South Carolina prosecutors are pushing back against Alex Murdaugh’s claim that the state failed to turn over crucial “raw” cellphone evidence, according to newly filed court documents.
The state’s response, filed Tuesday, addresses a motion submitted by Murdaugh’s defense in September. His attorneys argued that they had not received extraction files, keychain files or extraction logs from smartphones seized during the investigation.
Murdaugh was convicted in March 2023 of killing his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, in 2021.
Alex Murdaugh, right, is pictured with his family. His former law firm filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that he used fake bank accounts to take money from the firm and its clients. (Fox News)
He received two life sentences. But in May 2026, the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned the conviction, ruling that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill improperly influenced jurors.
Murdaugh’s retrial is set to begin in April 2027.
In the latest filings, prosecutors contend that Murdaugh’s attorneys had already received the disputed material—sometimes more than once. The state characterized the defense’s new allegations as “false” and “manufactured,” saying they conflict with the team’s own emails.
Circuit Judge Debra McCaslin presides as attorneys argue motions ahead of Alex Murdaugh’s April 2027 murder retrial in Lexington, S.C., Aug. 14, 2026. (Tracy Glantz of The (Columbia, South Carolina) State/POOL)
The prosecution included 40 pages of emails, screenshots of file folders and signed discovery receipts covering the period from late 2022 through early 2023.
The records indicate that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigators gave defense experts complete, unredacted cellphone extractions, password logs, keychain files and related reports as early as October and November 2022.
Alex Murdaugh attends a judicial hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. He is scheduled to face a retrial in the June 7, 2021, shootings of his wife and son after his original conviction was overturned over jury tampering. (Tracy Glantz/The State via Pool)
Prosecutors also cited emails exchanged Jan. 20, 2023—just three days before jury selection in the original trial. In those messages, the defense asked for another copy of Murdaugh’s phone extraction, saying the original had been misplaced.
“The State will be glad to send the cell phone evidence to the defense yet one more time if they have somehow messed up or lost their copies again,” prosecutors wrote in the motion.
News Media has contacted Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.