LEXINGTON, S.C. — A former prosecutor said Alex Murdaugh’s defense team is pursuing a “wild goose chase” over claims a police chief handled the alleged murder weapons as the case returns to court Friday.
Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family’s Moselle property in Colleton County. A hearing is scheduled for Friday morning at 10 a.m. to discuss several evidentiary items as both the prosecution and Murdaugh’s defense prepare for a retrial next year.
The South Carolina Supreme Court later overturned the convictions after finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury. His retrial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027. Murdaugh has maintained his innocence in the killings.
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At the center of Friday’s hearing are several motions relating to DNA evidence tied to Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernail clippings and her cellphone swabs, ballistics evidence, raw data from the cellphones seized during the investigation, and raw crime scene data that includes the FARO laser scan of the crime scene.
A separate hearing will be held on Nov. 13, where more motions will be heard.
The defense team for Murdaugh had previously sought the release of DNA evidence collected from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails to Othram, Inc. for analysis. Following Othram’s testing, the defense contended that further analysis is necessary to recover a male DNA profile that, according to the defense, the state crime lab identified but did not fully investigate.
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Murdaugh defense attorney Dick Harpootlian argued that the partial DNA profile from swabs on Maggie Murdaugh’s phone should be further tested as well.
Defense attorneys asked for a list of every shooting in the counties surrounding the crime scene where .300 Blackout cases or projectiles were recovered, along with details about each crime. They also asked for raw data from a 3D laser scan the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) took of the crime scene. Prosecutors handed over a read-only viewer file in 2022, but the defense says it needs the raw data to reconstruct the scene.
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In a recent filing, prosecutors said “the state is happy to provide” the original scans of the crime scene done by a laser reconstruction device. Prosecutors also called Murdaugh’s ballistics request a “speculative fishing expedition for public consumption.” The state also said the phone data they requested was produced to them in 2022, and accused Murdaugh’s defense of spreading “brazen falsehoods” in its motion.
Murdaugh’s defense team also asked a judge to force prosecutors to turn over information it has “concerning the handling, transport, concealment, or disposal of the alleged weapons used to kill Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh, including the statement a witness gave to agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in 2023 that a Lowcountry police chief spoke of arriving early at the scene and of providing Defendant Murdaugh a change of clothes, the reports of every interview conducted on that subject, and the testimony and exhibits presented to the State Grand Jury concerning it.”
According to the motion, filed in late September by Murdaugh’s attorneys, press reports indicate that a state grand jury received testimony alleging Yemassee Police Chief Greg Alexander was observed in possession of the 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 states.
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It cites a story from The Post and Courier, which reported 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 brought into the police station and stored there.”
Notably, the allegations couldn’t be corroborated by The Post and Courier.
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During Murdaugh’s first murder trial in 2023, prosecutors argued that he used two different types of weapons to kill his family members, then cleaned up with a nearby water hose, changed his clothes and drove to his parents’ house, where he allegedly left the murder weapons. He purportedly returned a week later to dispose of them. Prosecutors had previously acknowledged that the weapons were never recovered by police.
According to an Oct. 8 filing by prosecutors, they neither confirmed nor denied that the matter might be under investigation but said that grand jury proceedings are confidential. Prosecutors said they will turn over the information when legally obligated.
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Alexander, through his attorney, Joe McCulloch, denied accusations made in the media reports.
“The same explanation has been provided to SLED,” McCulloch told Fox News Digital. “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.
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Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter told Fox News Digital he considers the allegation against Alexander a “wild goose chase.”
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“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.”
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“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.
Fox News Digital reached out to Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.
