With the double murder trial of disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh just over 90 days away, the presiding judge says he'll rule separately on a list of pretrial motions that sent tempers flaring in a Florence County courtroom Thursday.
Lead defender Dick Harpootlian branded the state's investigation "flawed and biased" against Murdaugh. He's demanding the handover of more results from the SLED investigation of Curtis "Eddie" Smith, Murdaugh's shadowy associate, distant counsin, and the defense team openly suggests, most likely the real killer.
Prosecutors angrily argued at yesterday's hearing " this is not about Eddie Smith." However, Harpootlian is attacking prosecution evidence putting Murdaugh at the scene when his wife and younger son were murdered as only circumstantial, saying the state can't establlish the time of death.
Judge Clifton Newman says he will rule on that, and whether it would invalidate the alibi of Eddie Smith or anybody else.





