Alex Murdaugh's retrial finally has a date, April 5, 2027, and a stack of defense motions that go straight at the evidence that convicted him the first time. Start with the shirt. Blood-spatter analyst Tom Bevel's original report reportedly described the marks on Murdaugh's white T-shirt as transfer stains, not gunshot spatter, before that finding changed following what defense filings describe as color adjustments made in Photoshop. The state never called Bevel to testify. Then there's the DNA. Investigators recovered an unknown male's genetic material from under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails the night she and Paul were killed, and that sample was cataloged but never run through a genealogy database. The defense wants it sent to Othram, the same lab whose work helped identify Bryan Kohberger, and attorney Jim Griffin told the court the technology to trace it simply wasn't available when SLED first collected it. On top of that, attorney Dick Harpootlian says first-responder statements from the night of the killings contradict one another, and that tips forwarded to SLED may never have been followed up on. Judge Debra McCaslin, newly assigned to the case, has already made clear continuances won't be granted, while Attorney General Alan Wilson is keeping the death penalty in play against a man already serving multiple life sentences. This episode lays out all three motions side by side, weighs them against the David Camm wrongful-conviction case the defense cites as precedent, and gives the honest counterargument prosecutors are likely to raise. Two people are still dead at those kennels, and pieces of evidence tied directly to their deaths sat untested for years. The next hearing lands August 14. Both sides know how much rides on the next few hearings. Here is everything filed so far, in order.
SOCIAL LINKS & LEGAL FOOTER
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
HASHTAGS
#MurdaughRetrial #AlexMurdaugh #HiddenKillers #MurdaughTrial #MaggieMurdaugh #PaulMurdaugh #Othram #TomBevel #SouthCarolina #TrueCrime

Alex Murdaugh's defense team filed a memorandum on July 30th, 2026, demanding that Judge Debra McCaslin allow an independent forensic lab to test DNA evidence recovered from Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails — before SLED can run tests that the defense says could consume or degrade the remaining sample. SLED identified the DNA years ago as belonging to an unknown male with no relation to the Murdaugh family. The defense says no further analysis was ever attempted. The lab they want involved is Othram, Inc. — the same forensic genetic genealogy operation whose technology helped put a name to Bryan Kohberger in the Idaho student murders, cracked the Lady of the Dunes cold case after nearly fifty years, and has been used in some of the highest-profile DNA identifications in the country. The prosecution opposed the motion, characterizing the defense's request as aimed at public consumption and arguing that trace DNA under fingernails can result from casual contact. The defense says the state's own method has already failed on this sample and that there is no scientific justification for letting SLED go first. The filing goes further — accusing SLED of acting in bad faith with biological evidence in this investigation, citing the alleged suppression of exculpatory T-shirt test results and the destruction of the shirt itself. The retrial is scheduled for April 5th, 2027. The August 14th pretrial hearing is where the DNA testing question is expected to land.

END_LINKS:

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspodX Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

Disclaimer:

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#AlexMurdaugh #MaggieMurdaugh #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurdaughRetrial #SLED #Othram #SouthCarolina #ColdOpen #JusticeForMaggie

Becky Hill's text messages and emails from the weeks she managed Alex Murdaugh's jury have never been examined by anyone outside the state's closed investigation. Murdaugh's lawyers wanted them, and the federal lawsuit they filed in May 2026 was the only legal instrument that could get them. A civil defendant can be subpoenaed and deposed. A private citizen who took a plea deal cannot be touched by a criminal defendant's discovery at all.

Judge Gergel's dismissal on August 5 cut off the records, the deposition, the trace on the anonymous email that removed a juror mid-deliberations, and the chance to put the tampering investigators under oath about why their conclusion and the Supreme Court's landed in different places. The ruling is defensible on the law. Hill didn't indict Murdaugh, and the cost of his defense traces to the murder charges rather than to her conduct.

The episode maps each lost tool onto the April 2027 retrial, including how a connection between the tampering and anyone on the state's side could have supported a motion to dismiss the charges outright, and why the SLED depositions would have fed directly into the defense's existing fight over the untested DNA under Maggie's fingernails. The appeal is already at the Fourth Circuit.

Hosted by Tony Brueski

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#AlexMurdaugh #BeckyHill #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurdaughRetrial #MurdaughLawsuit #JuryTampering #SouthCarolina #TrueCrimePodcast #MurdaughMurders

The unidentified male DNA found under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails has been sitting untouched for eight years, and Alex Murdaugh's prosecutors are fighting to keep an independent lab from finishing the job SLED never did. One test, one conclusion that it wasn't family, and then nothing. No effort to find out who it actually belonged to. The defense wants a forensic genealogy lab, the same kind of lab that identified Bryan Kohberger in Idaho, to test what's left before it degrades. The state wants first access, running the same process that already fell short, in a procedure the defense says risks destroying the remaining sample before an outsider ever examines it. Think about what that means. If prosecutors are confident this DNA is nothing, an independent test proves them right at zero cost. Fighting it only makes sense if the answer might not be what they're hoping for. The defense has also laid out a broader pattern in this case: a white T-shirt that tested negative for blood, a blood spatter expert who allegedly reversed his conclusions after the lead investigator paid him a visit, and a SLED captain accused of ordering subordinates to bury results that helped the defense. And on August 5th, a federal judge dismissed Alex Murdaugh's lawsuit against former clerk of court Becky Hill, wiping out the subpoenas and depositions that could have forced her records and sworn testimony into the case before the April 2027 retrial, records that might explain how a juror got removed from deliberations the first time around. Two fights lost by the defense. One retrial, five months away, with the death penalty back on the table. The judge overseeing the retrial has already asked prosecutors how long independent testing would actually take, a question that puts pressure on the state to explain what they're really afraid of.
Links & Legal Footer
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
Hashtags
#AlexMurdaugh #MaggieMurdaugh #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurdaughRetrial #SLED #BeckyHill #JuryTampering #SouthCarolina #ColdCaseDNA

South Carolina taxpayers are about to fund a second Alex Murdaugh murder trial because Becky Hill talked to a jury while selling a book about the case. That means a new prosecution, courthouse security, and months of court time. On August 5, a federal judge ruled Hill owes Murdaugh nothing for the first one. His $600,000 lawsuit against the former clerk is dismissed, on the logic that he'd have paid his defense lawyers whether she tampered or not. She pleaded guilty in December to obstruction, perjury, and misconduct: charges about a book photo, bonuses, and sealed exhibits, not the tampering. She received no prison time. She keeps whatever the book made. Everyone is paying for what happened in that courtroom except the person who caused it.

Retired FBI Special Agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joins Tony Brueski to work through that math, and through the second filing that landed a day later. Murdaugh's defense is demanding prosecutors search every file, every witness deal, and every disciplinary record, then certify in writing that nothing favorable to him remains hidden. The motion names no specific missing evidence. It doesn't have to — the state's record does the arguing. Lead investigator David Owen is connected to a separate murder case dismissed over undisclosed evidence. Agent Ryan Kelly, who cleared Eddie Smith on the stand, was fired this June from an internal affairs job for unrelated and undisclosed reasons. And the white shirt at the center of the forensic case tested negative for human blood before a testing chemical destroyed any chance of a second opinion.

Coffindaffer answers the questions this channel's audience has been asking all week: why Hill isn't in prison, who searches SLED besides SLED, and whether the shirt was ruined by accident. Murdaugh is presumed innocent. April will test the case. This episode tests the casework.

LINKS

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

DISCLAIMER

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

HASHTAGS

#AlexMurdaugh #BeckyHill #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurdaughRetrial #SouthCarolina #SLED #MurdaughMurders #JenniferCoffindaffer #JusticeSystem

The Brady motion filed August 5, 2026, is the widest evidence demand of the Alex Murdaugh retrial so far, and this breakdown goes category by category. The filing renews the defense's July 2022 discovery request and stacks ten new categories on top: new or modified witness deals, statements that contradict old ones, updated disciplinary and internal affairs files, DNA and forensic developments down to analyst proficiency tests and software, fresh search warrants, and post-trial material touching the verdict's integrity. It reaches SLED's Eddie Smith roadside-shooting file and the narcotics investigation. And it asks Judge Debra McCaslin to make prosecutors certify in writing — within thirty days — that a diligent, current search found nothing else favorable to the defense.

Tony Brueski lays out why that certification matters more than it sounds. If the state signs it and favorable evidence surfaces at trial, the defense holds the evidence and the state's own paper saying it didn't exist. The Colucci case shows the stakes: a June 2025 quash order, a decade of undisclosed evidence, and David Owen — Moselle's lead investigator — testifying he was never told what a witness swore she gave him in 2015. Ryan Kelly's June 2026 firing from a Charleston County internal affairs post gets the same careful treatment: records don't describe the conduct, and nothing links it to SLED or to this case.

Attorney General Alan Wilson's office hasn't responded; the first hearing on the motion is set for August 14, 2026, in Lexington County. McCaslin can grant it, narrow it, or deny it. Murdaugh is presumed innocent, with retrial set for April 2027. If you're following the retrial gavel to gavel, this is the filing that shapes everything after it.

END_LINKS

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

Disclaimer

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

Hashtags

#AlexMurdaugh #DavidOwen #TrueCrime #MurdaughRetrial #BradyMotion #SLED #MurdaughMurders #TrueCrimePodcast #SouthCarolina #JusticeForMaggieAndPaul

Alex Murdaugh is getting a second trial because of a court clerk. That is the whole reason any of these new filings exist, and it is worth keeping in front of you. Tony Brueski takes listener questions with retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke.

The South Carolina Supreme Court vacated Murdaugh's 2023 murder convictions after jurors said Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill told them to watch his body language and not be fooled by his testimony. The justices ruled that amounted to a suggestion he was guilty. Hill later pleaded guilty to perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office, and was sentenced to probation.

Now prosecutors have moved to put the very testimony Hill commented on in front of a new jury. Their filing asks Judge Debra McCaslin to admit Murdaugh's 2023 trial testimony at the retrial, including his admission that he lied to investigators for roughly eighteen months about being at the kennels the night Maggie and Paul were killed.

The same filings renew the state's motions to exclude polygraph evidence and third-party guilt, seek a fresh review of digital evidence, and oppose the defense's request for independent DNA testing.

The listener question landing hardest is the circular one. The verdict fell because of what a clerk said about him testifying. The state's answer is to make sure the next jury hears him testify anyway.

McCaslin has tentatively set the retrial for April 5, 2027. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters told the court the state could have been ready before the end of 2026. Dick Harpootlian said the defense has eight new expert witnesses and that DNA work alone could take six months.

Murdaugh's convictions were overturned, he awaits retrial, and he is presumed innocent. He has denied the killings since 2021 and remains in prison on financial crime convictions.

END LINKS

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

DISCLAIMER

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

HASHTAGS

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughRetrial #HiddenKillers #MaggieMurdaugh #PaulMurdaugh #DebraMcCaslin #SouthCarolina #TrueCrime #MurdaughMurders #CreightonWaters

Alex Murdaugh's lawyers want a signature from the prosecution, and the reason sits in a case most people have never heard of. Tony Brueski takes the listener mail with retired FBI Special Agent Robin Dreeke.

The defense filed a supplemental motion under Brady and Giglio. It asks the court to order prosecutors to search again for favorable and impeachment material generated since the 2023 trial, then certify in writing that the search was diligent and current. Thirty days.

Now the case that gets a fraction of the coverage. Last spring a circuit court judge quashed the murder indictment in the Michael Colucci prosecution after concluding potentially exculpatory evidence had not been properly disclosed. Former SLED special agent David Owen, the lead investigator in the Moselle murders, faced renewed credibility scrutiny in connection with that matter. Owen retired in June 2024 after twenty-eight years of service.

At Murdaugh's first trial, Owen acknowledged under cross-examination that SLED waited roughly three months to search the family's Almeda property, even though investigators later theorized Murdaugh may have taken weapons or evidence there. Asked whether that was an opportunity missed, he answered that it probably was.

The current motion names neither Owen nor anyone else. It asks the state to repeat the entire discovery process against everything that has happened since.

Prosecutors have not yet filed a response. Judge Debra McCaslin has tentatively set the retrial for April 5, 2027, with pretrial proceedings in Lexington County.

Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh were killed at the family's Colleton County hunting property on June 7, 2021.

Murdaugh's convictions were overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court, he awaits retrial, and he is presumed innocent. He has denied the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh throughout.

END LINKS

Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

DISCLAIMER

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

HASHTAGS

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughRetrial #HiddenKillers #SLED #BradyMotion #MaggieMurdaugh #DickHarpootlian #TrueCrime #MurdaughMurders #SouthCarolina