Murdaugh lawyers allege prosecutors withheld witness claim that police chief handled murder weapons: filing

Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh accused prosecutors Wednesday of withholding a witness statement alleging a South Carolina police chief handled the weapons used to kill Murdaugh's wife and son and arranged a change of clothes for him after the 2021 killings. And they're asking a judge to intervene.

Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, at the family's Moselle property in Colleton County.

The South Carolina Supreme Court later overturned the convictions after finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced the jury. His retrial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027.

The new allegations come as Murdaugh's team said "all urgent evidentiary issues" in the case will be heard at a hearing on Oct. 16.

Alex Murdaugh appears in court during a pretrial hearing ahead of his murder retrial at the Lexington County Courthouse in Lexington, S.C., Aug. 14, 2026. (Tracy Glantz of The (Columbia, South Carolina) State/Pool)

A spokeswoman for Murdaugh's defense team told Fox News Digital that Judge Debra McCaslin notified them that "DNA, cell phone extraction, ballistic data, and FARO scan data will be addressed at the hearing." 

All other motions will be heard at a Nov. 13 hearing.

Police chief allegations

The motion, filed by Murdaugh's attorneys Wednesday, cites press reports that a state grand jury heard testimony alleging Yemassee Police Chief Greg Alexander was seen with the murder weapons shortly after the June 7, 2021, killings.

"According to those reports, witnesses have testified that the Chief of Police of the Town of Yemassee, Greg Alexander, was seen with the murder weapons in the immediate aftermath of the June 7, 2021, killings, and that second Yemassee officer is under investigation for transporting and concealing weapons and clothing," the filing states.

It also cites a story from The Post and Courier, which reported that "a Lowcountry official told SLED agents that Chief Alexander 'spoke of arriving early to the murder scene and talked about providing a change of clothes to Murdaugh,' and that the official believed the guns and clothing were brought into the police station and stored there."

Notably, the allegations couldn't be corroborated by The Post and Courier.

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At Murdaugh's first murder trial in 2023, prosecutors contended that he killed his family members using two different types of weapons, then used a nearby water hose to clean up, changed his clothes and drove to his parents' house, where he allegedly left the murder weapons before returning a week later to dispose of them. Prosecutors had previously acknowledged that police never recovered the weapons.

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Alex Murdaugh attends a judicial hearing June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/The State via Pool)

Alexander, through his attorney, Joe McCulloch, denied accusations made in the media reports.

"The same explanation has been provided to SLED," McCulloch told Fox News Digital. "That truth will outlive any ridiculous rumors and gossip."

READ THE FILING:

Murdaugh's defense team asked a judge to force prosecutors to turn over information it has "concerning the handling, transport, concealment, or disposal of the alleged weapons used to kill Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh, including the statement a witness gave to agents of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in 2023 that a Lowcountry police chief spoke of arriving early at the scene and of providing Defendant Murdaugh a change of clothes, the reports of every interview conducted on that subject, and the testimony and exhibits presented to the State Grand Jury concerning it."

Alex Murdaugh arrives for a hearing June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/The State via Pool)

His attorneys said "if the reports are accurate," prosecutors have held evidence that contradicts their own theory.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office and Alexander for comment.