Why Was Unknown DNA Under Maggie Murdaugh’s Fingernails Never Run Through CODIS?

The DNA evidence alone would be enough to change the shape of this case. Unknown male DNA beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails, collected at the scene, and never run through the one database designed to identify it.

Jim Griffin confirmed the defense has this evidence and intends to use it at the retrial. It is the kind of detail that raises questions not just about what happened at Moselle that night but about how the original investigation was conducted. CODIS exists precisely for this purpose. And someone decided not to use it.

The retrial itself is going to be an enormous undertaking. The defense team described a preparation process that includes reviewing the full eight-thousand-page trial transcript, conducting a complete discovery scrub, and retaining new expert witnesses. Their timeline estimate is clear: not this year. Possibly within a year, but nobody should expect a quick turnaround.

Venue selection is already shaping up as a major pretrial battle. The defense will likely seek a change of venue, but the new county must mirror Colleton’s demographic profile. Richland and Charleston are essentially off the table. Harpootlian cited the Pee Wee Gaskins case as a precedent for individual voir dire — a process where each potential juror is questioned separately to assess exposure and bias.

The defense also catalogued SLED’s original investigative gaps: tire tracks that went unprocessed, GPS data that was overwritten, fundamental scene work that never happened. Every one of those failures becomes part of the defense’s narrative at trial two.

Tony Brueski, criminal defense attorney Bob Motta of Defense Diaries, and retired FBI Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Program Robin Dreeke discuss the DNA revelation, the retrial roadmap, and why the defense was absolute that a plea deal will never happen.

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