Alex Murdaugh allegedly drove faster around the location where his dead wife’s phone was located, according to a witness who analyzed the disgraced lawyer’s vehicle data, Fox News reports.
Peter Rudofski, a special agent with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, testified Friday in the double-murder trial that Murdaugh increased his speed from 42 to 45 miles per hour near where authorities recovered Maggie’s iPhone in a ditch.
“After passing that location does the vehicle start to accelerate?” prosecutor Creighton Waters asked Rudofski, according to a video feed of the trial.
“It does,” Rudofski responded.
The state alleges that on the day of the murders, Murdaugh left the Islandton hunting estate at 9:06 p.m. to visit his mother’s residence in Almeda. By this time, Murdaugh had already shot and killed Maggie and his son Paul, likely around 8:50 p.m., according to the state’s timeline.
Prosecutors developed the timeline and driving speed based on data from General Motors, which manufactured Murdaugh’s SUV.
Murdaugh reportedly spent only 20 minutes at his mother’s house before returning to the hunting estate, but drove back nearly twice as fast, around 80 miles per hour.
Rudofski said he had never driven that fast on the road, even with lights and sirens, because it has numerous potholes and the risk of hitting deer.
Murdaugh had told police he was at his mother’s residence for up to 50 minutes, and a woman who cares for his mother testified that Murdaugh put pressure on her to claim as much.
It was not until Murdaugh arrived back at the hunting lodge shortly after 10 p.m. that he called 911.
Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
[Feature Photo: Alex Murdaugh becomes emotional during his double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. The 54-year-old attorney is standing trial on two counts of murder in the shootings of his wife and son at their Colleton County home and hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. (Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)]
