Did Murdaugh's Prosecutors Bury the DNA Evidence?

Aug 09, 04:00 PM
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Somewhere in a South Carolina evidence locker sits unidentified male DNA pulled from underneath Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails, and the same prosecutors who want to convict Alex Murdaugh of killing her are fighting to keep it away from independent testing. SLED already ran one test, ruled the DNA didn't belong to a Murdaugh, and stopped there. No further work. No attempt to identify whose it was. The defense wants an outside forensic genealogy lab, the one that helped identify Bryan Kohberger in Idaho, to test what remains before it's gone. Prosecutors want SLED to test it again first, with the same method that already came up empty, in a process that could consume the sample before anyone else gets a look.  If the state is right that this DNA doesn't matter, letting someone else confirm it costs them nothing. Blocking the test only makes sense if there's a chance it matters quite a bit.  The defense says this fits a pattern they've documented throughout the case, including a T-shirt that tested negative for blood it was supposed to have on it, and a blood spatter expert who allegedly changed his conclusions after a visit from the lead investigator.  On top of that, a federal judge dismissed Alex Murdaugh's lawsuit against former clerk of court Becky Hill on August 5th, killing the subpoenas and depositions that could have forced her records and sworn testimony into the open before the retrial begins.  Two fights, two setbacks for the defense, and a retrial now five months out, with the death penalty on the table and no plea in sight. The judge overseeing the case has already asked prosecutors directly how long outside testing would take, which suggests this argument won't stay buried much longer. 
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