Murdaugh saga continues
State supreme court overturns conviction in family murders
Alex Murdaugh listens March 4, 2023, as prosecutor Creighton Waters makes closing arguments during his double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C.
A lex Murdaugh, the former attorney who was sentenced to life in prison for the double murder of his wife and son, had those convictions overturned May 13 when the South Carolina Supreme Court said a clerk improperly influenced the trial jury.
The decision does not affect a separate case, in which Murdaugh confessed to and was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for a multimillion-dollar financial fraud crime spree.
Here's what to know:
What was overturned?
The court's decision focuses on a double murder conviction. Murdaugh's wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, were shot to death on the family's South Carolina property in June 2021, sparking an investigation that drew national attention and media coverage. The investigation also led police to reopen cases of other deaths and accusations of further crimes that went back years.
Murdaugh, whose full name is Richard "Alex" Murdaugh, was found guilty in 2023 of the murders of his wife and son and charges for possession of a weapon. Murdaugh took the stand during his trial and denied being behind the killings but admitted to lying about his whereabouts that day.
The case was the subject of documentaries, including a popular Netflix offering in 2023.
Murdaugh appealed his conviction, alleging jury tampering and other accusations. The appeal made it to the state's Supreme Court, the Greenville News reported.
Why was it overturned?
At the center of the ruling were the actions of a clerk who later co-authored a tell-all book, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders."
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill's comments to jurors and other actions tainted the trial, his defense said.
Murdaugh's attorney Richard Harpootlian said Hill made statements to discredit Murdaugh's trial testimony to jurors, including: "Don't be fooled" by the defendant's arguments, "Don't let them confuse you" and "Watch his actions."
Prosecutors meanwhile disputed some of the statements and dismissed others as "non egregious," the Greenville News reported.
"Hill's shocking jury interference was accomplished outside the presence and knowledge of the outstanding trial judge and superbly competent and professional counsel for the State and the defense," the state Supreme Court justices wrote in their 5-0 decision.
Can he be retried?
Murdaugh is entitled to a new murder trial, but it will be up to state prosecutors to decide if they will retry the case or dismiss it, the Greenville News reported.
If the South Carolina Attorney General's Office does prosecute again, the state's Circuit Court system will schedule a new trial and its venue.
State Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office would seek to retry Murdaugh as soon as possible.
Will he be released?
Murdaugh is serving a concurrent 40-year sentence for his federal conviction on 22 charges that included bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. During his federal trial, prosecutors said he stole from his legal clients and his firm. He admitted to financial crimes but appeared to blame them on an opiate addiction. That sentence remains unchanged.
The decision also does not affect his 27-year state sentence for financial and drug crimes.
What was the case about?
The Murdaughs were a prominent family in South Carolina, and they ran a prosecutor's office in Hampton County for decades. Murdaugh was disbarred in 2022 after the case unraveled criminal allegations.
Maggie and Paul were shot and killed at the family's estate on June 7, 2021. Investigators put the killings between 9 and 9:30 p.m. that day. Murdaugh told authorities he found them dead shortly after 10 p.m. and wasn't home when they were shot.
Prosecutors said after Murdaugh was charged that he shot his family members to gain sympathy while he tried to cover up financial crimes. While he ultimately admitted to the financial charges, he denied killing his wife and son. He suggested he believes they were killed because of a 2019 boat crash Paul was involved in that killed a 19-year-old, Mallory Beach.
Court filings from a survivor of that crash alleged a possible conspiracy between the Murdaugh family and law enforcement, the Greenville News, part of the USA Today Network, reported.
Police also reopened an investigation of the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, 19, in what was deemed a hit-and-run, citing evidence uncovered while investigating the Murdaugh murders.
Murdaugh was shot in the head but survived in September 2021 in what state police described as an attempted life insurance scheme so his surviving son, Buster, would get his $10 million life insurance policy. He also misappropriated insurance proceeds after the 2018 death of his housekeeper Gloria Satterfield.
He eventually pleaded guilty to 22 state financial and drug-related charges.
