Alex Murdaugh is scheduled to return to court Monday on charges that he killed his wife and son, in a pretrial hearing expected to offer limited legal substance but considerable public attention as fascination with the true crime case continues.
The South Carolina Supreme Court last month threw out Murdaugh’s murder convictions and life sentence. Monday’s proceeding is expected to focus mainly on setting deadlines for evidence exchanges between prosecutors and the defense, along with scheduling future hearings and possibly a new trial date.
Media organizations ranging from global news agencies and local television stations to true crime podcasters are expected at the Lexington County courthouse, ready to document every gesture, expression and reaction from the once-wealthy, powerful Southern attorney.
The appearance offers a rare opportunity to see how prison has affected the 58-year-old Murdaugh, who still faces decades behind bars in South Carolina after pleading guilty to stealing roughly $12 million from clients and his family’s law firm.
One issue may be addressed before the 10 a.m. hearing begins. Although Murdaugh remains incarcerated, his attorneys are asking the judge to let him appear in civilian clothing and without wrist or ankle restraints at all hearings and during any retrial.
“Mr. Murdaugh’s convictions for non-violent, white-collar crimes in no way justify presenting him to the jury pool as a shackled prisoner in a prison jumpsuit via video cameras at televised pretrial hearings,” defense attorneys wrote in their request.
Murdaugh’s legal team has also submitted other pretrial motions, including a request for prosecutors to release DNA found beneath his wife’s fingernails for testing at a private laboratory. Investigators previously said the DNA came from an unknown, unrelated man.
Defense attorneys also want Murdaugh, who was disbarred amid his legal troubles, to have a prison laptop without internet access so he can review evidence without requiring the entire file to be printed. They are also seeking to move the next trial out of Colleton County, where the killings occurred and the first trial was held.
While admitting he is a thief, insurance cheat, liar and bad lawyer, Murdaugh has adamantly denied shooting to death his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.
A jury convicted him of two counts of murder in 2023 and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
But during that trial, a few jurors said the Colleton County clerk of court, assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh’s body language when he testified in his own defense and to not be fooled, confused or thrown off by what he might say.
The state Supreme Court ruled that was a suggestion Murdaugh was guilty and overturned his convictions.
The justices also were concerned that days of testimony at the murder trial centered around how Murdaugh stole from clients, many of them in dire straits.
Brief testimony is fine, but details such as how some of the people Murdaugh stole from were disabled or vulnerable could unfairly turn against him jurors who should be focused just on whether he killed his family, the justices said.
Murdaugh remains in a South Carolina prison as he serves a 40-year federal sentence at the same time as a 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes.
