—
During a court session in Alex Murdaugh’s case, a judge prepares to rule on a motion concerning a defense phone extraction. Legal representatives confirm they are auditing discovery years after the trial, noting they recently spent hours recreating a corrupted August 2022 murder download for the defense. The court clarifies that this file is recopied data rather than new evidence.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
New court documents reveal South Carolina state prosecutors are rejecting claims by Alex Murdaugh’s defense that the state withheld critical “raw” cellphone evidence.
The motion, filed Tuesday, is the state’s response to a motion Murdaugh’s legal team filed in September claiming it never received extraction files, keychain files and extraction logs from seized smartphones.
In March 2023, Murdaugh was convicted of the 2021 killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER SAGA LANDS RIGHT BACK WHERE IT STARTED BEFORE NEXT LOWCOUNTRY COURTROOM BATTLE
Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family. His former law firm filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing him of using fake bank accounts to steal money from the firm and clients. (Fox News)
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
He was sentenced to two life terms. However, his conviction was overturned in May 2026 after the South Carolina Supreme Court found that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill improperly influenced jurors.
MURDAUGH DEFENSE SAYS DETECTIVES FOUND MALE DNA UNDER VICTIM’S NAILS BUT SKIPPED KEY TESTING
Murdaugh is scheduled for a new trial in April 2027.
JUDGE ORDERS ALEX MURDAUGH MURDER RETRIAL MOVED TO NEARBY COUNTY
In this new round of court documents related to the case, prosecutors claim the defense already had the evidence — in some instances multiple times — and that its new account is “false,” “manufactured” and contradicted by its own emails.
SIGN UP TO GET THE LATEST TRUE CRIME NEWS
Circuit Judge Debra McCaslin presides as attorneys argue motions ahead of Alex Murdaugh’s April 2027 murder retrial in Lexington, S.C., Aug. 14, 2026. (Tracy Glantz of The (Columbia, South Carolina) State/POOL)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUB
The state released 40 pages of emails, file folder screenshots and signed discovery receipts spanning late 2022 to early 2023.
SEND US A TIP
Court records reveal South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigators provided full, unredacted raw extractions, password logs, keychain files and reports to defense experts as early as October and November 2022.
MURDAUGH LAWYERS ALLEGE PROSECUTORS WITHHELD WITNESS CLAIM THAT POLICE CHIEF HANDLED MURDER WEAPONS: FILING
Alex Murdaugh attends a judicial hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. Murdaugh will be retried in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son, after his original conviction was overturned due to jury tampering. (Tracy Glantz/The State via Pool)
GOT A TIP?
Furthermore, prosecutors produced emails from Jan. 20, 2023 — three days before jury selection began in the first trial — showing the defense team requesting a duplicate copy of Murdaugh’s phone extraction because they had misplaced the original.
LISTEN TO THE NEW ‘CRIME & JUSTICE WITH DONNA ROTUNNO’ PODCAST
“The State will be glad to send the cell phone evidence to the defense yet one more time if they have somehow messed up or lost their copies again,” the motion states.
GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL
Read the new motion:
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News Digital has reached out to Murdaugh’s defense team for comment.
