Alex Murdaugh judge warns against courtroom 'circus' as defense wins DNA fight, loses ballistics bid

LEXINGTON, S.C. — The judge overseeing Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder retrial rebuked both sides Friday over their bitter evidence fights, warning she "will not allow these proceedings to become a circus."

During the tense hearing, Judge Debra McCaslin handed the defense a win on their DNA testing request but rejected its broader request for ballistic data. 

McCaslin also corrected the record on a polygraph claim that Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian made in August, which he said Murdaugh passed with "flying colors." The judge said Friday that Murdaugh actually failed that test, which was related to his financial crimes, not the murder case.

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 Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury. His retrial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027. Murdaugh has maintained his innocence in the killings.

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McCaslin sided with the defense over prosecutors' objections on DNA samples of swabs from Maggie Murdaugh's phone, even though the analysis will likely consume the last testable samples. She cited due process and the right to a "full and complete defense." Murdaugh's defense team said the testing will likely take about 90 days.

The judge said defense attorneys don't have to share results of the DNA tests with prosecutors unless they plan to use them at trial.

McCaslin denied Murdaugh's request for a list of every crime in the 2nd and 14th judicial circuits since 2021 involving .300 Blackout ammunition, for every such firearm recovered, and for casings from other shootings.

She found the theory that the murder weapon is tied to an unsolved crime speculative and was based solely on news reports, adding that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division doesn't have a list like that, and a manual review would be too much work and could intrude on investigations that are ongoing.

While the judge denied Harpootlian for his expert to physically test the shell casings from the crime scene, she ordered the state to hand over all raw data to the defense.

She also said prosecutors must hand over 3D crime scene scan data by Monday, but added she won't make the state produce material several times and asked the defense to have staff sign for discovery. McCaslin issued a similar warning when the state agreed to provide the defense with cellphone extraction data from Maggie and Paul's phone, but said this would be the last time the state will hand it over.

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To close the hearing, McCaslin granted a state motion to correct the record regarding Harpootlian's assertion at an Aug. 14 hearing that Murdaugh had passed a polygraph "with flying colors." She said Murdaugh had been administered a polygraph concerning whether he concealed other assets and failed it, and that he has never taken a polygraph related to the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. 

McCaslin acknowledged that Harpootlian had submitted a letter expressing apology for any confusion, then cautioned both sides that "candor with the court is not optional."

McCaslin also ruled in prosecutors' favor on a defense motion requesting evidence related to the disposal of the murder weapons, which have never been recovered. McCaslin said the state is required to hand over the material only if it proves favorable to Murdaugh's defense.

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Murdaugh's defense team initially asked the judge to force prosecutors to turn over information it has "concerning the handling, transport, concealment, or disposal of the alleged weapons used to kill Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh, including the statement a witness gave to agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in 2023 that a Lowcountry police chief spoke of arriving early at the scene and of providing Defendant Murdaugh a change of clothes, the reports of every interview conducted on that subject, and the testimony and exhibits presented to the State Grand Jury concerning it."

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According to the motion, filed in late September by Murdaugh's attorneys, press reports indicate that a state grand jury received testimony alleging Yemassee Police Chief Greg Alexander was observed in possession of the murder weapons shortly after the June 7, 2021, killings.

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"According to those reports, witnesses have testified that the Chief of Police of the Town of Yemassee, Greg Alexander, was seen with the murder weapons in the immediate aftermath of the June 7, 2021, killings, and that second Yemassee officer is under investigation for transporting and concealing weapons and clothing," the filing states.

It cites a story from The Post and Courier, which reported that "a Lowcountry official told SLED agents that Chief Alexander 'spoke of arriving early to the murder scene and talked about providing a change of clothes to Murdaugh,' and that the official believed the guns and clothing were brought into the police station and stored there."

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Notably, the allegations couldn't be corroborated by The Post and Courier.

Alexander, through his attorney, Joe McCulloch, denied accusations made in the media reports.

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"The same explanation has been provided to SLED," McCulloch told Fox News Digital. "That truth will outlive any ridiculous rumors and gossip."

Former prosecutor Joshua Ritter told Fox News Digital he considers the allegation against Alexander a "wild goose chase."

"This is one of those cases that, you know, a lot of reporting was done early on, a lot of conspiracy theories swirling around this case," Ritter said. "I don't see any reason for the judge to allow for this essentially wild goose chase in regards to an uncorroborated report about law enforcement perhaps being in possession of the murder weapon."

"Obviously, the defense would love to pursue this to its absolute limit because they think that there's a snowball's chance that it might yield something, but I think that the judge is probably going to give very little leeway on something like this," he added.

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