Murdaugh Seeks to Toss Murder Charges Over Alleged Grand Jury Lie
WHO:
Yahoo - Defense attorney Jim Griffin argued that the alleged false blood evidence was the only information presented to the grand jury that linked Murdaugh to the place and time of the killings.
Yahoo - Prosecutor Creighton Waters said the grand jury heard about guns missing from the house that matched weapons that could have been used in the killings.
ABC News - Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys are seeking dismissal of his original murder indictments.
ABC News - The charges concern the deaths of Murdaugh’s wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul.
ABC News - Judge Debra McCaslin is to consider the request at a pretrial hearing.
ABC News - State Law Enforcement Division agent David Owen was the chief investigator and is accused by the defense of misleading the grand jury.
ABC News - Murdaugh is 58 and is serving decades in prison for stealing millions of dollars from clients. He has admitted in court to being a thief, an insurance cheat, a bad lawyer, and a longtime opioid addict, but denies being a killer.
ABC News - The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh’s murder convictions and life sentence, ruling that a court clerk improperly influenced jurors during his 2023 trial.
ABC News - Owen retired in 2024, not long after being named State Law Enforcement Officer of the Year.
NBC News - A hearing in South Carolina is underway as Murdaugh’s lawyers pursue dismissal of his murder charges.
WHAT:
Yahoo - Judge Debra McCaslin did not immediately rule on the dismissal request and promised a written ruling next week.
Yahoo - Griffin said, “A phone call doesn't put him there. The video doesn't put him there,” and argued that the alleged blood evidence placed Murdaugh at the scene.
Yahoo - Waters said the disputed information would not substantially affect the grand jury or cast grave doubt when considered alongside the other evidence.
Yahoo - Murdaugh remains imprisoned on separate financial-crime sentences, and the outcome of the murder case will not determine when he could be released.
NY Post - Murdaugh’s attorneys are asking a judge to throw out the original indictments for the murders of his wife and son.
ABC News - The defense alleges Owen told the grand jury blood spatter was found on a T-shirt Murdaugh wore on the night of the killings. An earlier state-agent report said there were no blood stains, and that evidence was not introduced at trial.
ABC News - The defense also says Owen claimed the same ammunition combination used to kill Paul—buckshot in one chamber and large birdshot in the other—was loaded in weapons throughout the Murdaugh property; the defense says that was not the case.
ABC News - Prosecutors say other evidence supports the charges and argued that “a single mistake is not bad faith.”
ABC News - Owen told grand jurors about a video Paul recorded that captured Alex Murdaugh’s voice at the scene, contradicting Murdaugh’s denials. Owen also discussed the family’s mounting debts and Murdaugh’s theft schemes nearing discovery.
ABC News - Murdaugh’s lawyers say there was little physical evidence: no DNA or blood was found on Murdaugh or his clothes, and the weapons used were never found.
ABC News - Prosecutors allege Murdaugh killed his wife and son to use the sympathy from their deaths to buy time to conceal his thefts.
ABC News - The killings occurred in 2021.
ABC News - Murdaugh’s original trial took place in 2023.
ABC News - Prosecutors can seek new grand jury indictments as soon as next month; the article says this might not stop or postpone an April retrial.
ABC News - A judge last year dismissed a separate murder case involving Owen after the victim’s mother said Owen failed to relay her daughter’s suicide threat to prosecutors or defense attorneys.
WHERE:
ABC News - Prosecutors say the killings occurred on the Murdaugh family’s property in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.
ABC News - The indictments were brought before the Colleton County grand jury.
NBC News - The hearing is taking place in South Carolina.
HOW:
ABC News - The defense’s dismissal request is based on its claim that Owen gave the grand jury inaccurate information while prosecutors sought the indictments.
ABC News - Prosecutors say they can obtain another set of grand jury indictments; defense attorneys said they would not stop them.
(UPDATED November 14, 2026 01:04 UTC)
Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers want his wife and son’s murder indictments dismissed, alleging investigators misled jurors. Prosecutors argue other evidence supports the charges, including a video capturing Murdaugh’s voice at the scene. The judge will issue a written ruling next week; prosecutors can seek new indictments.
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(UPDATED November 13, 2026 18:01 UTC)
Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers are seeking dismissal of indictments charging him with murdering his wife and son. They accuse the lead investigator of misleading grand jurors with inaccurate claims about evidence. Prosecutors say other evidence supports the charges, and can seek new indictments.