Why Alex Murdaugh thinks his original indictments for murder should be thrown out

(WCIV) — Alex Murdaugh’s defense has outlined why it feels the original indictments for murder levied against the disgraced attorney should be dismissed in a new memorandum filed Friday.

Attorneys representing the accused killer of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh filed the original motion to dismiss in August, and their memorandum in support of that motion lays out point-by-point why they believe the indictments should be thrown out. Their argument centers on the conduct of former SLED Senior Special Agent David Owen, who was also at the center of the dismissed Michael Colucci retrial. In that case, Owen admitted to not documenting a statement from the mother of the victim that included her stating her daughter had spoken of suicide in the days leading up to her death.

In Murdaugh’s case, Owen faces several accusations from Murdaugh’s defense. It contends he and the State fabricated evidence to present to the Grand Jury by stating an expert had found the victims’ blood spatter on the shirt Murdaugh was wearing the night of the murders. The defense also contends that Owen testified before the Grand Jury that shotguns similar to the one that was used to shoot Paul were found on the property, which he conceded at trial to being inaccurate.

As was seen in the conduct of former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, leaks to the press come into play with this filing too. The defense contends that only SLED, the Attorney General’s office, and a forensic consulting company had access to the report that claimed blood spatter was found on Murdaugh’s clothing before articles came out discussing the contents of it.

“The leak was an extrajudicial statement, made on behalf of the State, whose only purpose was to persuade the public of Mr. Murdaugh’s guilt before he was charged,” the defense states.

The defense is seeking the indictments to be dismissed without prejudice as the “mildest appropriate remedy.” Dismissal without prejudice would allow prosecutors to seek new indictments against Murdaugh from a Grand Jury “that has not been deceived,” as Murdaugh’s team put it, so that the case stands where it did in July 2022 before Owen testified to the Colleton County Grand Jury.

Murdaugh’s lawyers said in the filing that a dismissal would not mean scheduling a new date for the retrial, currently scheduled for April 2027 in Sumter County, because Colleton County’s Grand Jury next sits on Dec. 10.

“This false evidence was presented to establish that Alex Murdaugh had weapons that matched the murder weapon and that he had Paul Murdaugh’s blood mist on his shirt, which could have only come from standing near Paul when he was shot and killed,” the memo concludes. “Mr. Murdaugh’s indictment therefore was not the product of the grand jury’s independent judgement but rather was the product of the State’s deception.”

Read the full memorandum here.

Murdaugh’s last hearing was on Oct. 16, where Judge Debra McCaslin approved additional DNA testing on evidence collected at the murder scene, admonished both sides for their “tit-for-tat back-and-forth,” and held firm on the April 5, 2027 start date for the retrial. The next hearing, expected to be the last held in Lexington before the trial moves to Sumter, is scheduled for Nov. 13.