The South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial after he was accused of killing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son Paul Murdaugh in June 2021.
On Wednesday, May 13, the court announced they were overturning the guilty verdict because they believed the original trial was damaged by the “improper” influence of county clerk Becky Hill.
“Although we are aware of the time, money and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial,” the justices wrote in a 5-0 vote, according to CNN.
Alex, a once prominent attorney from a South Carolina legal dynasty, was convicted by a jury in March 2023 for allegedly murdering Maggie and Paul.
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The trial lasted six weeks and featured extensive testimony that claimed Alex, 57, stole millions of dollars from his clients, as well as from his own law firm.
Alex testified during the trial and denied that he killed Maggie and Paul, though he did admit to committing financial theft. Additionally, he admitted that he lied to investigators about his whereabouts just before his wife and son were killed.
Following the high-profile trial, Alex was handed two life sentences for the murder charges. He also pleaded guilty to dozens of financial crimes, leading him to serve concurrent state and federal sentences of 27 and 40 years.
Alex’s attorneys appealed the murder convictions in March 2023. The attorneys argued that their client’s trial was tainted by a county clerk’s improper comments to jurors, as well as prejudicial evidence and other failures at trial.
However, prosecutors argued that Alex should still be found guilty because the evidence against him was overwhelming and he was “obviously guilty,” per CNN.
While the prosecutors acknowledged that the clerk’s comments were inappropriate, they argued that they did not make a large impact in the grand scheme of the trial.
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Alex’s appeal focused on alleged comments that Hill made to the jurors, with his attorneys claiming that she improperly influenced jurors during the trial and implied he was guilty by telling the jurors to “watch his body language.” A few jurors confirmed that Hill made the comments in affidavits and in testimony, though the majority of the jurors said they did not hear the comments.
In January 2024, retired South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal determined Hill’s comments did not influence the jury’s verdict and denied Alex’s request for a new trial. However, Toal said that she found Hill’s comments to the jury to be improper and she believed that Hill was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” due to the high-profile status of the case.
Hill was charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in May 2025, according to WLOS. After she pleaded guilty to the charges in December 2025, she was sentenced to three years of probation.
