Topline: Alex Murdaugh’s new murder trial is set to begin April 5, 2027, after South Carolina’s high court overturned his convictions over concerns that jurors were improperly influenced.
Published: June 30, 2026 7:00 am ET
Must Read
Alex Murdaugh, left, and his wife Maggie Murdaugh, middle, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh.
LEXINGTON, SC — Alex Murdaugh returned to court Monday and learned he will be tried again on charges that he killed his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, with a new judge setting the retrial to begin April 5, 2027.
According to WPXI and bundled follow-up coverage from Fox31 and other outlets, Murdaugh’s 2023 murder convictions and life sentence were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court after justices found the Colleton County clerk of court improperly influenced jurors during the first trial.
Prosecutors have said Murdaugh killed his wife and younger son in 2021 because he believed sympathy over their deaths would buy him time to fix financial crimes that were closing in on him after his son’s drunken boat crash killed a teenager and brought more scrutiny to the family. Murdaugh has denied killing his family and said he found their bodies outside the family’s home.
The Supreme Court said former clerk Rebecca Hill crossed a line when she told jurors to watch Murdaugh’s body language while he testified and not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he said. The justices called that suggestive of guilt. The court also questioned how much testimony jurors heard about Murdaugh’s other financial crimes, saying it may have unfairly turned them against him in a trial that should have stayed focused on the killings.
Hill later pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the case, though not jury tampering. The report said she admitted showing sealed court exhibits to a photographer and lying about it, and also pleaded guilty to charges including obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office tied to a book she wrote about the trial. She was sentenced to three years of probation.
Murdaugh, 58, appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit Monday as Circuit Court Judge Debra McCaslin set discovery deadlines and other hearing dates. McCaslin told the attorneys she was new to the case and wanted complete explanations rather than assumptions based on the first trial. The hearing drew a packed courtroom filled with local and international media outlets, television crews and podcasters chronicling the latest chapter of the saga.
Murdaugh is still serving a 40-year federal sentence and a 27-year state sentence after pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and his family’s law firm. During the hearing, defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian argued Murdaugh should be allowed to wear civilian clothes because jurors otherwise would see him in chains around his hands, waist and feet even though his existing convictions are for financial crimes. Prosecutor Creighton Waters countered that moving incarcerated defendants always creates security risks.
The defense also asked for prison access to a laptop without internet so Murdaugh can review the evidence without lawyers having to print and deliver everything to him. Harpootlian said the case now involves more than 20,000 pages of documents. Another defense request seeks private lab testing of DNA found under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails, which investigators previously said belonged to an unknown and unrelated man. McCaslin indicated the defense could pay for that testing.
Defense lawyers also want the retrial moved out of Colleton County, where the killings happened and where the first trial was held, but that issue was not decided Monday. Investigators have long pointed to digital evidence, including a cellphone video taken by Paul Murdaugh near the dog kennels shortly before the shootings, as a key part of the case because prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on it after he had originally claimed he was asleep.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Alex Murdaugh Retrial Set for April 2027 After Murder Convictions Overturned
Alex Murdaugh’s new murder trial is set to begin April 5, 2027, after South Carolina’s high court overturned his convictions over concerns that jurors were improperly influenced.
By Aaron Stephensen
Published: June 30, 2026 7:00 am ET
Alex Murdaugh, left, and his wife Maggie Murdaugh, middle, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh.
LEXINGTON, SC — Alex Murdaugh returned to court Monday and learned he will be tried again on charges that he killed his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, with a new judge setting the retrial to begin April 5, 2027.
According to WPXI and bundled follow-up coverage from Fox31 and other outlets, Murdaugh’s 2023 murder convictions and life sentence were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court after justices found the Colleton County clerk of court improperly influenced jurors during the first trial.
Prosecutors have said Murdaugh killed his wife and younger son in 2021 because he believed sympathy over their deaths would buy him time to fix financial crimes that were closing in on him after his son’s drunken boat crash killed a teenager and brought more scrutiny to the family. Murdaugh has denied killing his family and said he found their bodies outside the family’s home.
The Supreme Court said former clerk Rebecca Hill crossed a line when she told jurors to watch Murdaugh’s body language while he testified and not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he said. The justices called that suggestive of guilt. The court also questioned how much testimony jurors heard about Murdaugh’s other financial crimes, saying it may have unfairly turned them against him in a trial that should have stayed focused on the killings.
Hill later pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the case, though not jury tampering. The report said she admitted showing sealed court exhibits to a photographer and lying about it, and also pleaded guilty to charges including obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office tied to a book she wrote about the trial. She was sentenced to three years of probation.
Murdaugh, 58, appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit Monday as Circuit Court Judge Debra McCaslin set discovery deadlines and other hearing dates. McCaslin told the attorneys she was new to the case and wanted complete explanations rather than assumptions based on the first trial. The hearing drew a packed courtroom filled with local and international media outlets, television crews and podcasters chronicling the latest chapter of the saga.
Murdaugh is still serving a 40-year federal sentence and a 27-year state sentence after pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and his family’s law firm. During the hearing, defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian argued Murdaugh should be allowed to wear civilian clothes because jurors otherwise would see him in chains around his hands, waist and feet even though his existing convictions are for financial crimes. Prosecutor Creighton Waters countered that moving incarcerated defendants always creates security risks.
The defense also asked for prison access to a laptop without internet so Murdaugh can review the evidence without lawyers having to print and deliver everything to him. Harpootlian said the case now involves more than 20,000 pages of documents. Another defense request seeks private lab testing of DNA found under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails, which investigators previously said belonged to an unknown and unrelated man. McCaslin indicated the defense could pay for that testing.
Defense lawyers also want the retrial moved out of Colleton County, where the killings happened and where the first trial was held, but that issue was not decided Monday. Investigators have long pointed to digital evidence, including a cellphone video taken by Paul Murdaugh near the dog kennels shortly before the shootings, as a key part of the case because prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on it after he had originally claimed he was asleep.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
Must Read
Editor Picks
Latest Articles
Alex Murdaugh Retrial Set for April 2027 After Murder Convictions Overturned
Alex Murdaugh’s new murder trial is set to begin April 5, 2027, after South Carolina’s high court overturned his convictions over concerns that jurors were improperly influenced.
By Aaron Stephensen
Published: June 30, 2026 7:00 am ET
Alex Murdaugh, left, and his wife Maggie Murdaugh, middle, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh.
LEXINGTON, SC — Alex Murdaugh returned to court Monday and learned he will be tried again on charges that he killed his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, with a new judge setting the retrial to begin April 5, 2027.
According to WPXI and bundled follow-up coverage from Fox31 and other outlets, Murdaugh’s 2023 murder convictions and life sentence were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court after justices found the Colleton County clerk of court improperly influenced jurors during the first trial.
Prosecutors have said Murdaugh killed his wife and younger son in 2021 because he believed sympathy over their deaths would buy him time to fix financial crimes that were closing in on him after his son’s drunken boat crash killed a teenager and brought more scrutiny to the family. Murdaugh has denied killing his family and said he found their bodies outside the family’s home.
The Supreme Court said former clerk Rebecca Hill crossed a line when she told jurors to watch Murdaugh’s body language while he testified and not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he said. The justices called that suggestive of guilt. The court also questioned how much testimony jurors heard about Murdaugh’s other financial crimes, saying it may have unfairly turned them against him in a trial that should have stayed focused on the killings.
Hill later pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the case, though not jury tampering. The report said she admitted showing sealed court exhibits to a photographer and lying about it, and also pleaded guilty to charges including obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office tied to a book she wrote about the trial. She was sentenced to three years of probation.
Murdaugh, 58, appeared in an orange prison jumpsuit Monday as Circuit Court Judge Debra McCaslin set discovery deadlines and other hearing dates. McCaslin told the attorneys she was new to the case and wanted complete explanations rather than assumptions based on the first trial. The hearing drew a packed courtroom filled with local and international media outlets, television crews and podcasters chronicling the latest chapter of the saga.
Murdaugh is still serving a 40-year federal sentence and a 27-year state sentence after pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and his family’s law firm. During the hearing, defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian argued Murdaugh should be allowed to wear civilian clothes because jurors otherwise would see him in chains around his hands, waist and feet even though his existing convictions are for financial crimes. Prosecutor Creighton Waters countered that moving incarcerated defendants always creates security risks.
The defense also asked for prison access to a laptop without internet so Murdaugh can review the evidence without lawyers having to print and deliver everything to him. Harpootlian said the case now involves more than 20,000 pages of documents. Another defense request seeks private lab testing of DNA found under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails, which investigators previously said belonged to an unknown and unrelated man. McCaslin indicated the defense could pay for that testing.
Defense lawyers also want the retrial moved out of Colleton County, where the killings happened and where the first trial was held, but that issue was not decided Monday. Investigators have long pointed to digital evidence, including a cellphone video taken by Paul Murdaugh near the dog kennels shortly before the shootings, as a key part of the case because prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh’s voice can be heard on it after he had originally claimed he was asleep.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
Must Read
