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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Alex Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, but the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned that murder verdict in May 2026 and ordered a new trial. That ruling was not an acquittal. Murdaugh remains imprisoned for separate financial-crime convictions, and prosecutors say they intend to retry him for the killings.
What happened at Moselle
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot and killed on June 7, 2021, at Moselle, the family’s property in South Carolina. Alex Murdaugh called 911 to report the shootings. He was later charged with their murders.
The case against him relied in part on digital evidence. A 50-second Snapchat video recorded on Paul’s phone shortly before the killings captured the voices of Alex, Maggie and Paul, according to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Journal of Federal Law and Practice. Prosecutors argued that the video contradicted Murdaugh’s initial account to law enforcement. Phone extraction data and information from the OnStar system in his 2021 Chevrolet Suburban helped prosecutors develop a timeline.
Those details describe evidence presented in the original trial and the prosecution’s interpretation of it. Because the murder verdict has been set aside, they should not be mistaken for a final adjudication of the charges.
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How the original murder case ended—and why the verdict was overturned
The 2023 conviction
After a six-week trial, a jury convicted Murdaugh on March 2, 2023, of two murders and two weapons offenses. The jury deliberated for three hours before returning the guilty verdict, according to the DOJ journal. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The South Carolina Supreme Court’s 2026 ruling
Murdaugh sought a new trial, alleging that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill improperly influenced jurors. In its May 13, 2026 opinion, the South Carolina Supreme Court recounted evidence that Hill made comments to jurors about not being fooled by the defense, watching Murdaugh closely and expecting deliberations not to take long.
The court held that the improper external influence created a presumption of prejudice that the State had not rebutted. It reversed the denial of Murdaugh’s new-trial motion and sent the murder case back for further proceedings. The court’s decision concerned the fairness of the trial; it did not find Murdaugh innocent or decide whether he committed the killings.
“Hill’s shocking jury interference was accomplished outside the presence and knowledge of the outstanding trial judge and superbly competent and professional counsel for the State and the defense.”
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Why Murdaugh is still in prison
The murder case is separate from Murdaugh’s financial-crime convictions. He admitted to financial crimes during the original murder trial and later pleaded guilty to financial crimes in state and federal court, according to the Supreme Court opinion.
The schemes described by the court included stealing client funds, diverting law-firm money through accounts and misappropriating insurance proceeds associated with the death of former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield. The South Carolina Attorney General’s office reported a 27-year state sentence for financial crimes. Netflix Tudum’s 2026 explainer reports concurrent 40-year federal and 27-year state sentences. These convictions remain in place independently of the murder case.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What prosecutors said about motive
The killings came amid other crises involving the Murdaugh family. In February 2019, Paul Murdaugh crashed the family’s boat in Beaufort County; Mallory Beach went missing and her body was recovered several days later. A wrongful-death lawsuit followed.
At the murder trial, prosecutors argued that financial pressure connected to the boat-crash litigation and Murdaugh’s law firm supplied a motive for the killings. That was the prosecution’s theory, not a separate court finding establishing why the deaths occurred.
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The South Carolina Supreme Court assigned Judge Debra R. McCaslin jurisdiction over future retrial matters in an order dated June 8, 2026. The Associated Press reported on June 29 that the retrial was set to start on April 5, 2027; Netflix Tudum describes that date as tentative. In August, the AP reported that the trial would move out of Colleton County, but its report did not identify a final venue.
As of October 8, 2026, the reported start date is therefore tentative, and the sources cited here do not establish the final trial location or the outcome of all pretrial motions. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said his office would seek a new trial:
“While we respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision, my Office will aggressively seek to retry Alex Murdaugh for the murders of Maggie and Paul as soon as possible.”
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