Unknown male DNA turned up under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails, and eight years later nobody in South Carolina law enforcement has bothered to identify it. SLED ran one test, ruled it didn't belong to anyone in the Murdaugh family, and closed the file. No follow-up. No attempt to put a name to it. Alex Murdaugh's defense wants an independent genealogy lab, the same one that identified Bryan Kohberger in the Idaho student murders, to finish testing what's left before the sample degrades. Prosecutors are fighting to run their own test first, using the same method that already came up short, in a process the defense says could consume the evidence entirely before an outside lab gets near it. Here's what should bother you: if the state genuinely believes this DNA means nothing, letting someone else confirm that costs them nothing. A clean result kills the defense's alternate-suspect theory before it ever reaches a jury. The only version of this where blocking the test makes sense is if the result might actually matter. It's not the only ground the defense just lost. A federal judge dismissed Alex Murdaugh's lawsuit against former clerk of court Becky Hill on August 5th, and with it went every subpoena and deposition that could have forced her records into daylight before the retrial, records that might explain how an anonymous email got a juror removed from deliberations at the original trial. Two evidentiary fights. Two losses for the defense. One retrial, set for April 5th, 2027, with the death penalty back on the table and no plea deal in sight. The judge overseeing the retrial has already asked prosecutors how long independent testing would actually take, which tells you this question isn't going away quietly. Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod 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. #AlexMurdaugh #MaggieMurdaugh #HiddenKillers #TrueCrime #MurdaughRetrial #SLED #BeckyHill #JuryTampering #SouthCarolina #ColdCaseDNA