month, and that's where he would have his little gathering. It's just an open concept in there with a kitchen, TV, a couple couches. All right.
[00:34:06] Speaker 3: Hang on, Doug. You pull up 132 while Buster's still standing here. Buster, what's this structure to the right of the – as you're looking at the cookhouse? That's an old shed. Okay. Now, roughly, what's the distance between the cookhouse and the cook shed to where you'd normally park to go in the back door?
[00:34:40] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: You know, 10, 20 yards maybe.
[00:34:46] Speaker 4: Okay.
[00:34:47] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: All right. Go ahead and take your seat, please.
[00:34:49] Speaker ?: All right. All right.
[00:34:49] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Go ahead and take your seat, please.
[00:35:17] Speaker 3: Buster, how often would you speak with your mom and dad on the telephone on a daily basis? Pretty much every day. Right. And would you be with your dad when he's talking to your mother? Yes, sir. I guess – can you give the jury some sense of how frequently, as a family, y'all would engage in telephone conversations daily? Yeah.
[00:35:54] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It was very frequent. I mean, I spoke to my mom every day, multiple times a day, and the like for my dad and for my brother, too. And that's just me, and I know it's like they're all talking to each other, too. Just a lot of conversating throughout the day over the telephones within the family. Okay.
[00:36:16] Speaker 3: So, Doug, I want to pull up States Exhibit 520, which is in evidence, and this is the Rudovsky extended or extensive timeline, not the condensed version. States 520. And if you'll go to page 14, please. Thank you.
[00:36:33] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir.
[00:36:39] Speaker 3: So, Pastor, what I'd like to do, and this starts at just 1, 11, 10 p.m. If you could blow up that first entry, Doug, and this is in evidence offered by the state. And I just want to go through some of these again. So, at 1, 10, this document says, Paul Murdoch misses a phone call from Margaret Murdoch. And then at 1, 11, 36, it says, Maggie makes an outgoing phone call to Buster. Answered, one minute and 22 seconds long. Do you have any independent recollection of this particular phone call? No, sir. Okay. But if you keep working your way down, at 1, 19, Doug, there's another entry. It says, Paul Murdoch makes an outgoing phone call to mom. Do you see that? At 1, 19?
[00:37:41] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:37:42] Speaker 3: And then if we'll go down to, well, so I guess let's just stop there. Is it frequent that your mother would reach out to you and Paul during the day? Yes, sir. Okay. And if you'll go down to 1, 41, please, Doug, at 1, 41, 33 seconds. And you see Maggie makes an outgoing phone call to Buster. Do you see that? At 1, 42, I'm sorry. Yes, sir. And then right before that, at 1, 41, it looks like Maggie makes an outgoing phone call to Alex. Not answered. Do you see that? Yes, sir. And then if you go right below that, it says 1, 42, 43, Maggie makes an outgoing phone call to Paul. Now, you see that? Yes, sir. Well, anything unusual going on this day? Or is this sort of how life was in the Murdoch family?
[00:38:38] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, this was normal. This was the way we communicated.
[00:38:43] Speaker 3: Okay. And then if you'll go to page 15, Doug, at the bottom, at entry 1, 152, 39 p.m., it says Maggie Murdoch makes an outgoing phone call to Buster answered at 1, 19. So here's another call from your mother. So here's another call from your mother. Is that right? Yes, sir. Not unusual, was it? Not unusual. All right. And page 16, at 1, 55, 40. If you'll take a look, blow that up, Doug. It says Maggie Murdoch received the incoming phone call from PA Alec Murdoch. Answered 6 minutes and 18 seconds. And that was your dad and mom apparently talking, correct? Yes, sir. And then right below that at 1, 56, 18, there's some instant messages to you about some medication. Do you remember what this might be about?
[00:39:43] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, so this was about, I take a medication called Dupixent, which is a self-given shot. And I was up in Rock Hill, and I needed to get the medicine delivered to this address here on the screen. Okay. And that's what we were talking about. She was, you know, calling the pharmacy to get it redirected to that address.
[00:40:09] Speaker 3: Normal day. Is that right? Yes, sir. All right. Doug, you've got to page 19 at 3, 24, 20 p.m. Excuse me. I'm sorry. 3, 24, 35. Alex Murdoch received an incoming phone call from Buster. 518 seconds. Sitting here today, do you remember what the phone call was about?
[00:40:33] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[00:40:34] Speaker 3: I don't know specifically what it's about. But just normal day in the life of Buster Murdoch. That's right. Talking to his parents. Yes, sir. Thank you. If you go to page 24, Doug. At 442, 56 p.m. See, that looks like at 442, your mother's calling you again, right?
[00:41:15] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:41:16] Speaker 3: Anything unusual going on?
[00:41:18] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[00:41:24] Speaker 3: And then if you'll go to page 26, Doug, at 5, 16, 25 p.m. And there's an entry that says, Alec Murdoch calls Buster Murdoch. Do you see that?
[00:41:39] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:41:39] Speaker 3: Looks like a six-second call. Do you remember what that might be about?
[00:41:45] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, six seconds could be a butt dial. That would happen often.
[00:41:51] Speaker 3: All right, and then if you go down the bottom of the page at 5, 21, 11, looks like there's a 92-second call, which is about five minutes after what might have been the butt dial. It says, Alec Murdoch receives a call. Buster answered 92 seconds long. Do you see that?
[00:42:11] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:42:12] Speaker 3: So are you returning your dad's call, you think?
[00:42:14] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Probably. Okay.
[00:42:14] Speaker 3: And I'll just carry through. Doug, if you'll go to page 32 at 6, 52, 13 p.m., please. Pull that up. Thank you. So this entry says, Alec Murdoch calls Terry Branstetter, 412 seconds. Who's Terry Branstetter? Papa T. And would your dad call your grandfather fairly regularly? Yes, sir. He would. So again, anything unusual going on on the 7th for y'all to have all these communications?
[00:43:23] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[00:43:23] Speaker 3: And then we'll jump to page 49, Doug. And if you go to 908-58, and it says, Alec Murdoch, iMessages, Maggie Murdoch, stating, quote, going to check on M, be right back, close quote. Now, who's M?
[00:44:04] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: My grandma.
[00:44:06] Speaker 3: And this is at 908-58. And then at 9, 10, 47, there's an entry that says, Alec Murdoch calls Buster. And it says 60 seconds long. And that's at 9, 10, 47 p.m. on June 7th. Do you remember getting that phone call? Yes, sir. What did you talk about?
[00:44:29] Speaker 5: Objection.
[00:44:31] Speaker 3: What did you talk about?
[00:44:34] Speaker 5: Basis for the objection. I'm just reacting to hearsay.
[00:44:39] Speaker 4: Pardon? I don't want to open the door to anything else. I was reacting to hearsay.
[00:44:44] Speaker 3: I asked what the topic was, Your Honor.
[00:44:49] Speaker 5: Objection's overruled.
[00:44:52] Speaker 3: Yeah, don't say what your dad said.
[00:44:54] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Just tell me what y'all talked about. Yeah, well, we just talked about, like, hey, how you doing? And then he said that he was going out to. Hang on.
[00:45:06] Speaker 3: Okay. I mean, I thought he didn't want to hear hearsay, but I'm sorry, Your Honor. Go ahead.
[00:45:14] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And he was just letting me know that he was going out to Almeida to check on them. Okay.
[00:45:19] Speaker 3: And was this an unusual conversation you had with him? No, sir. What was his demeanor in the conversation?
[00:45:26] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Normal.
[00:45:26] Speaker 3: Had it changed from any of the other times you talked to him earlier in the day on the 7th? No, sir. And would he on occasion call you when he was going to check on his mother, Em? He would, yes, sir.
[00:45:41] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Was that an unusual occurrence? No, probably one of the more regular occurrences. We all usually would make phone calls like riding in a car. So when he was riding over, it's very common for him to call.
[00:45:58] Speaker 3: Can you take that down, Doug? Let me take that down, Doug. So just going through this extraction from, say, 1 o'clock until what we just talked about, 9 o'clock. We did a lot of multiple phone calls within the family. Tell the jury about the cell phone coverage at Moselle.
[00:46:23] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Not great cell phone coverage. Didn't have a lot of service, especially around, so if you were underneath the shed, at the shed, it had a metal roof. It just couldn't get any service inside of it. It was spotty around the whole property, and it had honestly gotten bad up at the house. We had just put on a new roof. Roof was metal, and just kind of hindered a lot of the phone coverage out there.
[00:46:52] Speaker 3: Would it be unusual for your dad to leave his phone at the house when he was going down to the shed? No, sir.
[00:47:01] Speaker 5: Can't leave the witness.
[00:47:08] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir. Would not be unusual.
[00:47:11] Speaker 3: Well, did your dad always have his phone with him when he was on the property at Moselle? Not all the time. Did your brother always have the phone on him when he was at the property at Moselle?
[00:47:24] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Not always on him. He would have it near him, but, you know, he's out there working on stuff and didn't always have his phone just in his hand or in his pockets or anything like that.
[00:47:36] Speaker 3: Did your father ever misplace his phone?
[00:47:41] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:47:42] Speaker 3: Was that a frequent occurrence? It was. How about your brother? Did he ever misplace his phone? He did. Was that frequent?
[00:47:48] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It was.
[00:47:55] Speaker 3: Now, there's been some testimony about Bubba. Yes, sir. Who's Bubba? Bubba was our dog. What kind of dog was Bubba? He's a yellow lab.
[00:48:13] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And was he difficult to control? He could be, but for the most part, no. He would listen to Dad more than anybody else, but also we had a gundog shot collar that we would put on him sometimes, and when he had that on, he was, yeah, on his P's and Q's.
[00:48:45] Speaker 3: Switching gears on another topic. When your dad, well, let me just put it like this. How frequently would your dad take a shower or a bath?
[00:48:58] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: He could take them a lot. And, you know, working out there, if he goes outside and sweats a lot, comes back in and takes a shower.
[00:49:06] Speaker 3: Was that normal routine for him? It was. And did he sweat a lot? Yeah, it's hot out there in the summertime. Was he a lot bigger then than he is today?
[00:49:17] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: He was. How big was it? Probably two, you know, six-four, 250, 260. Right.
[00:49:34] Speaker 3: Excuse me, Buster, were you aware that your dad had an opioid addiction?
[00:49:41] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: A little bit. I knew a little bit about the usage of pills. What did you know about them? I knew that either my brother and mom had found them at some point and then, you know, told them, like, hey, we found these. And he, I want to say the 2018, around Christmas, he went to a detox facility after Christmas. And that was my knowledge of it, thought that that handled it. And then there were a couple more times after, after the fact, where they would kind of go into this finding pills, all that stuff. And then he, he did a few, he did a few kind of, like, at home, just self-detoxed a couple times. And, you know, thought, you know, once he did that, that, you know, get off of them. But that was kind of my general knowledge about it all. You thought he, he had beat it. That's right. Yes, sir.
[00:50:46] Speaker 3: And when he was confronted with, about his pills, what was his attitude?
[00:50:51] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I, I don't, I don't know for sure because I wasn't there when a lot of the confrontations happened with, with them finding the pills. But, I mean, I've never heard anything just, you know, apologetic and, you know, sorry and would, would usually be his kind of regular, you know, kind of response.
[00:51:15] Speaker 3: How did your family handle disputes, disagreements?
[00:51:23] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Pretty, I mean, you know, like adults, pretty civilly, you know, you know, talked about it and stuff like that. I mean, and it just depends on the dispute, too. Like, you know, like I was a kid, you know, I get spanked, stuff like that. It's not really a disagreement. That's just the.
[00:51:42] Speaker 3: Once you're a teenager and college age. Right. Any reprimand or disputes you've gotten into with your father, was it all civil? Yeah, definitely civil. Would your father show patience with you and your brother? Yes, sir. He would. Was there ever any violence in the family?
[00:52:02] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[00:52:12] Speaker 3: In February of 2019, your brother was in a boating accident, is that correct? Yes, sir. And I believe, where were you living at the time? Columbia. Okay. And was he criminally charged eventually?
[00:52:27] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:52:28] Speaker 3: And what type of reaction was there to his involvement in the boating accident and his criminal charges sort of in the community in Hampton?
[00:52:37] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I would say a negative reaction in the community. The media spike kind of got going after it. There was a lot of articles in the media about, you know, our family and stuff like that.
[00:52:50] Speaker 3: And to your knowledge, was Paul being threatened or bullied on social media or anything like that?
[00:52:57] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, he was definitely being bullied in or on social media. You know, just people sending random messages. And I would talk to him. I know a lot of times he'd be walking down the sidewalk and, you know, a car comes by and they would yell some stuff at him. I knew he would go out, you know, in a bar and, you know, there's somebody that wants to talk about it and, you know, make a scuff about it and whatnot. Right.
[00:53:22] Speaker 3: What was your mother's reaction to all the negativity of surrounding the boating accident?
[00:53:43] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It, you know, it kind of consumed her. She's big on reading all of it and when she read the negative stuff, you know, made her feel upset and whatnot. It ultimately kind of caused her to distance herself from Hampton. At this time, you know, primarily living at Moselle, she quit going to the grocery stores in Hampton, quit going to the pharmacy, quit going to get food in Hampton, and just thought that there was a real, you know, kind of a bad, kind of a bad vibe in Hampton. Like you go, she felt like people were staring at her and talking about her and stuff. Where would she do her shopping? She moved over to Waterboro and started going over that way. Right.
[00:54:33] Speaker 3: Were you sued in the boating accident? Yes, sir.
[00:54:37] Speaker 4: No response.
[00:54:47] Speaker 3: With regard to relevance, Your Honor, it's civil litigation about the boating accident has been a big part of the state's case. He's a part of the litigation.
[00:54:57] Speaker 5: Overruled the objection.
[00:55:00] Speaker 3: Were you sued? Yes, sir. Was your dad sued? He was. Was your mother sued? She, her estate became sued. But before she was murdered, had she been sued?
[00:55:14] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I don't know. I can't remember. Okay.
[00:55:17] Speaker 3: Maybe. And do you know if Paul had been sued? No, I don't know that he had been sued. Okay. Was your mother anxious about the civil lawsuit?
[00:55:30] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. What was her biggest concern? Her, I would say her biggest concern was reading articles after, you know, Mark Tinsley had made a statement about how much money he was wanting to collect in the civil lawsuits. And I think it was to the tune of like $40 million or something like that. He was trying to, trying to get in, that, that made her anxious.
[00:56:00] Speaker 3: And, uh, what, what was your reaction to statements like that?
[00:56:04] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, well, I mean, I, I knew what he was saying, but I mean, it's, it's not, to me, it just didn't seem, you know, I didn't think, well, I don't, don't have $40 million, so. Right.
[00:56:19] Speaker 3: And, and, and was your dad anxious about the, the lawsuit, to your knowledge?
[00:56:25] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Mm, he didn't appear to be overly anxious about it.
[00:56:31] Speaker 3: What took priority, the criminal case against Paul or the civil case?
[00:56:35] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Uh, the criminal case.
[00:56:37] Speaker 3: Right. And with, well, uh, did the family support Paul in the criminal matter? Yes, sir.
[00:56:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, what do you mean by that? I mean that supported him in his criminal case because, you know, amongst the family, none, none of us thought that he was driving the baby. We thought he'd be, at the time of the, the, the accident. That's correct.
[00:57:24] Speaker 3: Buster, I want to now talk, uh, about the weekends leading up to June the 7th. Yes, sir. And, um, and, and we showed the picture of the lake weekend that, where you were, um, went up to Kiwi with the Proctors and the Branstadters? Yes, sir. And, and then the following weekend, I believe, was Memorial Day. Were you with your family on Memorial Day weekend? Yes, sir. And who, who was present?
[00:57:51] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Uh, a lot of people were present. I was there, my brother was there, my mom, my dad. Um, my brother had some friends staying with us, and those were the people sleeping there, and then people are, you know, in and out throughout the day, throughout the weekend. It was a fun family weekend?
[00:58:07] Speaker 3: Yes, sir. Okay. It was a, a normal Memorial Day weekend out of stow with your family and friends? That's right. Okay, I'm going to show you, I'm going to show you, I'm going to show you Defendant's Exhibit 123. And I want to get you to identify it, Buster, uh, don't, just, just say what it is, please.
[00:58:30] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Uh, it's a picture of my mom and my dad and I on a boat. Is that Memorial Day weekend? Yes, sir.
[00:58:36] Speaker 3: Yeah, I want to move Defendant's Exhibit 123 into evidence. Go, Jason. It's a visit. Thank you.
[00:58:41] Speaker ?: Thank you.
[00:58:45] Speaker 3: Is this the photo of him, Buster?
[00:58:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:58:55] Speaker 3: And then I, I believe this same weekend there was a, a birthday party, or cookout, is that right?
[00:59:03] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[00:59:05] Speaker 3: Um, Doug, if you could play exhibit, um, Defendant's Exhibit 61, please, it's in evidence. I want you to take a look at that.
[00:59:15] Speaker 5: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Thank y'all so much. Yay! Thank you, baby. Thank you, baby.
[00:59:53] Speaker 3: And was, uh, your mom make a cake for your dad? Yes, sir. And that was, um, a group of friends. When's your dad's birthday? Do you know the exact date? Uh. It's not a test, just say you don't know if you don't know. No, I don't, I don't know the exact date. It's around Memorial Day? That's right. Okay. 27th, maybe. The, um, then the following weekend there was a baseball tournament in Columbia, correct? Yes, sir. Tell the jury about that weekend. What, what happened there?
[01:00:26] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: That was the weekend, um, South Carolina was hosting a regional baseball tournament. And me, my mom, my dad, and my girlfriend went to the, to the baseball games. And where was the game? Columbia.
[01:00:41] Speaker 3: And it was a super regional or? Regional. A regional. Yes, sir. And, and, and, and what, what days of that weekend did you go to the game? Saturday and Sunday. Did your mom and dad stay in Columbia that weekend? They did. Or they stayed on Saturday night? Yes, sir. Okay. And you, um, did y'all tailgate with them on Saturday or Sunday? Yes, sir. We did. And was it a normal weekend? It was. Fun weekend? Yes, sir. Um, and that Sunday would have been June the 6th, is that right? Yes, sir. Okay. And, um, and then on June the 7th, we, we went through a host of, um, number of telephone calls with you and your dad and mom leading up to 908, 910 on, on June 7th. Buster, when did you first find out that your mom and brother were murdered?
[01:01:45] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: My, um, my dad called me. I can't, I can't remember the exact time, but it was later. Um, and he called me on the phone. He asked me if I was sitting down, and I was like, yeah, and then he, you know, sounded odd, and then he, then he told me that, that my mom and brother had been shot. What'd you do? Well, Brooklyn, my girlfriend was with me, and I, I think she heard the, um, she could hear my conversation kind of over the phone. And so she just started packing, packing stuff, and I, I kind of just sat there for a minute, and I was, I was in shock. But eventually we got our stuff together and, and, um, drove down to Moselle. Do you remember what time you got to Moselle? It was, it was, it was early in the morning, late in the morning. Um, you know, if, if we left around 10, 30, 11, got, got there sometime probably around two o'clock in the morning.
[01:02:57] Speaker 3: And when you got there, um, did you see your dad? Yes, sir. What kind of condition was he in?
[01:03:05] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: What was his demeanor? Yeah, his demeanor was, I mean, he was destroyed. He was heartbroken. I walked in the door and saw him and, um, gave him a hug and just, just broken down. Can you speak? Not really. Are you crying? Yes, sir.
[01:03:22] Speaker 3: Who, who else was in the house? Do you remember?
[01:03:25] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, um, my girlfriend Brooklyn and I got there. My, out in the driveway, my Uncle Randy and Uncle John were out there. Chris Wilson and, and Corey Fleming had just gotten there. They had pulled in behind us. And when I walked in, um, several of the partners were there. Ronnie Crosby was there. Lee Cope was there. Mark Ball was there. Um, Austin Crosby was there. William Barnes. Uh, my buddy Nolan was there. And I'm sure I'm leaving some out, but that's what I remember. And do you, do you remember how long you stayed there? Um, stayed there several hours, probably, you know, probably three or four hours until about four or five o'clock in the morning. And where did you go? Um, and then we left Moselle and we went to Alameda. When you say we, who are you talking about? Uh, my girlfriend, my dad, and my Uncle John.
[01:04:27] Speaker 3: Um, I know this seems kind of trivial, um, but what was your dad wearing when you first saw him? Shorts, t-shirt.
[01:04:42] Speaker 4: Okay.
[01:04:44] Speaker 3: And, um, did you help him pack? I did, yes, sir.
[01:04:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: What'd you do to help him pack? Got his bag and went into the closet, grabbed some t-shirts, grabbed some shorts, grabbed, um, toilet kit, put it in the bag and locked. Why were you doing the packing? Uh, just trying to help him. He, you know, he was so upset. We were all upset, but just trying to expedite the process of getting Alameda.
[01:05:15] Speaker 3: When, when you went in to pack your, your dad, was there a t-shirt laying on the floor? I, I couldn't remember. Um, did you get shirts from above the, um, I don't know.
[01:05:31] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Where did you get the t-shirts from? Got them from the closet and there's like a wooden, it's like wooden shelves up on the wall and I was getting the t-shirts from there. Were there a lot of t-shirts on the shelf? Yes, sir. Do you know whether or not one of the t-shirts fell on the floor when you were packing? I don't know whether one of them fell on the floor or not, but, I mean, certainly could have happened. Right.
[01:06:03] Speaker 3: When you, um, got to Moselle, um, were you able to get some sleep?
[01:06:12] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[01:06:14] Speaker 3: Did you, um, go back to Moselle the next morning? Yes, sir.
[01:06:19] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, and who went with you? Um, me, uh, my girlfriend Brooklyn and my dad and maybe John Marvin, I don't know if he was riding with us or, or already out there separately, but he was somewhere in the mix. Do you remember roughly what time you got to Moselle? I mean, uh, I think we got there rather early, you know, nobody really slept and, you know, about early in the morning, sun comes up.
[01:06:45] Speaker 3: Did, um, did, um, did, did you take a shower in Brooklyn, take a shower at Almeida or did you do it over at Moselle?
[01:06:57] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir. We, um, we slept at, well, tried to sleep at Almeida and then we took everything back with us to Moselle and we showered there. Do you know where your dad took a shower that morning? Ah, yeah, Moselle.
[01:07:19] Speaker 3: And when you went back over, um, in the morning, do you know what your dad was wearing? When you, when traveling from Almeida back in Brooklyn?
[01:07:28] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, not specifically, but I know that, you know, I know what I packed, so it could have been any of that. It's just athletic shorts and t-shirts and stuff. Okay.
[01:07:47] Speaker 3: And after, um, you got to Moselle and I guess just carrying the days forward, um, were you with your dad? Well, how often were you with your dad once you got back to Moselle on, on the 8th? Every day. Um, for how many days? For a good while. Okay, so let's talk about where you stayed on the 9th of the 8th. Do you remember?
[01:08:22] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: 9th of the 8th would have either stayed back at Almeida or that's, that's potentially when we made the transition over to John Marvin's, um, hunting lodge. Well, were you, um,
[01:08:35] Speaker 3: You say we, are you including your father? Yes, sir. Did you drive together? Yes, sir. Was he pretty much in your eyesight for the first few days? Yes, sir. And so after, um, the 8th and then you come up on the 9th of Wednesday, uh, do you know whether you were at Almeida or spending the night at, at your Uncle John Marvin's place? Yeah, I think at that point we had switched over to his place over at Greenfield. Yep. And you call it Greenfield, that's the name of the, his hunting? Yes, sir. Just the name of the property overall. The property.
[01:09:18] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Now how far is it from, from Almeida? Uh, to Greenfield? Yeah. A couple minutes, I mean. Close spot. Close spot. Yeah, right down the road.
[01:09:34] Speaker 3: And then, and, and, and do you remember how long you stayed at, at Greenfield with your dad?
[01:09:44] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, I mean, several days. And, you know, I think anywhere from the 9th to the, you know, probably that, rest of that week, through that weekend. Yeah, on, um, Thursday, June 10th, what happened?
[01:10:04] Speaker 3: Um, grandfather died. So the family was together and stayed together? Yes, sir. Do you ever remember your dad disappearing for any periods of time? No, sir. Were you close, physically close to him most all the time? Yes, sir. Except when you were sleeping? That's right. And I believe the funeral for your mom and brother memorial service was on that Saturday?
[01:10:42] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:10:42] Speaker 3: Right. And then that Sunday was a funeral for your, your father? Grandfather. Grandfather, yes, sir. And, um, at some point in time you went to, at, did you go to Somerville at some point in time?
[01:11:01] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:11:01] Speaker 3: Do you remember when you went to Somerville?
[01:11:04] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, right, you know, beginning of that next week. Okay.
[01:11:11] Speaker 3: I'm going to show you, uh, what I've marked as defense exhibit 129 and, um, ask you.
[01:11:34] Speaker 4: We discussed things we were objecting on a hearsay basis to 129 is.
[01:11:38] Speaker 3: Yes, sir. You know, I'm not introducing 129. I'm not offering it to the witness to refresh his recollection. That's a big step.
[01:11:45] Speaker 5: All right.
[01:11:47] Speaker 3: But it's for ID. But, sir, I don't want you to publish that, but, but I want you to, hey, um, I want to ask you if that defendant's exhibit 129 marked for identification purposes refreshes your recollection as to when you left to go to Somerville. Yes, sir. I went and want to tell the jury what, what is that? What's that document you have in your hand? It's a, it's a text thread between my girlfriend and I. And, and does it have, so based on that text communication between you and your girlfriend, it refreshes your recollection. When did you leave to go to Somerville? June 14th. And looking through there, refreshing your recollection, how long did you stay in Somerville? Stayed in Somerville until, stayed in Somerville until the 17th.
[01:12:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And then what do you remember doing after you left Somerville? Um, on the 17th, we left Somerville to go to Lake Kiwi.
[01:12:58] Speaker 3: And so when you were in Somerville from the 14th to the 17th, who, who were you staying with? Staying with my grandparents. And then, um, you went to Kiwi, who did you go with?
[01:13:16] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Went with my dad and I, my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and their, their children, their children's boyfriends, and that was it.
[01:13:27] Speaker 3: So, you're with your dad from the night of June 7th through the Kiwi trip, is that correct?
[01:13:38] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:13:45] Speaker 3: And, do you remember what you did after the Kiwi, Lake Kiwi trip?
[01:13:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No.
[01:13:51] Speaker 3: At some point in time, you decide, you know, I've got to go back to Rock Hill? Yeah, yes, sir. Remember roughly when that was?
[01:13:58] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, I mean, I think it was some time following all this, but I couldn't, I can't tell you exactly when I went back to work.
[01:14:09] Speaker 3: When you decided to go back to Rock Hill, you had a job in Charlotte, is that right? Yes, sir. Did you have any discussions with your father about your personal safety? Yes, sir. Did he make any offers to you? He did. What offers did he make to you? He offered me to... Basis for the objection.
[01:14:37] Speaker 4: Hearsay. Step-serving hearsay. Response.
[01:14:40] Speaker 3: You know, an offer is not hearsay. It's an offer.
[01:14:44] Speaker 5: The objection is sustained.
[01:14:49] Speaker 3: Did, um... Did you take any security precautions? No. Did you want any security protection?
[01:15:09] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir, I didn't. Why not? Well, I didn't want to carry a gun or anything like that, and I also didn't want, like, a private security detail following me around, just for lack of privacy, and at the time, the places that I was staying and the places that I were going, like I was staying at Rock Hill in my girlfriend's house who has, you know, alarm systems and security cameras and whatnot, and other than that, I'm staying in hotels, which, you know, I just felt...
[01:15:48] Speaker 3: Did at some point in time you and your father announce a reward? Yes, sir. I'm going to show you where to march this defendant's exhibit 126 and ask if you identify this. You can identify this. Yes, sir, this is the reward. Yes, sir. News released up about the reward? Yes, sir. Your Honor, we've moved to exhibit 126 and evidence at this time. No objection.
[01:16:22] Speaker 5: Submit it without objection.
[01:16:24] Speaker 3: Can you pull it up, Doug? And if you could just pull out the top two paragraphs, please, Doug.
[01:16:44] Speaker 4: Oh, this can't give you the word. It's not staying.
[01:16:47] Speaker 3: Oh, it can't. Okay. Did you work on this language with your dad? Yes, sir. Can you read to the jury the first two paragraphs, please, beginning with Alex and Buster Murdoch? Yes, sir.
[01:17:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Alec and Buster Murdoch announced today a reward of $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who brutally murdered Paul and Maggie on June 7, 2021. I want to thank everyone for the incredible love and support that we have received over the last few weeks. Now is the time to bring justice for Maggie and Paul. Buster and I, along with Maggie's mother, father, and our entire family, ask that anyone with helpful information immediately call the SLED tip line or Crime Stoppers. Thank you.
[01:17:42] Speaker 3: Now there's a, in the body of this, there's an expiration date on this reward. What's your understanding of the purpose of having an expiration date? I'm not real sure. Okay. Well, you say it says to be eligible, the person claiming the reward must submit the TIP to SLED of Crime Stoppers by September 31, 2021?
[01:18:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:18:07] Speaker 3: Okay. What happened in September, early September 2021, Buster?
[01:18:40] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Talking about the...
[01:18:42] Speaker 3: Yeah, do you remember your dad going off the detox, road shot shooting? Yes, sir. From that moment that your dad went to the hospital and went to detox, did he ever come back home to his property, his clothes, his belongings, to your knowledge?
[01:19:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[01:19:06] Speaker 3: There's been some questions about whereabouts of, whereabouts are Alex's clothes? Can you tell the jury before he went off to detox where his clothes were? How many different locations he had clothes?
[01:19:28] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So, had clothes at Moselle, had clothes at Greenfield, had clothes at probably a few clothes at Almeda, had clothes at Randy and Christy's house, had clothes a lot of places. Do you have clothes down at Chichessie?
[01:19:45] Speaker 3: Yep, yep, Chichessie, Ocatee. Do you have clothes at Edistow? Yes, sir. Do you have clothes in his car? Yes, sir.
[01:19:53] Speaker 5: Can't leave the witness.
[01:19:57] Speaker 3: How many nights after June 7th, to your knowledge, did your dad spend at Moselle?
[01:20:02] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: None.
[01:20:04] Speaker 3: How many nights after June 7th did you spend at Moselle?
[01:20:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: None.
[01:20:18] Speaker 3: I'm going to, um, Doug, you have the Snapchat video? Can you pull that up, please? Of the tree. Your Honor, this is the Snapchat video that's in evidence. I'll get the exhibit number for the record shortly. Uh, Buster, do you recognize that shirt?
[01:20:53] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Uh, yes, sir.
[01:20:54] Speaker 3: What kind of shirt is it?
[01:20:56] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It's like a, you know, short-sleeved button-down shirt. Is it a Columbia shirt? No, it doesn't look like a Columbia shirt.
[01:21:04] Speaker 3: What color is it?
[01:21:05] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It's blue.
[01:21:06] Speaker 3: Okay. Um, did your dad have a foam green Columbia sports shirt?
[01:21:15] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, maybe. Okay. Is this it? No. This is blue. Right.
[01:21:23] Speaker 3: Did, um... Do you, do you know if your dad ever ordered any Vinnie Vine or, I don't know... Did he order, did he order clothes, um, after your mother and brother's, um, murders?
[01:21:48] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Maybe he ordered clothes, but he, he doesn't wear a lot of Vineyard Vines. Okay, have you ever seen him buy a vineyard vine? No, sir.
[01:22:07] Speaker 3: And, um, you can take that down, Doug. Um, sometime in August, did, did you, uh, go with your dad where you, you played in a golf tournament?
[01:22:30] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. I went, played in a golf tournament, and he came and wanted to watch us play in it. And what kind of golf tournament? It's, uh, it's a golf tournament that a buddy of mine puts on in Somerville every year. It's called the JASO Invitational. It's just a bunch of guys that are friends come together and play in a golf tournament.
[01:22:52] Speaker 3: And, and did you look up the date of that tournament before testifying today? I did. And what date, what's, what weekend was that tournament in August of, excuse me, in 2021? Yeah, it was the last weekend in August of 2021.
[01:23:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Okay.
[01:23:07] Speaker 3: Um, do, do you know if you were in the, well, was there a house, uh, that Johnny Parker had that your dad kept stuff in?
[01:23:29] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. There's a, um, there's a small house in between Johnny Parker's house and my Uncle Randy's house. It's, I think, I think Mr. Johnny built it for his mom or, or, or mother-in-law or something when she was sick. But yeah, there's a little, little two-bedroom house right there. And did your dad stay there?
[01:23:46] Speaker 3: He did. He did. I don't know if we mentioned that as one of the places where there was clothing. Yeah, that'd be one. That'd be another one. All right. So there are a lot of places. Yes, sir. Um, were you, were you there, um, did you observe your dad talking to Blanca about anything of where you're getting ready to go on the golf trip? No, sir. Okay. You were not present?
[01:24:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir. I don't think I was present.
[01:24:09] Speaker 3: Did you go in any other golfing outings, um, in August with your dad, your knowledge?
[01:24:17] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, yes, uh, earlier, in, earlier August of that year, we played, um, played golf down in Hilton Head with the people from the trial lawyers convention. Okay.
[01:24:34] Speaker 3: Now, you've, um, you've been sitting in this courtroom since day one? Yes, sir. Every trial started?
[01:24:45] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Every day.
[01:24:46] Speaker 3: And, um, you were, were you here when, um, a video was played of an interview with your dad on June 10th? Yes, sir. Um, and, um, there was a question that was about whether your dad said, I did him so bad, or they did him so bad. Do you remember that? Yes, sir. Um, do you recognize your dad's voice? I do. If you listen to it, would you be able to tell the jury whether it's I or they? Yes, sir. Uh, your honor, I'd like to pull up Exhibit 153, the clip.
[01:25:24] Speaker 4: What did your dad say?
[01:25:34] Speaker 3: He said, they did him so bad. They did him so bad. Was that the first time you'd heard him say, they did him so bad? No, sir. When was the first time you heard him say, they did him so bad?
[01:25:42] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Uh, first time I heard him say that was the night that I went down to Moselle, the night of June the 7th.
[01:25:49] Speaker 3: Did he say that more than one time?
[01:25:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: He did.
[01:25:54] Speaker 3: One second, y'all, let me check to see what I left. Just very briefly, um, Buster, you've heard testimony during this trial that your dad was stealing money from clients. Did you know anything about that?
[01:26:23] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: No, sir.
[01:26:26] Speaker 3: And, um, just lastly, roughly how long would it take to clean a dog run down at the kennels? Two dog runs, for example.
[01:26:37] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Um, roughly, I'd say 10 minutes or so. Okay. And what do you have to do? You've got to get the hose, turn the hose on, spray out, spray out the dog kennels. You've got to, you know, put the bed on top of the wooden box so the bed's not wet. Now, what are you spraying? Dog manure? Yeah, spraying, you know, dog poop.
[01:26:57] Speaker 3: And it spreads out and you've got to?
[01:26:59] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: That's right. Yeah, you've got to spray it, make sure it's all out of there. Spray it to the back.
[01:27:05] Speaker ?: Okay. All right.
[01:27:07] Speaker 3: Thank you. That's all I have at once.
[01:27:11] Speaker 5: We'll take a break now, ladies and gentlemen, and for about 15 minutes, please go to the jury room. Please do not discuss the case.
[01:27:17] Speaker 4: Thank you.
[01:27:41] Speaker 5: Cross-examination. Yes, sir.
[01:27:47] Speaker 4: Can I call you a bus?
[01:28:09] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. I'm John.
[01:28:13] Speaker 4: And I want to first off tell you I am sorry about your mother.
[01:28:17] Speaker 3: Sorry, I can't hear it in front of you.
[01:28:19] Speaker 4: I'm sorry about his mother.
[01:28:21] Speaker 3: Well, if you step back, you'll have to hear it.
[01:28:24] Speaker 4: And I'm sorry about your brother. Thank you. And I'm sorry about your grandfather. Thank you. He was nice to me when I was a young assistant solicitor. I'm sorry for your loss.
[01:28:35] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. I appreciate it. Thank you.
[01:28:38] Speaker 4: I don't have any questions for you, Buster. Okay. When you are leaving the main house, you told Mr. Griffin that the main entrance was the brick entrance? Yes, sir. But there's also a side entrance by the kennels or entrance exit?
[01:29:03] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. Just a totally different entrance.
[01:29:06] Speaker 4: And the mailbox was at the side entrance?
[01:29:09] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir. The mail... The kennel entrance? Yes, sir. Okay. Why was that?
[01:29:13] Speaker 4: Do you know?
[01:29:14] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I don't know. I think it's just the... I really don't know. Okay.
[01:29:18] Speaker 4: I don't mean... But the packages would come to... You said the kennel side? They would come to the shed. Okay. And a lot of times, y'all would use that kennel entrance exit to go just like you'd use the main one, right?
[01:29:33] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, you would. I would say that I more so tended to use the main one, the one that I'd say is the brick pillars. But, yeah, I mean, you could certainly leave either way.
[01:29:47] Speaker 4: If you were leaving the main entrance and you got down, you're leaning the house and you're going toward the brick, and then you know where it's kind of a wire where it kind of cuts off to the kennel, too, right? Sure. So you go straight or left. If you were leaving at night going straight, and if you were looking out to the left and the lights were on, you'd be able to see the lights on at the kennel just from that little wire, wouldn't you?
[01:30:14] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Maybe, depending on what lights were on and whatnot.
[01:30:17] Speaker 4: I mean, if it was fully lit up, maybe.
[01:30:19] Speaker ?: Okay.
[01:30:19] Speaker 4: And just from that wire, instead of going straight, if you, from that distance, you'd be able to, if the lights were on fully, you'd probably be able to see it. Maybe. Yes, sir. Almeda, where your grandma and granddaddy were, is that close to the, I think, it's close to the law firm, isn't it?
[01:30:52] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Almeda? Yes, sir. Close to the law firm? I wouldn't say so. I mean, anywhere in Hampton is close to anywhere in Hampton because it's not very big.
[01:31:00] Speaker 4: Fair enough.
[01:31:01] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: But, I mean, it's a 10-minute, 12-minute drive out to Almeda, I would think, from the law firm.
[01:31:10] Speaker 4: I think, Mr. Duck, can you bring up 131? Can I ask him to do that? I know, Mr. Harkin, we've been exposed, but this is Mr. Griffin's witness. I said, sure. You don't have to get, but, you see, is this kind of where you said everybody would park? It's right.
[01:31:50] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So, if you look. Do you mind if I come up here? No, sir, you can. So, if you look right off this point.
[01:31:54] Speaker 4: You might want to come down here, if you don't mind.
[01:31:56] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: This is a jerk.
[01:31:58] Speaker 3: There's a roller in there.
[01:32:11] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: So, if you look right over here, this is kind of what I refer to as, like, the back corner of the house. And it would basically, you would come around. There's a big oak tree here. You come around it, and then you basically pull up. I mean, you would probably stop the hood of your car right in, you know, right off the back corner of the house.
[01:32:29] Speaker 4: So, it'd be closer to here than over here?
[01:32:32] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, about right in here. So, right in here? Yeah, I mean, because you don't want to pull up super close to it. Yeah, be right out.
[01:32:38] Speaker 4: But there was a driveway, y'all, and paved driveway in here, right? There is a paved driveway over towards the side of the house. Okay, and really not many tire tracks. The grass looks good in here. I don't know when these pictures were taken, but it's a little better right there. But there is a driveway, right? There is a driveway. Okay, you can have a seat back. Thank you, please. When did you first mention that to anybody about parking in the yard there? What do you mean? I mean, like, when did you first discuss that with anybody as far as where the cars parked at your grandma and granddad's house? When was the first time you talked to anybody about that?
[01:33:23] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: A couple days, a couple days ago.
[01:33:25] Speaker 4: A couple days ago? Okay. That's the first time you've mentioned that? Sure. Okay. And then that would have been after Shelly testified, right? Shelly Smith? I guess.
[01:33:44] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I don't really remember when Ms. Smith testified. Ms. Smith.
[01:33:53] Speaker 4: Did you bring that to somebody's attention, or did somebody ask you about it?
[01:33:58] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I couldn't. I'm not sure.
[01:34:13] Speaker 4: And I thank you. Keep forgetting I'm all cross. You testified that, how many times had you been there with your dad? I wasn't quite clear with your answers to Mr. Griffin. I'm not trying to be difficult, Buster. I understand.
[01:34:29] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: And I can't give you an approximate number, but, I mean, I've been out there with him several times.
[01:34:33] Speaker 4: And would you always call?
[01:34:37] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: You said you'd call. Did you always call when you got there? Yeah, I feel like most of the time you would call just to tell, you know, because the ladies get nervous, you know, if you hadn't called and they see a car pulling in the driveway, you know, it's just easier to call and let them know, like, hey, we're going to be pulling around, you know, please unlock the door where we'd like to come in.
[01:34:56] Speaker 4: Had you ever been over there at 630 in the morning?
[01:34:59] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Have I ever been out there at 630 in the morning? Any, I mean, just like, overall, my.
[01:35:09] Speaker 4: I guess.
[01:35:09] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yeah, I mean, I've been out there at 630 in the morning before going hunting and whatnot.
[01:35:13] Speaker 4: And you'd call then also then, right? Well, that was. Going into the house.
[01:35:17] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I mean, yeah, yeah, sure.
[01:35:21] Speaker 4: I mean, just let them know, especially 630 in the morning. Sure. Okay. Your mom loved Edisto, didn't she?
[01:35:33] Speaker 3: Yes, sir, she did.
[01:35:33] Speaker 4: I love Edisto. She was actually getting some work done down there, wasn't she?
[01:35:39] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir, she was getting some work done on the house.
[01:35:42] Speaker 4: And on this date, June 7th, literally, there were people inside doing work that day, weren't there? I think so. Yeah. And her plan was to stay down there that night, wasn't it? I don't know. I don't know what her plan was. You had, I think the last time you'd been to Moselle, you said was the spring, maybe a few months prior to this? Mm-hmm. Okay. And you have to say yes for the court reporter, not for me. Yes. Sorry. And you talked to your mom that day on June 7th? Yes, sir. And I think you had talked to Paul the last time on the 5th, if I'm not mistaken, June 5th. That's what she told in one of the interviews. Sure. Okay. And Mr. Griffith, to ask you about the financial troubles that have come out here, you had no knowledge of your dad's financial difficulties at all, did you? No, sir. I mean, you really didn't? No, sir, I really didn't. And as far as you knew, financially, the family was sound. Yes, sir.
[01:37:03] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Okay.
[01:37:04] Speaker 4: You went to Wofford. I did go to Wofford. Go Terry, for the record. Thank you. But everything, as far as you knew, financially was okay. And when did you learn it wasn't?
[01:37:24] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I guess on September, whatever that day in September was.
[01:37:36] Speaker 4: So back in the birthday, I guess for your dad, Memorial Day, down at Edistow? Sure. Defense exhibit, and I apologize, I don't know what number it was just played. I believe that Mr. Chris Wilson is hugging your dad?
[01:37:52] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:37:53] Speaker 4: Okay. He's a family friend? Yes, sir. You didn't know then that your dad owed Chris Wilson or stole $192,000 from him, did you?
[01:38:00] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I did not.
[01:38:03] Speaker 4: And I'm not saying that'd be mean, but you really didn't know that.
[01:38:06] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: That's correct.
[01:38:07] Speaker 4: Didn't know. And this boating, the boating accident that Mr. Griffin asked you about, that was pressure on the family, wasn't it?
[01:38:24] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I don't know that pressure's the right word. I mean, it's definitely an uneasy feeling. You know, your brother is criminally charged, and then you, myself, and my father have civil charges. I mean, definitely unsettling.
[01:38:36] Speaker 4: I mean, it called stress within the family, didn't it?
[01:38:40] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: It was stressful. I wouldn't say within the family, because, I mean, you know, we supported each other.
[01:38:47] Speaker 4: And I'm not questioning that, but I mean, your mom felt ostracized?
[01:38:51] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:38:53] Speaker 4: She even more so wanted to say that or stuff?
[01:38:56] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:38:57] Speaker 4: It really, I mean, you were a little frustrated with Paul yourself, weren't you, as far as using your ID and getting all that? And that case is over, okay? Sure. But, I mean, you didn't like it when you used your ID yourself. And I'm not trying to go anywhere, Buster, but he'd use your ID sometime, and you didn't want him to. Mr. I mean, how many questions are you going to ask?
[01:39:31] Speaker 5: Questions, comments, what's the question? What's the question? Did you like it? Yes, sir.
[01:39:38] Speaker 4: He used your ID, didn't he?
[01:39:40] Speaker 5: Jackson, bro. Jackson's overruled.
[01:39:44] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: I'm sorry, can you say it again?
[01:39:47] Speaker 4: Did Paul use your identification? Yes. Did that frustrate you? Sometimes. Okay. You were shown the tree video with the shirt and the pants. You remember that?
[01:40:12] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:40:12] Speaker 4: When you saw your dad on the night of June 7th, what did he have on?
[01:40:16] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: When I had made my way up to the house, he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. And who took, who laundered his clothes? At that period of time, it would have been Blanca. And then my mom also does laundry sometimes.
[01:40:37] Speaker 4: But on a day-to-day, did Blanca take care of your dad's clothes? Laundering, cleaning, folding?
[01:40:43] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Yes, sir.
[01:41:00] Speaker 4: Mr. Griffin asked you about, you never went back to Moselle after this incident?
[01:41:12] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Well, I mean, if you take June 7th, I mean, I've been back to Moselle since then, but I've never slept on another night at Moselle. And if you're dead, let's track that.
[01:41:25] Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Dulles.
[01:41:26] Speaker ?: Thank you, Mr. Dulles.
[01:41:32] Speaker 4: Thank you, Mr. Dulles.
[01:41:47] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Did your dad try to get you to go hunting out there again one time, or suggest it? He asked if I wanted to, and if I wanted to, that I could. But you didn't want to? No, sir. Didn't want to go.
[01:42:17] Speaker 4: That's all I have. Thank you, Buster.
[01:42:19] Speaker 5: Yes, sir. Thank you. Redirect.
[01:42:22] Speaker 3: Are you breaking the other? Buster, if your mother, when she went to Edisto and stayed for multiple nights, would she take
[01:42:37] Richard Alexander Murdoch, Jr.: Bubba with her? Yeah, usually. She'd take a combination of Bubba and maybe another dog, Grady. She would take dogs with her, yes.
[01:42:49] Speaker 3: And you understand, Bubba and Grady were at Moselle the night of June 7th. I do. Yes, sir.
[01:42:56] Speaker 5: That's all I have here. Anything further? Thank you. I'm going to step down. Your next witness. I'm done.
[01:43:06] Speaker ?: I'm done.
[01:43:06] Speaker 5: I'm done.
[01:43:06] Speaker 1: I'm done. The testimony you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So I hope you've got it. I do. Thank you. Go have a seat up here on the witness stand.