Murdaugh defense and prosecutors clash over evidence and a police chief ahead of retrial

Mixed · 2Alex Murdaugh's defense team and prosecutors were due back in a South Carolina court on Friday 16 October 2026 for a pretrial hearing on evidence, ahead of his retrial on charges of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. 1 2 Mixed · 2Murdaugh was convicted in 2023, but the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the convictions after finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury; he has maintained his innocence. 1 2 Mixed · 2The retrial is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2027, in Sumter County, about 80 miles from the Colleton County estate where the killings happened on June 7, 2021; Judge Debra McCaslin ordered the venue change over publicity concerns, and pretrial hearings are being held in Lexington County. A further hearing is set for Nov. 13. 1 2

Right · 1Friday's motions concern DNA evidence from Maggie Murdaugh's fingernail clippings and phone swabs, ballistics evidence, raw data from seized cellphones, and raw crime scene data including a FARO laser scan. 1 Right · 1The defense says the state crime lab identified a male DNA profile under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails that was not fully investigated, and it wants further testing after earlier analysis by Othram, Inc.; attorney Dick Harpootlian argued a partial DNA profile from swabs on her phone should also be tested. 1 Mixed · 2The defense also asked for records of shootings in surrounding counties involving .300 Blackout cases or projectiles, which prosecutors called a "speculative fishing expedition for public consumption"; The Independent describes the shootings as spanning eight neighboring counties. 1 2

Mixed · 2On the crime scene scan, the defense says it needs raw data to reconstruct the scene after receiving only a read-only viewer file in 2022; prosecutors said in a filing the state is happy to provide the original scans, and the defense replied that it wished the state had said so a month earlier. 1 2 Mixed · 2Prosecutors said the phone data the defense says was withheld was produced in 2022, and accused the defense of "brazen falsehoods" in its public filings. 1 2 Mixed · 2The most contested issue is a late-September defense motion citing press reports, including The Post and Courier, that a state grand jury heard testimony that Yemassee Police Chief Greg Alexander was seen with the murder weapons after the killings, and that a second Yemassee officer is under investigation for transporting and concealing weapons and clothing. The defense seeks a witness statement given to SLED in 2023 that the chief spoke of arriving early and providing Murdaugh a change of clothes, plus interview reports and grand jury material. 1 2

Mixed · 2The Post and Courier could not corroborate the allegations. Alexander, through attorney Joe McCulloch, denied them and called them "ridiculous rumors and gossip"; prosecutors, in an Oct. 8 filing, neither confirmed nor denied an investigation, citing grand jury confidentiality, and said they will turn over information when legally obligated. 1 2 Mixed · 2The defense argues that evidence of another person's involvement could undermine the prosecution's theory, which at the first trial was that Murdaugh acted alone and that the weapons and bloody clothing were never recovered; The Independent notes the claims do not establish that the officer was involved or that any accomplice existed. 2 1 Right · 1Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter told Fox News Digital he sees the police chief allegation as a "wild goose chase" and the filings as "borderline delay tactics", though he expects the judge to ensure the defense gets what it is owed and does not expect a delay to the retrial. 1

Left · 1Murdaugh pleaded guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and is serving a 40-year federal sentence and a concurrent 27-year state sentence, so he will remain in prison whatever the retrial outcome. 2