Topline
The South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and ordered a new trial in the killing of his wife and son in 2021, revitalizing a case that captivated the country.
The former South Carolina attorney still faces decades in prison for financial crimes.
TNS
Key Facts
The South Carolina Supreme Court, in a unanimous vote, ruled that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill “egregiously attacked” Murdaugh’s credibility and defense in comments she made to the jury.
“Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice,” the court wrote, accusing Hill of “shocking jury interference” during the trial through “improper external influences.”
Hill pleaded guilty in December to perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct after prosecutors alleged she made sealed evidence available to the media, lied under oath about doing so and used her position in court to promote her book about the trial.
Key Background
Murdaugh, 57, was sentenced to two life sentences after he was convicted in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and his 22-year-old son, Paul, on his South Carolina estate. The trial spanned more than five weeks and drew national attention, spawning podcasts, books and a Hulu miniseries. Murdaugh, the scion of a prominent local family with a well-known personal injury law firm and ties to the local district attorney’s office, claimed he was visiting his mother at the time his wife and son were killed and only found their bodies. He then confessed he lied about his whereabouts, admitting he had been near where his wife and son were killed, but his defense argued his lies were because of a painkiller addiction. Prosecutors placed Murdaugh at the scene, however, citing a video taken on Paul Murdaugh’s phone with Alex Murdaugh’s voice in the background.