Alex Murdaugh’s upcoming retrial may be moved to Richland County, South Carolina, as his attorneys push to take the high-profile double-murder case out of the Lowcountry. The defense argues that the Columbia-area venue would provide a broader jury pool while also easing expensive logistical concerns.
In court filings submitted Monday, obtained by WIS in Columbia and reviewed by News Outlet, Murdaugh’s legal team formally asked the court to designate Richland County as the site of the new trial.
The request follows a Friday ruling by Judge Debra R. McCaslin, who determined that Murdaugh’s retrial must be relocated from Colleton County but stopped short of naming where it should be held.
At the hearing, defense attorney Phillip D. Barber pushed back on concerns that holding proceedings in Charleston would be more expensive than other locations across South Carolina.
Alex Murdaugh, dressed in street clothing, enters the courtroom for a hearing Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. (Tracy Glantz/Pool Photo via AP)
“You don’t think the cost of living is higher in Charleston?” prosecutor Creighton Waters asked.
“McDonald’s is the same price in Charleston as anywhere else,” Barber replied.
Now, in the latest motion, Barber and the rest of Murdaugh’s defense team are urging the court to send the retrial to Richland County.
Murdaugh was granted a new trial after the South Carolina Supreme Court found former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced jurors during his 2023 murder trial, undermining his right to a fair proceeding.
Alex Murdaugh, right, confers with defense attorney Richard A. Harpootlian during his 2023 double-murder trial in South Carolina. (AP Images)
“The size of the potential jury venire is on a scale comparable to Charleston, thus giving a much greater opportunity to find an impartial jury,” the defense wrote. “Further, although not an absolute requirement, the racial demographics are similar to Colleton.”
Murdaugh’s team said a Richland County trial would eliminate the need for either side to book hotel rooms for attorneys, staff or South Carolina Law Enforcement Division witnesses.
The April 5, 2027, trial is scheduled during the Masters Tournament. Prosecutors argued the event could make it harder to find hotel rooms in Richland County, but the defense said the first week would likely be spent selecting jurors, reducing the need for lodging.
Alex Murdaugh, right, is shown here with his family. (Fox News)
“The State objected that the Masters golf tournament during the first trial week might make Richland County accommodations unavailable, but it is unlikely witnesses would need hotel rooms during the first trial week because that week will be mostly or entirely consumed by jury selection,” the defense wrote.
The defense also asked McCaslin to consider its costs, arguing it does not have the state’s “nearly limitless resources.”
“It was Defendant’s constitutional rights, not the State’s, which were violated by the intentional conduct of Becky Hill, an elected state official,” Murdaugh’s team wrote. “One reason Defendant suggested Charleston is that the defense has access to offices near the courthouse.”
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill outside her South Carolina home on May 23, 2026. (Kat Ramirez for News Outlet)
“The State of course has offices at every courthouse in South Carolina,” the defense continued. “It is appropriate that the Court act to protect the people of Colleton County from costs created by their own elected official’s unexpected criminal conduct, but it would be inappropriate to do so by imposing excessive and avoidable costs on the victim of her conduct.”
At his 2023 trial, Murdaugh acknowledged misleading investigators about his location shortly before his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were shot, but he has consistently denied killing either of them.
News Outlet has reached out to both the defense and prosecution for comment.
