Alex Murdaugh's son Paul sent a Snapchat video to friends moments before he was ... trends now Prosecutors in South Carolina have revealed that 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh sent a Snapchat video to his friends shortly before he was shot and killed. Murdaugh's father Alex, scion of one of the state's most storied legal families, will go on trial on Monday charged with the murder of Paul and his mother Maggie, 52. Paul and Maggie Murdaugh were found dead at the family hunting lodge in June 2021. Prosecutors allege that Alex, whose life was spiraling out of control amid years of opioid addiction and ballooning debts, lured his wife and son to the 1,700-acre lodge and shot them. Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty in June, and the blockbuster trial, expected to last three weeks, with wild allegations of dark family secrets, financial ruin and hedonistic excess, will be eagerly followed nationwide. On Wednesday, prosecutors revealed that a Snapchat video was 'critical to the case'. Paul Murdaugh (right) was shot dead in June 2021. On Wednesday prosecutors revealed he sent a Snapchat video to friends around an hour before he died. His father Alex (left) will go on trial on Monday, charged with his murder From left: Paul, Alex, Maggie and Buster Murdaugh in a photo posted in January 2019 Several views of the crime scene where Paul had been shot were in the court filings The 22-year-old was shot in the feed room connected to the Moselle properties dog kennels, while his mother was shot five times, including in the back of the head, with a semiautomatic rifle – the pair dying just 30 yards from one another The video was sent by Paul shortly before 8pm on the night he was killed. Investigators believe he and his mother died between 9pm and 9:30pm. Prosecutors are seeking permission to call a Snapchat executive to testify as to the veracity of the video. 'Amongst other things, critical to the case is a video sent out to several friends at approximately 7:56 p.m. on the night of the murders,' wrote Creighton Waters, senior assistant deputy attorney general. 'The contents of this video is important to proving the State's case in chief.' Waters asked Judge Clifton Newman to order that the Snapchat representative appear in court. Newman signed the order. 'Because this video was provided by Snapchat, a Snapchat custodian is required to testify in person that the video is a true and accurate record kept in the normal course of business activity,' Waters argued. They did not reveal what was in the Snapchat video. Murdaugh (pictured center), the heir of a once-powerful legal dynasty, is accused of shooting his youngest son Paul (left) and wife Maggie (right) and is due to go on trial on Monday A crime scene photo showing what appears to be blood droplets on the floor, a mannequin and an evidence marker in the feed room where Paul was fatally shot Earlier this week, state forensic expert Dr Kenneth Kinsey described Paul's horrific wounds. In his affidavit, Kinsey said Paul Murdaugh was shot twice - with the second bullet entering the left shoulder into his neck and brain. Kinsey said his 'brain was completely detached from head.' The 22-year-old was first struck in the chest as he stood in the feed room connected to the Moselle properties dog kennels, while his mother was shot five times, including in the back of the head, with a semiautomatic rifle. The pair died just 30 yards from one another. Kinsey's description was consistent with a December report from FitsNews in which the outlet said Paul's head 'exploded like a watermelon.' 'I mean, you can see his face, but the rest of it, his head, it's just gone. Totally empty,' one source who viewed the crime scene photos told the news site. The affidavit was included in a motion filed Tuesday by Murdaugh's lawyers asking Judge Clifton Newman to exclude a blood spatter expert from testifying for the state in the upcoming trial. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) enlisted Oklahoma-based forensics expert Tom Bevel to analyze a white T-shirt Murdaugh had been wearing the night of the murders. Defense attorneys, Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian, argued in a previous motion that any blood on the shirt was transferred when Murdaugh found the bodies and 'frantically checked them for signs of life.' The court filing also had a close up of the blood spatter where Paul was shot twice - once in the chest and a second time which entered his left shoulder into his neck and brain But Bevel concluded that the T-shirt is 'stained with high-velocity blood spatter resulting from shooting Maggie and Paul' after his initial report found the stains were 'consistent with transfers and not back spatter from a bullet wound.' Murdaugh's attorneys accused SLED of 'badgering' Bevel into changing his report. The T-shirt was later destroyed 'for purposes of forensics testing by the unnecessary application of an oxidizing chemical stain,' the court filing states. Bevel's initial report only came to light when prosecutors with the South Carolina Attorney General's Office accidentally turned over a copy to Murdaugh's defense team, according to the motion. The white T-shirt is a critical piece of evidence for state prosecutors, who have suggested in court papers that the family patriarch shot his wife and son after fearing his decades-long corruption schemes would be exposed. In the affidavit, Kinsey said he cannot make judgement on whether the stains on Murdaugh's T-shirt are consistent with back spatter. Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury in July 2022 and the trial in Colleton County is scheduled to begin with jury selection, which officials say could last through to February 10. All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility