Alex Murdaugh double murder retrial begins
Fox News correspondent Steve Harrigan has the latest from Lexington, South Carolina, where Alex Murdaugh’s double murder retrial is getting underway. His defense team is pressing for another look at DNA recovered from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails, saying newer testing technology could uncover evidence that was not accessible during the original trial. Murdaugh, who is already imprisoned on financial crime convictions, is also seeking permission to appear before jurors in civilian clothing to avoid potential bias.
Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh say prosecutors have now revealed that reserve DNA samples in the murder case were never fully processed, prompting the defense to push for an outside lab to examine the material before South Carolina authorities perform any additional testing.
In court filings, the defense warned that if the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, known as SLED, conducts more short tandem repeat, or STR, testing first, the remaining DNA could be used up or compromised before Texas-based Othram Inc. is able to analyze it.
According to a July 30 memorandum obtained by WSAV in Savannah, Georgia, and reviewed by News Outlet, Murdaugh’s lawyers asked the court to send the reserve DNA samples to Othram before allowing SLED to move forward with further testing.
The defense argued that the order of testing is essential because Othram’s single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, analysis depends on DNA that has not been depleted, damaged or degraded by earlier laboratory work.
Disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was found guilty in March of killing his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, at the family’s hunting property in June 2021. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)
“Because SNP testing requires a genetic sample that has not been depleted or degraded by prior analysis, the sequence in which the reserve samples from Items 70 and 71 are tested matters,” the memorandum says. “SLED’s proposed STR retesting risks consuming the very material Othram would need, while proceeding with Othram’s SNP analysis first forecloses no STR testing SLED might still wish to conduct afterward.”
The filing also says prosecutors disclosed “for the first time” that unprocessed reserve DNA tied to Items 70 and 71 still exists.
The filing described a July 7 Webex conference involving defense attorneys, prosecutors, SLED forensic scientists and Othram CEO Dr. David Mittelman following a June 29 hearing to discuss the proposed testing.
Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, sits during a hearing on a motion for a retrial, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/The State via AP, Pool)
The defense further argued SLED had “articulated no scientific basis” for repeating testing already performed on the evidence. Attorneys wrote that another round of STR testing could permanently reduce the amount of DNA available for independent analysis.
“There is no scientific reason on the current record to consume additional reserve sample material to obtain a second STR result,” the filing states. “Absent some articulated basis for believing repeat STR testing will produce new or different information, the only apparent effect of allowing SLED to proceed is to consume irreplaceable sample material before Othram … has the opportunity to test it.”
The defense also renewed its criticism of SLED’s handling of forensic evidence, citing previous disputes over blood evidence recovered from one of Murdaugh’s T-shirts as further justification for independent testing.
Paul, Alex, Maggie and Buster Murdaugh at a sporting event. Alex, was convicted of fatally shooting his wife and son. (Facebook)
The memorandum estimated Othram could complete its analysis within 60 to 90 days at Murdaugh’s expense.
Last month, prosecutors urged a judge to reject Murdaugh’s latest requests for independent DNA testing and expanded access to electronic case materials while he remains in prison awaiting retrial.
In the June filings, prosecutors opposed two motions from Murdaugh’s legal team: one seeking independent DNA testing tied to evidence recovered from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails and another requesting permission for Murdaugh to review case materials electronically while incarcerated.
The filings come as Murdaugh prepares for a second murder trial after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his convictions in May, finding former Colleton County court clerk Rebecca “Becky” Hill engaged in jury tampering that compromised his right to a fair trial.
Murdaugh was convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family’s Colleton County hunting estate in June 2021. The jury also found him guilty of two weapons charges.
