Murdaugh first responder reveals new crime scene details after guilty verdict
Fox News
South Carolina detective Laura Rutland clarified details of the Murdaugh double murder scene on June 7, 2021. Rutland was one of the first people to interview Alex Murdaugh.
A Colleton County jury convicted the disgraced 54-year-old lawyer on March 3 for fatally shooting his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, multiple times on his hunting estate in Islandton. He was sentenced to life in prison. Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.
Det. Laura Rutland was one of the first few investigators to interview Murdaugh at the crime scene and noticed that he was wearing a clean, white t-shirt and cargo shorts, even though the former lawyer told investigators that he had tried to take Paul's pulse and turn his body over, which struck her as odd.
"Paul and Maggie were shot multiple times. Paul was shot by a shotgun, which caused catastrophic damage to the top of his head. In addition to the biological matter around his body, there was also a lot of water," Rutland, the state's first witness in the Murdaugh trial, told Fox News Digital. "And [the jury was] able to see that on Sergeant Green's body cam. It was just so odd that even Alex's shoes were as clean as they were, including the soles of the shoes."