Disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's legal team is making a renewed effort to challenge the murder case against him, presenting new arguments and seeking to dismiss the indictments ahead of his scheduled retrial. Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in June 2021. His convictions were later overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court due to issues with the jury's deliberations.
During a pretrial hearing, Murdaugh's attorneys raised the possibility that shell casings from a recent murder in Allendale County might be linked to the weapon used in the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. Defense attorney Jim Griffin told Circuit Judge Debra McCaslin that if ballistics testing were to connect a firearm from the Allendale case to the Murdaugh murders, it could call into question the original ballistics analysis or suggest the murder weapon was used in subsequent crimes.
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters stated he was unaware of this claim, expressing surprise that his office had not been informed by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which handles investigations in the case. "I will certainly look into that, but I would be flabbergasted to find out that actually had happened and no one had advised this office of that," Waters said. SLED has since informed Waters that there is no known ballistics match linking a .300 Blackout firearm used in the Allendale shooting to another crime, and that the evidence entered into the ballistics database has yielded no leads or matches.
Murdaugh's defense attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, have also filed a motion to dismiss the murder and weapons indictments. They allege that false evidence and misconduct occurred when the case was presented to the grand jury, specifically targeting testimony from SLED investigator David Owen. They are seeking to review underlying testing and investigative records related to the potential Allendale County ballistics connection, expressing skepticism about SLED's handling of evidence in the case.
Federal criminal defense attorney Nathan S. Williams described the defense's request to dismiss the indictments as "a big ask" and "the explosive one, frankly, at this point," noting that it directly challenges the validity of the charges based on alleged false statements or misconduct during the indictment process. Williams suggested that such an issue would likely require extensive evidence and testimony, and might not be resolved at the current hearing.
The retrial is set to address several other key disputes. Prosecutors aim to reintroduce evidence of Murdaugh's extensive financial crimes, which they argued at the first trial were the motive for the killings as he faced mounting scrutiny. However, the South Carolina Supreme Court indicated that the prosecution went too far into the details of these financial misdeeds during the initial trial, leaving it to Judge McCaslin to determine how much of this evidence will be admissible.
Attorneys are also debating whether Murdaugh's sworn testimony from his first trial, where he admitted lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murders but denied committing them, can be presented to a new jury. This could be particularly significant if Murdaugh chooses not to testify again.
Further contention surrounds forensic evidence. Murdaugh's defense has requested additional DNA testing on evidence, including samples found under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails, utilizing newer techniques. Prosecutors have not opposed new testing but have requested safeguards for evidence handling and access to results.
The defense has also sought to move the retrial venue from Colleton County, citing extensive pretrial publicity and the previous jury tampering issues, which they argue make a fair trial impossible. They have proposed relocating the trial to Charleston County.
Murdaugh, 58, was convicted of the murders in March 2023, over 20 months after the bodies of his wife, 52, and son, 22, were discovered on their Colleton County estate. The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his convictions in March, ordering a new trial after finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill had improperly influenced jurors during the original proceedings.