Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys need a Texas forensic DNA lab identified for serving to crack a few of the nation’s most infamous homicide circumstances to check unknown male DNA discovered beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails because the disgraced South Carolina lawyer heads towards a brand new double-murder trial.
Murdaugh, as soon as a robust private damage lawyer in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, was convicted in 2023 of killing his spouse, Maggie, 52, and their youthful son, Paul, 22, on the household’s looking property in June 2021. His convictions have been later overturned, and a brand new trial has been tentatively set for April 2027.
His attorneys have pointed to DNA discovered beneath Maggie’s fingernails that they are saying belonged to an unknown, unrelated male. They’ve requested for impartial testing by Othram Inc., a Houston-area forensic genetic family tree firm whose know-how has been utilized in high-profile homicide investigations and decades-old chilly circumstances.
Prosecutors disputed the importance of extra DNA testing, arguing that the proof has already been examined by the South Carolina Legislation Enforcement Division (SLED) and produced solely a combination of Maggie’s DNA and what the state described as a “very partial and incomplete” profile from one other contributor. The unknown profile, prosecutors mentioned, didn’t comprise sufficient figuring out data to be submitted to CODIS, the nationwide DNA database.
Othram, based mostly in The Woodlands, Texas, makes a speciality of superior DNA testing and forensic genetic family tree, a way that may assist investigators determine suspects or unknown victims when conventional legislation enforcement databases don’t produce a match.
Listed below are a few of the high-profile circumstances Othram has helped crack.
1. The College of Idaho murders
Othram’s work got here beneath nationwide scrutiny within the investigation into the 2022 murders of 4 College of Idaho college students: Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
Investigators recovered DNA from a knife sheath discovered close to one of many victims contained in the off-campus Moscow, Idaho, house the place the scholars have been killed. Othram has mentioned Idaho State Police Forensic Companies, Moscow police and the FBI teamed with the corporate to assist determine Bryan Kohberger because the suspect.
Kohberger later pleaded responsible to 4 counts of homicide and was sentenced to life in jail with out parole.
2. Rachel Morin homicide
Othram additionally performed a task within the investigation into the killing of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mom of 5 whose physique was discovered close to the Ma & Pa Path in Bel Air in August 2023. Harford County authorities and the FBI labored with Othram after DNA proof didn’t instantly determine the unknown male suspect via conventional strategies.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an unlawful immigrant from El Salvador, was later arrested and charged in Morin’s rape and homicide. He was convicted in 2025.
3. Carla Walker chilly case
The 1974 homicide of 17-year-old Carla Walker in Fort Value, Texas, went unsolved for greater than 4 a long time earlier than superior DNA testing helped investigators determine her killer. Walker was kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered after attending a Valentine’s Day dance along with her boyfriend.
A break got here in 2020 after crime scene DNA was uploaded to a public family tree web site, resulting in the identification of then 77-year-old Glen Samuel McCurley. Authorities confirmed the match after acquiring his DNA from trash.
Othram labored with Fort Value police to determine McCurley as the person accountable. McCurley later pleaded responsible to homicide, giving Walker’s household solutions after 46 years.
4. The Girl of the Dunes
One among New England’s most notorious unidentified sufferer circumstances was solved with assist from Othram almost 50 years after a lady’s physique was discovered within the dunes of Provincetown, a summer time trip sizzling spot on the tip of Massachusetts in 1974. The 49-year-old chilly case was finally solved in August 2023.
The lady, lengthy identified solely because the “Girl of the Dunes,” was discovered lifeless in 1974. For many years, authorities couldn’t decide her title. The FBI, Massachusetts State Police, Provincetown police and prosecutors partnered with Othram to determine her as Ruth Marie Terry. Her husband on the time, Man Rockwell Muldavin, was recognized as her killer, Cape and Islands District Legal professional Robert Galibois mentioned.
Terry was a 37-year-old Tennessee native newlywed when her almost decapitated physique was discovered within the sand dunes. Muldavin and Terry have been married only some months earlier than she vanished. For many years, she was solely referred to as “Girl of the Dunes” till her jaw was examined utilizing genetic family tree at Othram.
5. A Gilgo Seashore sufferer
Othram’s know-how was additionally used to assist determine Karen Vergata, beforehand referred to as “Fireplace Island Jane Doe,” in a case tied to the broader Gilgo Seashore investigation on Lengthy Island.
Vergata’s stays have been present in 1996, however she was not publicly recognized till a long time later. In 2022, the Suffolk County Police Division in collaboration with the FBI teamed with Othram to find out if superior DNA testing may assist to determine “Fireplace Island Jane Doe.”
Vergata was 34 years previous on the time of her dying and he or she went lacking on Valentine’s Day in 1996.
In April 2026, Rex Heuermann admitted that he deliberately killed Vergata, together with seven different girls, as a part of a plea settlement.
What Othram testing may imply in Murdaugh’s case
The request for Othram testing doesn’t imply the unknown DNA will change the end result of Murdaugh’s case. Nonetheless, Murdaugh’s attorneys are anticipated to argue the testing may assist an alternate-suspect idea as they put together for a second trial.
“They determined that evening he was the man and every little thing they did after that excluded another thought,” Murdaugh’s lead protection lawyer, Dick Harpootlian, beforehand instructed Fox Information Digital. “And that’s why they haven’t any proof connecting him with the homicide scene.”
The state, nevertheless, characterised the request as unsupported and aimed extra at “public consumption” than viable forensic proof.
Throughout Murdaugh’s first standing listening to on Monday, June 29, Decide Debra McCaslin didn’t rule on the DNA proof, telling protection attorneys to make clear if the pattern was viable.
Fox Information Digital reached out to Othram.
