Newly uncovered text messages between disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh and his alleged drug dealer could have dramatically altered the defense’s trial strategy and possibly prevented a conviction, according to lead defense attorney Dick Harpootlian.

Harpootlian, a veteran South Carolina defense attorney and former state senator, told Fox News Digital that the texts between Murdaugh and Curtis “Eddie” Smith, revealed recently by FITSNews, were not provided to the defense during the trial. Their absence, he said, may have contributed to a key decision not to call Smith to the stand.

“One of the big decisions in any trial like this is who you call as witnesses,” Harpootlian explained. “We were not aware of these texts. Had we been, it may have made a difference in our decision. These messages offer new insight into the timeline of drug distributions, some of them happening the very week of the murders.”

Alex Murdaugh sits in the Colleton County Courthouse with his legal team including Dick Harpootlian, middle, and Jim Griffin, right, as his attorneys discuss motions in front of Judge Clifton Newman in a December 2022 hearing. (Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service)

Harpootlian says he expects the state’s high court to have a ruling on the appeal by early next year at the latest.

“And again, there are all kinds of debates about the evidence and how it was allowed in by the trial judge and whether it should have been excluded or allowed in. And those certainly are important. And we think there’s several of them, individually, would give us a new trail,” he said. 

“But more important is a judge, former Chief Justice of Supreme Court, had an evidentiary hearing on Becky Hill’s conduct in which she found: A) Becky Hill was not credible, and B) that Becky Hill did attempt to influence jurors to convict Alex Murdoch. She told several of her coworkers that she was writing a book, and it would be better for book sales if Alex was convicted. So we think that, and there is no clear state precedent on whether that’s enough, but there’s a clear federal precedent that we should get a new trial. So again, I think we should hear something before the end of the year or early next year.”

Alex Murdaugh and defense attorney Dick Harpootlian review evidence during his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.  (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)

A retrial would likely look very different, Harpootlian said. With Murdaugh having already pleaded guilty to financial crimes, that aspect would be excluded, narrowing the scope to forensic and factual evidence.

The lead attorney believes Murdaugh has a strong defense.

“We had a six-week trial last time because of the financial misconduct. That won’t happen again,” Harpootlian said. “And when you look solely at the forensic evidence, I believe it overwhelmingly proves Alex did not kill Paul and Maggie.”

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which led the investigation, and Prosecutor Creighton Waters did not return comment requests.