Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh tease ‘new evidence’ in new trial
Alex Murdaugh’s legal team is teasing that they have new evidence to present at his retrial, where they hope to ultimately exonerate the disgraced former legal scion of the murders of his wife and son. RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The fallen South Carolina power broker was given a stunning lifeline after the state Supreme Court overturned his 2023 murder convictions and life prison sentences amid allegations of jury tampering by a clerk during deliberations. Now Murdaugh’s lawyers are laying out their next steps as they fight to win him a full acquittal.
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Alex Murdaugh is so happy he’s no longer a convicted murderer
Murdaugh’s lawyers have revealed what’s next in his new trial.
“Frankly, in a retrial in a criminal case, the statistics are in favor of the defendant,” Murdaugh’s attorney Jim Griffin boasted. Inside edition a day after the shocking unanimous court ruling of May 13.
The Legal Eagle told correspondent Eva Pilgrim about his client, “He has never failed to do it in more than three years since he was charged with these murders,” about how Murdaugh has always maintained his innocence.
Fellow lawyer Dick Harpootlian spoke of their client’s mood after hearing about the turn of events: “He is so happy that he is no longer a convicted murderer of his wife and son.”
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Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys claim investigators “assumed” he killed family
Murdaugh was previously convicted of shooting his wife and son.
Harpootlian hopes the retrial will lead police and prosecutors to expand the search for who allegedly killed Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, who were found dead of gunshot wounds in June 2021 at the family’s posh hunting estate, Moselle, in Colleton County, South Carolina.
“They assumed he did it and didn’t look at anyone else. There were no fingerprints and no DNA taken from the feeding room where Paul was killed,” he explained, as Alex’s son was found near dog kennels on the property, and his wife Maggie’s body was found about 30 years away, near a storage area.
“They had tracks leading away from the murder scene – tire tracks,” Harpootlian noted, adding that authorities “never followed” to see where they led.
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No chance of a plea deal from Alex Murdaugh’s team
Murdaugh is still serving a 40-year prison sentence for financial crimes.
Harpootlian and Griffin teased that new evidence would be introduced at Alex’s retrial, but played it close to the chest about what it would be, telling Pilgrim she could “ask” about it, “but we’re not going to tell you” what it is.
One thing Alex and his lawyers are steadfast on is that there will be absolutely no plea deal with prosecutors, with Harpootlian shaking his finger and firmly promising, “Never.”
From a legal strategic perspective, the lawyers say they now have a much stronger hand heading into a new trial.
“You have all the state’s witnesses who testified. Well, they’re going to be back on the witness stand. We have the benefit of transcripts of their previous statements. If they stumble and are inconsistent, we can point it out,” Griffin boasted.
He added: “So there is a lot of ammunition that we need to attack the state’s case.”
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Alex Murdaugh has ‘no money’ to pay for defense in a new trial
Murdaugh’s lawyers vowed to fight for him, despite the former millionaire being broke.
Pilgrim asked who would foot the bill for Alex’s defense at the retrial, noting that the former personal injury lawyer has “run out of money.”
“Hopefully we get paid somehow, but we’re in it until the end and we’re not walking away from Alex. I can tell you that,” Griffin vowed.
The team is pushing for the trial to take place in a different courthouse than the one in Colleton County, where he was convicted of the double murder in May 2023.
Even if Alex’s team manages to get him released for the murders of his wife and son, he won’t be a free man. The part-time volunteer prosecutor was suspended in 2022 over allegations he stole millions from clients and his own law firm. Alex pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy, wire fraud, wire fraud and money laundering and received a 40-year federal prison sentence. He is also serving a 27-year state sentence for the same financial crimes.
