Crime · Lexington County
Judge Rules on DNA Testing, Sets Nov. 13 Hearing in Murdaugh Retrial
State Judge Debra McCaslin presided over a pretrial hearing Friday at the Lexington County courthouse in South Carolina for Alex Murdaugh's retrial on murder charges related to the 2021 killings of his wife Maggie and son Paul in Colleton County. McCaslin ruled that defense attorneys may test leftover DNA from Maggie Murdaugh's cell phone and fingernails, while denying a defense request for records of all .300 Blackout crimes across eight counties. The judge reprimanded lead defense attorney Dick Harpootlian for a false statement about polygraph testing made at an Aug. 14 hearing. The next pretrial hearing is set for Nov. 13, and the trial begins April 5 in Sumter County, where all hearings and records will move after Jan. 1.