Nancy Grace slams Alex Murdaugh retrial: ‘Second verse, same as first’
Former prosecutor Nancy Grace reviews Alex Murdaugh’s upcoming trial in Beaufort, South Carolina, following the dismissal of his murder charges. He predicts a change of scenery and then discusses the defense’s strategy to present a new story, focusing on new requests for DNA testing related to Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails.
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A South Carolina judge found crime reporter Alex Murdaugh and broadcaster Mandy Matney in contempt of court and ordered him to pay $171,500 in attorneys’ fees and costs, as well as a $5,000 fine, after concluding that he willfully refused to comply with a subpoena in a case tied to the Murdaugh family.
In a 22-page order filed Monday, District Judge R. Keith Kelly concluded that Matney had knowingly defied a valid subpoena and a previous court order to appear at the hearing, dismissing his claim that security concerns justified his refusal.
The contempt action stems from a long-running civil lawsuit stemming from the 2019 Mallory Beach fatal boat accident. Parker’s stores are among the defendants accused of selling alcohol to Paul Murdaugh before the fatal crash, while Matney has been called as an unrelated witness.
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Podcaster and Murdaugh crime reporter Mandy Matney attended the Netflix premiere of “Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.” A South Carolina judge later found Matney in contempt for his failure to appear in court. (Getty Images)
Beach, 19, died in a February 2019 crash in Beaufort County. Paul Murdaugh was later charged with boating while intoxicated, but those charges were dropped after he and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, were shot and killed at the family’s hunting lodge in Colleton County in June 2021.
The Beach family’s lawsuit against members of the Murdaugh and Parker families alleges that the liquor store illegally sold alcohol to Paul Murdaugh’s minors before the accident. The case eventually helped expose Alex Murdaugh’s finances as investigators uncovered the disgraced attorney’s financial crimes.
Paul and Alex Murdaugh smile in a family photo on Facebook. (Facebook)
Kelly wrote that Matney refused to appear in the Bluffton area on March 27 despite acknowledging that he understood that the court had rejected his efforts to withdraw the subpoena and ordered his motion to proceed. Instead, he stayed at another law office in Bluffton while Parker’s lawyers waited in a rented space.
The order notes that Matney instead appeared by Zoom at another law office in Bluffton.
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Podcaster and Murdaugh crime reporter Mandy Matney reacts while testifying during a court hearing in South Carolina. A judge found Matney guilty and ordered him to pay $171,500 in costs and attorneys’ fees, as well as a $5,000 fine. (Getty Images)
“Based on the foregoing, there is clear and convincing evidence that Ms. Matney’s failure to appear was not the result of confusion, error, or incompetence, but rather a willful decision to ignore the subpoena and Court Order dated March 16, 2026 that required her to be withdrawn within 14 days,” Kelly wrote.
Kelly also found Matney’s explanation that he feared for his safety was not credible, writing that there was “no credible evidence” to support his allegations that Parker’s lawyers were trying to harass or endanger him.
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Kelly pointed to Matney’s social media posts after the conviction, including photos of her eating lemon cake with attorney Mark Tinsley and later dining in Savannah. The judge called the documents “evidence of his intention to waive his obligation to appear at the designated place where the desktop will be placed.”
Parker’s lawyers initially sought more than $310,000 in fees and costs, but Kelly reduced the award by about 45%, ordering Matney to pay $171,500, plus a $5,000 fine.
The court awarded Bannister, Wyatt and Stalvey, LLC $39,900; $45,950 to Deborah B. Barbier, LLC; and $85,650 to Maynard Nexsen, PC.
Matney criticized Monday’s decision on Facebook.
“I am not upset that Judge R Keith Kelly found me in contempt of court. I am upset that he is ordering me to pay an unprecedented amount of legal fees ($171,000 + $5,000 in fines),” he wrote.
“South Carolina’s justice system is exactly what I’ve been saying – it’s WRONG,” he added. “And this is my punishment for calling like that.”
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Kelly wrote that there was “no convincing evidence” to support Matney’s repeated allegations that Parker’s lawyers were using the plea process to harass or bully him.
He also concluded the contempt proceedings stemming from Matney’s conduct, writing that if he had already been charged or accepted one of the many places offered, “he would not have been before the Court in contempt.”
