COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) – Previously convicted killer Alex Murdaugh is facing pushback from the State of South Carolina over DNA retesting and laptop requests.

The responses come after Murdaugh was in court for a pretrial status conference on Monday in Lexington County. It was the first time he was in a courtroom since the state Supreme Court overturned his guilty conviction earlier this year.

The State responded to two motions filed by Murdaugh’s defense team, who requested independent retesting of DNA found underneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails and for him to be granted a laptop to review evidence from behind bars.

‘He will violate security protocols’

In the State’s rebuttal, new information on how Murdaugh has handled technology from behind bars has come to light. Documents state that Murdaugh repeatedly has shown that he will violate security protocols.

Two incidents from August 2023 were cited and detailed that Murdaugh received SCDC disciplinary actions. Once for abuse of privileges and another for unauthorized use of another inmate’s PIN.

Documents state these instances show he cannot be trusted with sensitive information or digital devices, and SCDC should not be forced to accommodate Murdaugh by giving him unsupervised access to a laptop computer.

The State went on and said, “Murdaugh has demonstrated that he will break the rules and circumvent security if given the chance.”

Another reason the State believes Murdaugh should not be granted a laptop is that he cannot be trusted with extremely sensitive and expensive materials.

Specifically, things like crime scene images for certain people or media outlets to obtain and would pay high dollars for.

Given those reasons, the State argued it is a bad idea to give such sensitive information within the trust of an inmate and convicted fraudster like Murdaugh. “He has shown he will come up with all manner of schemes to get money, and a laptop can be used for all sorts of nefarious purposes,” documents stated.

Murdaugh had no problem preparing for the first trial without any such accommodation, the State said, and he is still free to review case materials with his legal team without such technology.

At Monday’s hearing, Murdaugh’s team argued he should be granted a laptop.

Judge McCaslin said she spoke to the prison warden prior to Monday’s hearing, who will not allow him access to a laptop privately, but will provide his team with a conference room to review evidence.

An iPad may also be granted to Murdaugh, but it remains undecided.

State: DNA evidence retesting request should be denied

Murdaugh’s team filed a motion for Maggie’s DNA to be tested by Othram, an independent DNA lab that could take six months or longer.

Prior to Murdaugh’s first trial, the fingernail clipping was tested by SLED and captured a mixture from two individuals. The testing discovered one DNA profile was Maggie’s and the other was a very partial and incomplete profile of another person.

Documents state that Maggie had her nails done the day of the murders, and there is no evidence that a physical struggle took place between Maggie Murdaugh and her murderer.

The filing reads, “She had no defensive wounds and no indications on her hands or fingernails that she scratched her attacker. It was as if she was unexpectedly gunned down from a threat that she did not see coming.”

The State further argued the defense has not attempted to facilitate communication between SLED and Othram to see if additional DNA evidence could be collected.

“DNA retesting is an unnecessary boondoggle that is more made for public consumption than to uncover viable evidence,” the filing reads.

Judge Debra McCaslin is expected to rule on both motions at the next pretrial conference on August 14.

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