Alex Murdaughs attorneys want a Texas forensic DNA lab known for helping crack some of the nations most notorious murder cases to test unknown male DNA found beneath Maggie Murdaughs fingernails as the disgraced South Carolina attorney heads toward a new double-murder trial.
Murdaugh, once a powerful personal injury attorney in South Carolinas Lowcountry, was convicted in 2023 of killing his wife, Maggie, 52, and their younger son, Paul, 22, at the familys hunting estate in June 2021. His convictions were later overturned, and a new trial has been tentatively set for April 2027.
His attorneys have pointed to DNA found beneath Maggie’s fingernails that they say belonged to an unknown, unrelated male. They have asked for independent testing by Othram Inc., a Houston-area forensic genetic genealogy company whose technology has been used in high-profile murder investigations and decades-old cold cases.
ALEX MURDAUGH RETRIAL FIGHT BEGINS AS JUDGE WEIGHS DNA TEST, SHACKLES AND TRIAL DATE
Prosecutors disputed the significance of additional DNA testing, arguing that the evidence has already been tested by the Division (SLED) and produced only a mixture of Maggies DNA and what the state described as a “very partial and incomplete” profile from another contributor. The unknown profile, prosecutors said, did not contain enough identifying information to be submitted to CODIS, the national DNA database.
Othram, based in The Woodlands, Texas, specializes in advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy, a method that can help investigators identify suspects or unknown victims when traditional law enforcement databases do not produce a match.
Here are some of the high-profile cases Othram has helped crack.
COLD CASE CRACKED AS ILLINOIS SUSPECT CHARGED IN BRUTAL 1993 KILLING OF MOTHER FOUND SLAIN IN FIELD
Othrams work came under national scrutiny in the investigation into the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students: Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
Investigators recovered DNA from a knife sheath found near one of the victims inside the off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home where the students were killed. Othram has said Idaho State Police Forensic Services, Moscow police and the FBI teamed with the company to help identify Bryan Kohberger as the suspect.
Kohberger later pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
COLD CASE CRACKED AS ILLINOIS SUSPECT CHARGED IN BRUTAL 1993 KILLING OF MOTHER FOUND SLAIN IN FIELD
Othram also played a role in the investigation into the killing of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five whose body was found near the Ma & Pa Trail in Bel Air in August 2023. Harford County authorities and the FBI worked with Othram after DNA evidence did not immediately identify the unknown male suspect through traditional methods.
Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was later arrested and charged in Morins rape and murder. He was convicted in 2025.
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