Live updates: Alex Murdaugh back in SC courtroom after murder conviction tossed
Three years after he was led out of court in chains, convicted of brutally murdering his wife and son, disgraced Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh returns to a South Carolina courtroom Monday for the first hearing since his murder conviction was overturned.
On May 13, the S.C. Supreme Court set aside Murdaugh’s 2023 conviction in the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul, shot to death at the Murdaugh family home in Colleton County five years ago.
Murdaugh is appearing in a Lexington County courtroom Monday morning ahead of a potential second trial on those murder charges.
Monday’s pretrial hearing will deal with motions filed by attorneys as they prepare to retry a case that attracted global attention to a county courthouse in Walterboro where Murdaugh was first tried in 2023.
The hearing before Judge Debra McCaslin at the Lexington courthouse is bringing together many familiar faces from that widely televised trial: defense attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters, as well as Murdaugh himself.
A line of people hoping to get into the courtroom had started forming outside the courthouse early Monday morning, with some hopefuls arriving as early as 4 a.m. to maximize their chances of getting a seat inside.
Proceedings are being livestreamed by CourtTV, and The State is posting updates here as the hearing unfolds.
10:35 a.m.
Attorneys are discussing whether Murdaugh will be able to review secret grand jury material from his S.C. prison.
Harpootlian says Murdaugh could review digital copies of materials on a tablet without internet connectivity. Waters objects that attorneys could show their client material during meetings but must keep the materials themselves. Harpootlian would like to leave it with the prison warden for Murdaugh to review.
10:22 a.m.
Judge McCaslin says she would like to set a trial date. “I hope you brought your calendars,” she said. “I will move an old case.”
Harpootlian said if they receive DNA evidence, it could take their examiners up to six months to review it. He says they can’t be adequately prepared by the end of the year.
10:15 a.m.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters says the state has turned over “extensive” discovery to the defense. “If anything, defense has more than the state does.” Harpootlian says “we don’t know what we don’t know.”
On DNA evidence that was recovered from Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails from an unknown individual, Waters says the state doesn’t believe there’s any evidence it was the result of a struggle. “It’s very common to have DNA from others, from shaking hands,” he says. “It’s a bit of a red herring.”
10:12 a.m.
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian says the defense team has heard from several witnesses they forwarded to SLED with what they believe is new information on the Murdaugh case, including “One (who) had extraordinary evidence tying Paul’s murder to Stephen Smith,” another Hampton County teen who died suspiciously. He says they don’t know if that information has been followed up on by SLED.
10 a.m.
Judge McCaslin has arrived in the courtroom. “Looks like we have a full house,” the judge says.
Murdaugh is also now seated at the defense table in his orange prison jumpsuit.
9:45 a.m.
The attorneys for both sides are now in the courtroom awaiting the arrival of Judge McCaslin. Alex Murdaugh has not made an appearance yet. He is expected to be wearing his prison uniform during this hearing.
This story was originally published June 29, 2026 at 8:45 AM.
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