WATCH LIVE: Judge to hear 3 defense motions in Murdaugh murder case - Fox Carolina

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A judge will weigh three motions filed by the defense team of former Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh against claims from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office that they are “without merit.”

Murdaugh is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and their youngest son, Paul, who were shot to death at the family’s hunting property in rural Colleton County more than a year ago.

The three motions filed by Murdaugh’s defense team focus on evidence prosecutors have failed to provide specific pieces of discovery, a legal term referring here to evidence they plan to use against Murdaugh, as the law requires. Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office released a response Wednesday arguing that the state has already “provided discovery far in excess of what is technically required.”

Judge Clifton Newman will consider the motions at the Florence County Courthouse at 10:30 a.m.

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The first defense motion sought details of a polygraph test given by state agents to Curtis “Eddie” Smith. The state contends that the results of the polygraph test and interview were given to the defense on the first day that murder discovery was authorized in August.

A second motion, filed Monday, asked the state for 15 pieces of evidence the defense claims they still do not have. The state says several of the pieces of the requested evidence have already been provided with additional pieces being provided as they become available.

A final motion filed Tuesday asked for a request for Murdaugh’s alibi to be stricken. In court documents, Murdaugh’s defense team said prosecutors demanded a written notice of Murdaugh’s intention to offer an alibi defense, further requesting Murdaugh provide “the specific place or places [Murdaugh] claims to have been at the time of the alleged offense and the names and addresses of the witnesses upon he intends to rely to establish such an alibi.”

But, the defense argues, prosecutors never provided them with critical details as required. The defense also provided a copy of a letter sent to the attorney general’s office on Sept. 19 stating that Murdaugh would not respond to the request until those details were provided.

Prosecutors point to the indictments against Murdaugh as clearly alleging that Maggie and Paul were killed June 7, 2021, in Colleton County and that a 911 call was made by Alex at 10:06 p.m.

“The fact that Maggie and Paul were killed at Moselle on June 7, 2021, might be one of the most well-known facts in the state,” the state said.

The state claims they have turned over 206 gigabytes of data representing “thousands of pages” and an additional 470 gigabytes of information on an external hard drive to the defense.

“The State began to provide discovery only relevant to the murders of Maggie and Paul by 11:24 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022, which was the first morning after Judge Newman’s clerk sent the signed protective order to us at 5:47 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022,” the state said in a filing.

The state says the discovery was in addition to discovery provided related to the State Grand Jury.

The state also says they had a conversation with the defense last Thursday about discovery issues.

“This was a pleasant and reasonable conversation, but — of course, as usual — at no time during this conversation did counsel mention the defense was going to file an aggressive and misleading motion to compel just one day later,” the state said.

Murdaugh’s murder trial is expected to begin in January.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

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WATCH LIVE: Judge to hear 3 defense motions in Murdaugh murder case - Fox Carolina
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