Det. Rutland testifies that Murdaugh had no blood on clothing despite claiming to try to take pulse
Alex Murdaugh told South Carolina police his son’s phone “popped out of his pocket” when he tried to turn him over to check his pulse, Rutland testifies.
“Did the defendant ever tell you he’d been down to the kennels that night in his interview?”
Rutland responds: “No.”
Prosecutor John Meadors then show crime scene photos of Paul Murdaugh.
“Can you describe what’s around Paul Murdaugh?”
Rutland: “Blood, brain matter.”
Meadors then focuses on how Alex Murdaugh would have needed to check the pulse on Paul’s neck or hands, compared to the positioning of Paul’s body in crime scene images.
“When you first saw Alex Murdaugh … did you observe him?”
Rutland: “I did, just to make mental notes.” She said she observed “that he was clean.” She said she saw his hands and other body parts, his clothing and his shoes, with no signs of blood. She also said she did not see any footprints or knee prints in the blood.
“Anywhere around the body?” Meadors asks. She says no.
“How long was this after the 911 call?”
Rutland: “Two hours, two to three hours.”
“They were clean,” Rutland says, describing Murdaughs clothing and shoes.
His shirt, shoes and pants were collected on the night of the murders, the law enforcement officer confirmed.
Under cross-examination, Rutland clarifies that Murdaugh told her he tried to turn Paul’s body over once, not twice as had previously been stated.
Defense attorney Jim Griffin asks: “And he didn’t look like someone who had just been within feet of blowing Paul’s head off, right?”
Rutland responds: “I can’t say that. There are so many factors that you would have to take into account.
Source: Fox News
