Alex Murdaugh’s Convictions for Murder of Wife, Son Overturned

The South Carolina Supreme Court reversed Alex Murdaughconvicted of murder and ordered a retrial after being accused of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaughand a son Paul Murdaugh June 2021.

On Wednesday, May 13, the court announced that it was overturning the conviction because it believed that the first case was tainted by the “improper” influence of the county clerk. Becky Hill.

“While we are aware of the time, money and effort spent on this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s undue outside influence on the jury and the maintenance of a new trial,” the jury wrote in a 5-0 vote, according to CNN.

Alex, who was a prominent lawyer for a South Carolina royal family, was convicted by a jury in March 2023 of allegedly murdering Maggie and Paul.

The trial lasted six weeks and there was a lot of evidence that Alex, 57, stole millions of dollars from his clients, as well as his law firm.

Alex testified at the trial and denied killing Maggie and Paul, although he did admit to stealing the money. Additionally, he admitted he lied to investigators about his whereabouts shortly before his wife and son were killed.

After a controversial trial, Alex was given two life sentences for murder. He also pleaded guilty to multiple financial crimes, leading to concurrent sentences and state sentences of 27 and 40 years.

Alex’s lawyers appealed the murder charges in March 2023. The lawyers argued that their client’s case was tainted by the district clerk’s inappropriate comments to the jury, as well as prejudicial testimony and other failures in the trial.

However, prosecutors argued that Alex should still be found guilty because the evidence against him was overwhelming and “clearly guilty,” per CNN.

While prosecutors agreed that the clerk’s comments were inappropriate, they argued that they did not have a significant impact on the larger scheme of the case.

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Alex’s appeal centers on comments Hill allegedly made to jurors, with his lawyers saying he influenced the jury during the trial and implied he was guilty of telling jurors to “look at his body.” Several jurors confirmed that Hill made the comments in affidavits and testimony, although most jurors said they did not hear the comments.

January 2024, retired South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal ruling that Hill’s comments did not influence the jury’s decision and denied Alex’s motion for a new trial. However, Toal said he found Hill’s comments to the jury to be inappropriate and believes Hill was “attracted to the celebrity buzz” because of the high profile of the case.

Hill was charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in May 2025, according to WLOS. After he pleaded guilty in December 2025, he was sentenced to three years in prison.