COLUMBIA, S.C. (Court TV) — As he fights for a new trial, Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorneys are calling attention to a series of text messages they say were withheld from them during the trial.
Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, sits during a hearing on a motion for a retrial, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/The State via AP, Pool)
Murdaugh, a once prominent attorney from a storied South Carolina family, was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and their younger son, Paul Murdaugh. Alex was sentenced to life in prison for killing the two, who were found shot to death on the family’s Lowcountry property on June 7, 2021.
Court TV’s Trial Archives | Murdaugh Family Murders (SC v. Alex Murdaugh 2023)
Digital evidence played a prominent role in Alex’s six-week 2023 trial, as prosecutors proved that he was the person behind the gruesome murders. Included in their presentation was an 88-page timeline created by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) detailing the Murdaugh family’s movements.
However, preserved data from Alex’s phone, reviewed by FITSNews, includes multiple text messages that are not included in SLED’s timeline. Those messages include exchanges between Alex and Eddie Smith, who both defense and prosecutors said was his drug dealer on June 3, just four days before the murders.
Smith (10:26 a.m.): “Hey Brother i need to come get the chech [sic] you got one with you or are you going to be around later”
Alex (11:02 a.m.): “Ok. I will be back this afternoon. I’ve had to deal with some [expletive] this morning.”
Smith (11:03 a.m.): “Ok Brother just give me a holler”
Smith (5:18 p.m.): “Leaving the house now”
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Smith sent Alex several texts on June 8, the day after the murders, that were also not included on SLED’s timeline.
Smith (7:48a): “Tell me what I heard is not true”
Smith (7:50a): “Call me please”
Smith (6:42p): “At fishing hole”
Smith (7:21p): “803 *** **13 it will not go through on my phone.”
Smith was discussed in Alex’s trial, but never called to testify. “We were not aware of these texts. Had we been, it may have made a difference in our decision,” Lead defense attorney Dick Harpootlian told Fox News Digital. “These messages offer new insight into the timeline of drug distributions, some of them happening the very week of the murders.”
FITSNews also identified a text between Alex and his associate Kenneth Singleton on the day of the murders, which was not shown to the jury or included in the timeline:
Singleton (11:49 a.m.): “Call me please.”
Alex (1:12 p.m.): “Come to my office. I have you a loan for 1750.”
Murdaugh is currently appealing his conviction on multiple grounds, including alleged jury tampering by former Clerk of Court Becky Hill.
