Alex Murdaugh's attorneys say prosecutors recently disclosed that previously unprocessed reserve DNA samples remain in the murder case, fueling a renewed effort to have an independent laboratory analyze the evidence before South Carolina investigators conduct additional testing.Defense attorneys wrote allowing the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to conduct additional short tandem repeat, or STR, testing first could consume or degrade the remaining DNA before Texas-based Othram Inc.has an opportunity to analyze it.In a memorandum filed July 30, obtained by WSAV in Savannah, Georgia, and reviewed by Fox News Digital, Murdaugh's attorneys asked a judge to release the reserve DNA samples to Othram before SLED conducts any further testing.MURDAUGH DEFENSE PLANS ALTERNATE SUSPECT PUSH AS DNA QUESTIONS LOOM OVER RETRIALThe filing argued the sequence of testing was critical because Othram's single nucleotide polymorphism, or SNP, testing requires DNA that has not already been depleted or degraded through prior analysis.Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was convicted in March of murdering his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, on his hunting estate in June 2021.
(Andrew J.Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X"Because SNP testing requires a genetic sample that has not been depleted or degraded by prior analysis, the sequence in which the reserve samples from Items 70 and 71 are tested matters," the memorandum states.
"SLED's proposed STR retesting risks consuming the very material Othram would need, while proceeding with Othram's SNP analysis first forecloses no STR testing SLED might still wish to conduct afterward."The memorandum noted prosecutors disclosed "for the first time" that reserve DNA samples from Items 70 and 71 remain unprocessed.ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER SAGA LANDS RIGHT BACK WHERE IT STARTED BEFORE NEXT LOWCOUNTRY COURTROOM BATTLEThe filing described a July 7 Webex conference involving d...