Thursday 18 August 2022 02:19 PM Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh accuse prosecutors of hiding evidence and leaking ... trends now 'It's a trial by ambush': Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh accuse prosecutors of hiding evidence - including blood splatters and phone records - and leaking information about the murders of his wife and son to the press Alex Murdaugh, 54, is charged with murder in the deaths of his wife Maggie, 52, and son, Paul, 22 ,who were killed on June 7, 2021 His attorneys are now accusing prosecutors of allegedly hiding evidence They're also accusing them of leaking information about the case to the press The violent murders were the pinnacle of the family's years-long, dark history Before his death, Paul crashed a boat that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach In 2018, the family's housekeeper Gloria Satterfield died after a mysterious fall Alex Murdaugh tried to stage his own murder in a failed effort to win his surviving son Buster a life insurance payout By Andrea Cavallier For Dailymail.Com Published: 13:58 BST, 18 August 2022 | Updated: 14:15 BST, 18 August 2022 Viewcomments Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh are accusing prosecutors of allegedly hiding evidence - including blood splatters and phone records - and leaking information about the South Carolina family murders to the press ahead of Murdaugh's looming trial. 'It's trial by ambush,' attorney Dick Harpootlian said in a press conference on Wednesday. 'Give us the stuff. I don't have a shred of paper. I don't have an email. I don't have an exhibit. I don't have any evidence.' Murdaugh, 54, was indicted in July on murder charges in the deaths of his wife Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, who were killed on June 7, 2021, at the family's home. He has adamantly denied killing them. The disbarred South Carolina lawyer's trial for the double murders is not set to happen until next year, but drama in the courtroom is already in full swing. Murdaugh's legal team blasted prosecutors of leaking details to the media instead of handing it over to the defense as required. They also claim they have never received any reports on blood splatter or evidence found on phones. 'We're ready to work. Ready to hire investigators, ready to hire experts,' he said. 'All I know is what I read in some blog. I've never seen any blood spatter evidence. I've never seen any phone downloads. I've never seen any witness statements. Thirty-two days after we make the request, we still don't have anything.' The defense has filed a motion asking the judge to compel the state to turn over the evidence immediately and to unseal the details of the grand jury indictment. In a response filing, the state calls the motion a 'blatant attempt to create drama where formerly there was none, saying the state has no desire to preclude the defense from any discovery, and they will send it over when the court green lights it.' 'This manufactured drama is just a well-known part of defense counsel's playbook,' the state Attorney General's Office responded to the defense in legal papers. If convicted of murder, Murdaugh would face 30 years to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors could also choose to seek the death penalty under state law because more than one person was killed, but haven't made any indication that's what they might do. Alex Murdaugh is escorted out of the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., on Wednesday, July 20, 2022.His lawyers are now accusing prosecutors of hiding evidence and leaking information about the murders of his wife and son to the press Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found dead at the family home on June 7, 2021. Alex Murdaugh called 911 claiming he found them there, shot dead The June 2021 deaths prompted authorities to look into all corners of Murdaugh´s life. At least a half-dozen investigations resulted in charges that he stole $8.5 million from people who hired him and that he lied to police by saying he was shot by a stranger on a roadside. Officials say he actually asked a friend to kill him so his surviving son could collect a $10 million life insurance policy just days after the family firm determined he was stealing money. The friend said the gun went off as he tried to wrestle it from a suicidal Murdaugh's grip. Murdaugh is familiar with legal wrangling. His family has dominated the legal scene in tiny, neighboring Hampton County for nearly a century with his father, grandfather and great-grandfather the area´s elected prosecutors for 87 years straight. Defense attorneys want to take Murdaugh to trial as soon as possible to clear his name. Both sides appear to have agreed on January, with Harpootlian saying at the news conference outside his law office that he wants to stick to that timetable 'come hell or high water' and will have lawyers and the rest of his firm doing whatever is necessary to review the evidence whether it is five pages or 5 million pages. TIMELINE OF MURDAUGH FAMILY MURDERS, SCANDALS AND CRIMES JUNE 7, 2021: Maggie and Paul Murdaugh are found shot dead at the family home. Alex claims he found them dead outside dog kennel and calls 911 JUNE 17: Alex Murdaugh's brothers go on Good Morning America to protest his innocence. Family later offers $100k reward for information SEPTEMBER 3: Alex Murdaugh quietly resigns from his law firm SEPTEMBER 4: Murdaugh calls 911 claiming he has been shot in the head SEPTEMBER 6: Murdaugh publicly announces resignation and checks into rehab. The law firm then announces that he has stolen millions over the years he spent working there SEPTEMBER 14: Curtis Smith is charged with helping Murdaugh in a staged murder plot. He tells cops Murdaugh hired him to shoot him on September 4 as part of a plan for him to be killed and give his son Buster a $10million life insurance payout SEPTEMBER 15: Cops open investigation in 2018 death of housekeeper Gloria Satterfield SEPTEMBER 16: Murdaugh surrenders to police OCTOBER 14: Murdaugh is charged with stealing life insurance money from housekeeper Gloria Satterfield's kids JULY 14, 2022: Murdaugh charged with the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul Advertisement Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility