Murdaugh wants retrial in SC county far away from first trial; requests DNA test
Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh filed pretrial motions Wednesday including one requesting a change of venue from Colleton County, South Carolina, where his first double-murder trial was held, and far from surrounding counties as well.
“The basis for this motion is that this is among the most heavily publicized criminal prosecutions in the history of this state,” Murdaugh’s lawyers wrote.
“For years, Defendant, his family, and the law firm with which his family was associated for generations have been the subject of saturating, sensational and continuous media coverage.
“That coverage has been especially intense within the five counties that comprise the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit — Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper — where the Murdaugh name has been synonymous with the local legal system for nearly a century, where the population is small and interconnected and where the very documentaries, books and films that have shaped public opinion were researched, filmed, and produced.
“Under the circumstances, the Defendant cannot obtain the fair and impartial trial guaranteed to him by the state and federal constitutions,” the motion said.
It will be up to state Judge Debra McCaslin, assigned to the Murdaugh case by Chief Justice John Kittredge, to decide on that motion after state prosecutors have had a chance to reply.
Murdaugh, 58, was convicted in a 2023 jury trial in Colleton County of killing his wife, Maggie, and son Paul in June 2021 at their 1,700-acre estate in a rural section of county. Maggie was killed with an assault rifle, and Paul with a shotgun — facts that allowed his defense team at that trial to speculate that two people must have been involved.
But the jury considered other evidence — including that Murdaugh lied about being near the murder scene that night — and convicted him in deliberations that lasted less than three hours.
Murdaugh’s conviction of killing his wife and son was subsequently overturned in early May by the S.C. Supreme Court because of jury tampering by former Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill, who was writing a book on the case.
Murdaugh is currently in state prison serving as lengthy sentence for financial crimes. His two consecutive ilfe sentences for killing his wife and son were vacated by the Supreme Court in its order overturning his conviction. Murdaugh has always contended he is innocent of killing his wife and son.
Judge McCaslin will hold a hearing at the Lexington County courthouse on Monday. She will likely not take up the change of venue and the DNA motions since the state has not had a chance to file a reply. Instead, Monday’s hearing will likely focus on general matters, such as approximately when a retrial might be held and how much time is needed for each side to prepare.
Tests of DNA from wife’s fingernails sought
Another motion filed by Murdaugh attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian on Wednesday requests a court order requiring the state to produce DNA evidence of material allegedly found under Maggie Murdaugh’s left-hand fingernails.
“SLED determined this was from an unknown and unrelated male. No further analysis was attempted,” defense lawyers wrote.
“This evidence, however, is crucial to the defense,” the motion said, citing an out-of-state murder case in which a husband was eventually cleared of murder charges because of DNA evidence of another person being found. That case involved an Indiana state trooper, David Camm, who spent 13 years in prison before being exonerated.
In their motion, Harpootlian and Griffin wrote that they knew a DNA testing company that could analyze that evidence, but testing the DNA will take “considerable time” so speed is needed for a court order.
Other members of Murdaugh’s defense team are Phil Barber and Margaret Fox.
The State reached out to the Attorney General’s office, which is prosecuting the case, for comment on the defense teams new motions.
Spokesman Robert Kittle said the state will respond in the appropriate legal filings.