The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously overturned Alex Murdaugh’s 2023 convictions for the 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul on May 13, 2026, ordering a new trial [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. The court ruled that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill improperly influenced the jury, denying Murdaugh a fair trial [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Hill told jurors to closely watch Murdaugh’s body language and cautioned them "not to be fooled" by defense evidence [1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8].
Hill pleaded guilty in December 2025 to perjury, obstruction of justice, and misconduct related to her conduct during the case and promoting a book about the trial [4, 5, 9, 7, 8]. The South Carolina Supreme Court justices said, "Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury," and "We have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influence on the jury" [1].
Murdaugh, 57, was convicted in March 2023 for the murders of his 52-year-old wife Maggie and 22-year-old son Paul, who were killed at the family’s hunting estate in June 2021 [1, 3, 4]. The original trial lasted six weeks, ending with a guilty verdict in less than three hours of jury deliberation [1, 3, 6]. He is serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders and an additional 40-year federal sentence for financial crimes [1, 3, 4, 9, 7].
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said the court’s decision blamed Rebecca Hill’s conduct for the reversal, not anyone else, and announced plans to retry Murdaugh quickly with all legal options, including the death penalty, on the table [10, 11]. He added, "We are disappointed in the court’s decision. We respect this court, we respect the members of the court, but we strongly disagree with their reasoning" [10].
Murdaugh’s defense plans to request a change of venue, expanded jury screening, and possibly juror sequestration for the retrial, citing concerns that jurors had been pre-conditioned by Hill’s interference [12]. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said, "We now have the ability to get people's social media, their Instagrams, all of that. And we'll scour that before they ever get a chance to appear" and accused Hill of encouraging jurors "not to believe Murdaugh" [12]. Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters noted the difficulty of avoiding outside influence, saying, "The genie is out of the bottle" and stressing that jurors must base decisions solely on courtroom evidence [12].
The new trial is expected to be scheduled soon as state prosecutors prepare to retry the case.
