Expert: Alex Murdaugh’s Missing Murder Gun Hunt Targets Police Chief

LEXINGTON, S.C. — As Alex Murdaugh’s case returns to court Friday, a former prosecutor dismissed the defense’s effort to investigate claims that a police chief handled the alleged murder weapons as a “wild goose chase.”

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of killing his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, at the family’s Moselle property in Colleton County. A hearing is set for 10 a.m. Friday to address several evidentiary motions as prosecutors and defense attorneys prepare for next year’s retrial.

The South Carolina Supreme Court later threw out the convictions, ruling that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced jurors. Murdaugh’s new trial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027. He has continued to deny responsibility for the killings.

Friday’s hearing will focus on motions involving DNA from Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernail clippings and cellphone swabs, ballistics evidence, raw data extracted from phones seized during the investigation and crime-scene data, including a FARO laser scan.

The court is scheduled to hold another hearing Nov. 13 to consider additional motions.

Murdaugh’s attorneys previously asked that DNA collected from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails be sent to Othram Inc. for additional testing. After Othram analyzed the material, the defense argued that more work was needed to identify a male DNA profile that the state crime lab had reportedly detected but not fully pursued.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian has also argued that the partial DNA profile obtained from swabs of Maggie Murdaugh’s cellphone deserves further examination.

The defense further requested records of every shooting in nearby counties in which .300 Blackout cartridge cases or projectiles were recovered, along with information about those incidents. Attorneys also sought the raw files from a 3D laser scan that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division conducted at the crime scene. Prosecutors provided a read-only viewer in 2022, but the defense says it needs the underlying data to recreate the scene.

In a recent filing, prosecutors said “the state is happy to provide” the original laser scans of the crime scene. They characterized the defense’s ballistics request as a “speculative fishing expedition for public consumption.” Prosecutors also said the requested cellphone data had been provided in 2022 and accused the defense of making “brazen falsehoods” in its motion.

Murdaugh’s lawyers also asked the judge to compel prosecutors to disclose information about the “handling, transport, concealment, or disposal” of the weapons allegedly used to kill Maggie and Paul. Their request includes a 2023 statement to SLED agents in which a witness allegedly said a Lowcountry police chief discussed arriving at the scene early and giving Murdaugh a change of clothes. The defense also sought interview reports, along with testimony and exhibits presented to the state grand jury on the subject.

In the motion filed in late September, Murdaugh’s attorneys cited press reports that the state grand jury heard claims that Yemassee Police Chief Greg Alexander was seen with the alleged murder weapons shortly after the June 7, 2021, killings.

“According to those reports, witnesses have testified that the Chief of Police of the Town of Yemassee, Greg Alexander, was seen with the murder weapons in the immediate aftermath of the June 7, 2021, killings, and that second Yemassee officer is under investigation for transporting and concealing weapons and clothing,” the filing says.

The defense cited a report by The Post and Courier stating that “a Lowcountry official told SLED agents that Chief Alexander ‘spoke of arriving early to the murder scene and talked about providing a change of clothes to Murdaugh,’” and that the official believed the guns and clothing were taken to the police station and stored there.

The Post and Courier, however, was unable to independently corroborate the allegations.

At Murdaugh’s first murder trial, prosecutors said he used two different weapons to kill his wife and son before washing himself with a nearby hose, changing clothes and driving to his parents’ home. They alleged he left the weapons there and returned about a week later to dispose of them. Prosecutors previously acknowledged that investigators never recovered the guns.

In an Oct. 8 filing, prosecutors neither confirmed nor denied whether the allegations were part of an ongoing investigation, citing the confidentiality of grand jury proceedings. They said they would provide the information if and when disclosure is legally required.

Alexander, through his attorney, Joe McCulloch, has denied the accusations reported in the media.

“The same explanation has been provided to SLED,” McCulloch told News Outlet. “That truth will outlive any ridiculous rumors and gossip.”

His attorneys said “if the reports are accurate,” prosecutors have held evidence that contradicts their own theory.

Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter told News Outlet he considers the allegation against Alexander a “wild goose chase.”

“This is one of those cases that, you know, a lot of reporting was done early on, a lot of conspiracy theories swirling around this case,” Ritter said. “I don’t see any reason for the judge to allow for this essentially wild goose chase in regards to an uncorroborated report about law enforcement perhaps being in possession of the murder weapon.”

“Obviously, the defense would love to pursue this to its absolute limit because they think that there’s a snowball’s chance that it might yield something, but I think that the judge is probably going to give very little leeway on something like this,” he added.

The former prosecutor said he sees Murdaugh’s recent filings as “borderline delay tactics.”

“I think it’s borderline delay tactics. I think it’s grasping at straws. To be fair, I think from their perspective, they would say we’re allowed to zealously defend our client. And if part of that means that we have access to every piece of evidence, including the raw data, so that we can do our own independent testing of it, no one should judge us for that,” he said. “And that’s very true, but at the same time, this is not the first time they’ve seen this evidence. This is not the first time they’ve had a trial regarding this evidence, this is our second go around.”

Ritter said he does not expect Friday’s hearing to push back the retrial, and that Judge Debra McCaslin will likely make sure the defense gets what it’s owed.

“I imagine the judge will address their concerns, make sure that the prosecution is handing over all the discovery that they have and that the defense is entitled to, but I don’t see this causing any kind of delay moving forward,” he said.

News Outlet reached out to Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.