Alex Murdaugh: The Lab Report Owen Says He Never Saw

A white shirt, a negative lab result, and a statement delivered under oath to the grand jury. That is the new fight ahead of Alex Murdaugh’s retrial for the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. His attorneys say the original murder indictments should be dismissed because SLED’s lead investigator, David Owen, told grand jurors that the shirt carried the victims’ blood spatter after a state lab had reported no human blood in the tested material.

Owen acknowledged at the first trial that his description to the grand jury was not correct. He also testified that he did not see the negative report until November 2022, months after the July indictment, and did not mean to mislead the grand jurors. The defense says the lab’s report was addressed to him. Its motion presents that contradiction as something far more serious than an ordinary error.

There is a second disputed account involving shotguns and ammunition found at the Moselle property. Owen told Murdaugh during questioning that investigators had found loads similar to the one used to kill Paul. At trial, he described the interrogation as involving a permissible trick. The defense argues that carrying an inaccurate version of that account into a sworn grand-jury presentation crosses a different line entirely.

Prosecutors deny fabricating the shirt evidence. Their written response argues that early tests, a consulting expert’s assessment and possible effects of the shirt’s treatment need to be considered together. They also contend that the disputed assertions were only part of the grand jury’s evidence. The court has not resolved the conflict.

Eric Faddis, a former prosecutor and defense attorney, joins Tony Brueski to assess what dismissal without prejudice would accomplish and what Judge Debra McCaslin must decide at the November 13 hearing. A dismissal would allow another attempt to indict; it would not equal an acquittal. Murdaugh denies the killings.

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

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