VIDEO: See what the jury saw when visiting where Maggie & Paul Murdaugh were killed

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — The jury spent some time Wednesday morning at the Murdaugh's former Moselle property in Colleton County.

Read More: GRAPHIC: Body-cam footage shows crime scene where Maggie & Paul Murdaugh were murdered

Moselle is where mother and son Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered in June of 2021.

After the site visit, court resumed with talk of charges and then closing statements from both sides. Court began after 11 a.m.

Read More: LIVE BLOG: Murdaugh Murder Trial, Day 27: State commences closing arguments

More:

• PODCAST: Murdaugh Day 26 Recap I Unsolved South Carolina
• What has become of the Murdaugh family's former home on Moselle Road?
  
• POLL: Do you think Alex Murdaugh is guilty or not guilty?
  
• Murdaugh Murder Trial, Day 26: State brings back key witnesses, rests rebuttal
• Alex Murdaugh charged with new misdemeanor

Jury visits Moselle

The 12 jurors and two alternates gathered at the Colleton County Courthouse at 9 a.m. Wednesday and loaded into three transport vans, leaving the courthouse for Moselle 10 minutes later.

They arrived at Moselle around 9:40 a.m.

Judge Clifton Newman rode to the property in a pickup truck driven by Colleton County Sheriff's Capt. Jason Chapman. He was one of the first witnesses in the trial and the lead local officer on the night of the murders.

The Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill and Court Reporter Elizabeth Harris followed the judge in a truck driven by Mike Atwood, lead courthouse security.

The plan was to have the jury taken through the kennel entrance of the property and have 30 minutes to view the property.

They were expected to spend the most time at the dog kennels and shed area where the murders occurred, then see the exterior of the main house.

After the jury left, a select number of journalists were given 30 minutes to view the property, just as the jurors had.

Journalist Valerie Bauerlein of the Wall Street Journal was part of the pool media who visited.

The following is from her dispatch:

The vastness of the place and the remoteness of Moselle really hits home on the drive. Your pool can go a mile or more without seeing a home.

The jury preceded us by several minutes. We had a few seconds to view them as they walked the narrow path between the kennels and the shed. One juror was standing in the feed room door, glancing up at the doorway that has been the subject of so much wrenching testimony.

Judge Newman was with them, standing still, looking down. He was in street clothes.

Some of the deputies on watch while the jurors tour are some of the key witnesses in the case, including CCSO Detective Laura Rutland, who sat in on Alex Murdaugh’s first interview with SLED investigator David Owen in the early hours of June 8.

It is overcast now and the air feels heavy. Your pool can hear birds singing and is writing this dispatch from the tailgate of a sheriff’s office pickup truck parked at the foot of the kennel driveway.

At 10:07 a.m., Dick Harpootlian and co-counsel Margaret Fox came down the short driveway in Mr. Harppotlian’s black Mercedes. Mr. Harpootlian said the jury is now at the house and is wrapping up their tour.

Attorney General Alan Wilson is here, too, escorted by Sgt. Daniel Greene.

The grass on the property is tall & the shrubs outside the caretaker’s cabin are bushy and overgrown. The black mailbox at the entrance to the kennels is covered in pollen and spiderwebs. There is a “no trespassing” sign tied to a post at the top of the mailbox.

At 10:32 a.m., a convoy of a dozen vehicles processed out of the driveway. The vans carrying the jury were in the middle of the group of vans and SUVs.

At 10:34 a.m., your pool was driven to the kennel area. John Marvin Murdaugh, personal representative of Maggie Murdaugh, had requested of the sheriff’s office and of Jay Bender that the media not be granted access to the scene, or only abbreviated access, so our visit was fairly truncated. We had roughly 14 minutes to view the kennels and shed.

It is a heavy place to visit. The property has stood vacant for 20 months and the grass is high. Some items seem to be left where they fell, including a deflated football behind the kennels and a tube of sanitizing wipes in the shed. There is a yellow hose wrapped haphazardly in the spot described by Roger Dale Davis, the caretaker for the dogs. There are no animals in the kennels. There was no ATV visible and no significant remaining farming equipment that your pooler could see.

The feed room feels like a haunted place. It is roughly 10’ deep and 6’ wide, according to measurements taken by Special Agent Melinda Worley. Crime scene expert Kenneth Kinsey described Paul as standing about 5’ into the feed room when he was hit by the first shotgun blast to the chest. The doorway is off center and on the right; there is a shelf on the left at waist high. Standing in the center of the small room, which is roughly 6’ wide, your pooler could not see to the left outside of the doorway, where Mr. Kinsey said the shooter would have been.

The concrete pad where Paul fell is within sight of the corner of the shed, where Maggie’s body was found. Maggie fell roughly 12 steps from where Paul would have fallen (12 steps for me at 5’7” and also 12 steps for Steven Gresham at 6’1”). There was no visible sign that two people had died in a violent manner in such close proximity, no blood stain or anything similar to it, either in the feed room, on the concrete pad or at the corner of the shed. The interior of the feed room appeared to be redone with newer plywood and parts had been painted. The back window remains and the bullet holes are large and cracked around the edges.

There was significant testimony about the bullet hole in the quail house. The hole is still visible and is in cardboard that appeared to be stapled to the side of the structure.

It is 11:34 a.m. and your pooler is typing from the back of the van en route to the courthouse.

Jury Deliberations Q&A

ABC News 4 asked court officials about jury deliberations and if a verdict could be reached over the weekend. Here's what we were told:

How long will the jury deliberate?
It’s up to the jury.

Could the jury deliberate over the weekends?
Yes, they will deliberate through the weekend if necessary.

Will the jury be sequestered?
There is no decision at this time.

Will the jury be able to ask questions, replay portions of the testimony, request evidence and explanations, etc.?
Yes, on the record.

Will the jury have technology to view exhibits?
Yes.

Will attorneys be present?
They will be somewhere close, but not required to be in the courtroom.

How much notice will be given before a verdict is announced?
The longer the deliberations, the more notice will probably be given because the attorneys and staff will be dispersed.