Alex Murdaugh’s defense team is drawing attention to unexplained male DNA discovered under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails, advocating for additional testing in this high-profile South Carolina murder case involving the fallen legal scion.
On Tuesday, Murdaugh’s lawyers filed motions in Colleton County. They requested that a judge authorize an independent lab review of the DNA evidence, relocate the trial outside the 14th Judicial Circuit, and permit Murdaugh electronic access to case documents while incarcerated.
In a specific motion, the defense sought a court mandate for the state to provide DNA samples taken from beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s left-hand fingernails to an independent lab for further examination.
The defense highlighted that the DNA evidence, cataloged as SLED Item No. 70, was identified by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as belonging to an unknown and unrelated male individual.
Alex Murdaugh makes his way into the courtroom during a hearing on jury tampering at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, South Carolina, on Monday, January 29, 2024. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier)
“No further analysis was attempted,” the defense wrote.
The motion says Murdaugh’s attorneys contacted Othram Inc., a company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy that was used in the Bryan Kohberger case, about additional testing.
According to the filing, Othram believes it can conduct a more thorough analysis, but the testing would take considerable time and require a rush order. The defense is asking that the sample be delivered to Othram for testing at Murdaugh’s expense.
Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 financial crimes in Beaufort, S.C., on Nov. 17, 2023. (James Pollard/AP)
In a separate motion, Murdaugh’s attorneys asked the court to move the trial outside the 14th Judicial Circuit, which includes Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.
The defense argued the case is “among the most heavily publicized criminal prosecutions in the history” of South Carolina and said Murdaugh, his family and the law firm associated with his family for generations have been the subject of years of “saturating, sensational, and continuous media coverage.”
The attorneys said publicity has been especially intense in the five-county circuit, where, they argued, the Murdaugh name has been tied to the local legal system for nearly a century. The defense said a transfer to another county within the circuit would not cure the alleged prejudice.
This motion is not surprising, as Murdaugh’s lead defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, previously shared with News Media his plans to file for the trial to be moved.
Alex Murdaugh is incarcerated at the McCormick Correctional Institution in South Carolina. (South Carolina Department of Corrections)
A third motion asks the court to require the South Carolina Department of Corrections to allow Murdaugh to review case materials on a secure laptop computer.
The defense said discovery in the case is voluminous and would fill numerous banker’s boxes if printed.
Murdaugh’s attorneys proposed providing the prison system with a laptop with an encrypted, password-protected hard drive for his use in preparing for trial.
The proposed device would not have cellular capabilities or Internet access, would not be used to make audio or video recordings without written approval from the Department of Corrections, and would be kept in the warden’s office or another secure location when not in use, according to the filing.
The defense argued the arrangement would be more secure than sending boxes of paper records to a prison, particularly because many of the materials are sealed or subject to a protective order.
No court ruling on the motions was included in the filings. News Media has reached out to South Carolina’s Attorney General’s Office and Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.