Alex Murdaugh's defense makes 'high risk' move to show DNA proves he didn't kill family, prosecutor says

LEXINGTON, S.C. – defense team is gambling on a "high risk" DNA test in its bid to point to another killer, a prosecutor said, citing the defenses own expert.

Judge Debra McCaslin sided with the defense over prosecutors objections Friday, allowing new testing on swabs from Maggie Murdaughs cellphone and clippings from under her fingernails, even though the process will likely use up the last of the testable samples. McCaslin said due process requires that a defendant be given "a meaningful opportunity to present a full and complete defense."

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family's Moselle property in Colleton County. The South Carolina Supreme Court later overturned the convictions after finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court .

His retrial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027. Murdaugh has maintained his innocence in the killings.

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The defense team plans to employ Othram to conduct a Y-STR test, a method that isolates DNA from the Y chromosome to generate a profile of a male contributor in samples where female DNA is predominant.

Murdaugh's attorneys contend that all three samples contain unidentified male DNA and are seeking to determine whether a single man was the source. Defense attorney Phil Barber said the findings could rule out certain individuals as contributors and may provide ancestry information, although the test cannot differentiate between men who share the same paternal ancestors.

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The defense said the process will require approximately 90 days.

Creighton Waters, the lead prosecutor, said in court that the testing would be "high risk" and unlikely to generate significant evidence.

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"When we talked to their expert, he said, yeah, thats pretty much a sole source sample. This would be high risk and unlikely to generate anything, and [it] appears that thats the case, because when we got back the quantification from [Othram], its goose eggs on the Y chromosome," Waters said.

Barber laid out his reasoning for the new test, acknowledging the unknown male DNA could have an innocent explanation but saying the pattern is hard to ignore.

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"Maybe its different male DNA. Maybe its the same. Maybe its red herrings ... But as we keep progressing from one hand to two hands and now the phone, you know, its starting to look less and less like a red herring," Barber said. "If you have an unknown person under both her fingernails and throwing the phone out the side of the road after shes murdered and its not him. I mean, thats extremely important to the defense."

Notably, the defense and prosecution both said once the DNA test is performed, there won't be enough samples left to test again in any post-trial proceedings, which Mur