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Alex Murdaugh faces state pushback on Maggie DNA testing and prison laptop request
Judge Debra R. McCaslin is weighing outside DNA testing as prosecutors say the sample is partial and incomplete, while denying a prison laptop request.
- On Monday, June 29, South Carolina prosecutors opposed two defense motions from Alex Murdaugh, who seeks independent DNA testing of evidence found under his late wife Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails and a secure laptop for prison use.
- Prosecutors argued the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division already tested the sample, producing only a "very partial and incomplete profile" unsuitable for outside analysis by Othram Inc., a Houston-based forensic lab.
- Citing Murdaugh's documented "abuse of privileges" with prison tablets in August 2023, the state opposed unsupervised laptop access, arguing he cannot be trusted with sensitive case materials.
- Judge Debra McCaslin rejected the laptop request but offered a supervised conference room alternative, while instructing both parties' experts to confer on the DNA sample's viability before an August 14 pretrial hearing.
- The defense strategy unfolds against a tentative trial date set for April 5, 2027, following the South Carolina Supreme Court's May decision to order a retrial after finding former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca "Becky" Hill tainted the jury.
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources3
Leaning Left0Leaning Right2Center1Last UpdatedBias Distribution67% Right
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Right
67% Right
C 33%
R 67%
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