Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh allege that the lead agent in his murder case lied to the grand jury and presented "fabricated" evidence, and they are asking a judge to dismiss the indictments.
In a motion to dismiss dated Aug. 7, Murdaugh's attorneys alleged that David Owen, the lead South Carolina Law Enforcement Division agent on his case, delivered "perjurious testimony and fabricated evidence" before a grand jury, characterizing his conduct as prosecutorial misconduct.
Murdaugh's attorneys said more information about the alleged prosecutorial misconduct would be shown in a later filing.
"The grounds for this motion, as will be more fully set forth in a supporting memorandum, are that the lead case agent for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in this case, David Owen, testified that he presented physical evidence directly inculpating the Defendant to the Colleton County Grand Jury that he admitted was false and which Defendant has proven was fabricated by law enforcement," Murdaugh's attorneys wrote.
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His attorneys also filed a motion to transfer the venue of Murdaugh's new murder trial to Charleston County, arguing that an impartial jury cannot be found in Colleton County, stating, "this prosecution has generated publicity without precedent in the history of this State."
Rather, they argued that a change to nearby Charleston County would "preserve the values of a local trial while curing the local prejudice."
The motions come ahead of a pretrial hearing scheduled for Friday.
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Murdaugh, formerly a prominent Lowcountry attorney from an influential legal dynasty, was convicted in March 2023 of fatally shooting his wife and son, Maggie and Paul.
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The murder case descended into chaos when allegations that court clerk Rebecca Hill made inappropriate comments to jurors while the trial was ongoing.
While prosecutors believe Murdaugh got a fair trial, the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed the convictions and ordered a new trial.
