Alex Murdaugh's Defense Pursues DNA Testing on Fingernail and Phone Swabs

Alex Murdaugh's defense team has been granted permission to conduct a Y-STR DNA test on swabs from his late wife, Maggie Murdaugh's, cellphone and clippings from under her fingernails. The move, described by a prosecutor as "high risk," aims to identify potential unknown male DNA present in the samples.

Judge Debra McCaslin ruled in favor of the defense, stating that due process requires giving the defendant a "meaningful opportunity to present a full and complete defense." This decision allows for new testing by the company Othram, a process that is expected to consume the remaining testable samples.

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at their Colleton County estate. His convictions were later overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court due to improper jury influence by the former Colleton County Clerk of Court, Becky Hill. A retrial is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2027. Murdaugh maintains his innocence.

The defense's strategy involves using Y-STR testing, a method designed to isolate DNA from the Y chromosome, which can identify a male contributor in samples with predominant female DNA. Murdaugh's attorneys believe that these samples contain unidentified male DNA and hope to determine if a single man is the source. According to defense attorney Phil Barber, the findings could potentially rule out individuals and offer ancestry information, though the test cannot distinguish between males with the same paternal lineage.

Creighton Waters, the lead prosecutor, expressed skepticism in court, stating that the testing is "high risk and unlikely to generate anything." He noted that initial quantification results from Othram showed "goose eggs on the Y chromosome."

Barber argued that while the presence of unknown male DNA could have an innocent explanation, its pattern is significant. "If you have an unknown person under both her fingernails and throwing the phone out the side of the road after she’s murdered and it’s not him. I mean, that’s extremely important to the defense," Barber stated. He added that if the DNA belongs to someone other than Murdaugh, it is crucial information.

Both the defense and prosecution acknowledged that once the testing is complete, there will not be sufficient samples left for any post-trial proceedings. Murdaugh has agreed to waive any claims for retesting after a potential conviction.

Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter commented that this strategy might be counterproductive. He suggested that leaving the DNA untested and using the presence of unknown male DNA to create reasonable doubt could have been a more advantageous approach for the defense. "Now, unless it comes back that it's a person who does have some reason to be suspicious, they've got a problem because if it comes back to a person with a rock solid alibi or a person with an innocent explanation as to why their DNA would end up underneath her fingernails, they've foreclosed any argument that they could have made," Ritter said.

Murdaugh is scheduled to appear in court again on November 13.