Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers seek dismissal of murder charges ahead of 2027 retrial

Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh are scheduled to appear in court on Friday to petition a judge to dismiss the original murder indictments for the alleged killing of his wife and son. They argue that the chief investigator in the case, State Law Enforcement Division agent David Owen, lied to the grand jury. Murdaugh, facing a retrial on the murder charges after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned his convictions and life sentence, is unlikely to have his plea for the indictments dismissed granted, but it could still be a setback for the prosecution.

Prosecutors can request new grand jury indictments as early as next month, and defense attorneys have no intention of stopping them. However, a favorable ruling for Murdaugh would be a further blow to the chief investigator, Owen. In 2024, Owen resigned from his position as a State Law Enforcement Officer of the Year after being implicated in the Murdaugh case.

He has admitted to mistakes, but maintains he did not intentionally mislead the grand jury. Murdaugh, 58, is accused of murdering his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, on their South Carolina Lowcountry property in 2021. The defense argues that there is little evidence linking Murdaugh to the killings, with no DNA or blood evidence found on his clothes or at the crime scene.

Owen also provided false information to the grand jury about blood spatter and ammunition found at the scene, which were later disproven. Despite the charges, Murdaugh remains incarcerated for separate financial crimes, and his release is not contingent on the outcome of the murder case.