COLUMBIA, S.C. (Court TV) — Convicted killer and disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh takes his fight for a new trial to the state’s highest court this week.
Alex Murdaugh cries as he addresses the court during his sentencing for stealing from 18 clients, Nov. 28, 2023, at the Beaufort County Courthouse in Beaufort, S.C. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, file)
Alex has maintained his innocence after a jury found him guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and their younger son, Paul, at their home in 2021. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear Alex’s appeal, filed in Dec. 2024, which argues that improper evidence was admitted at trial and also accuses the court clerk of pressuring jurors to reach a guilty verdict.
Court TV’s Trial Archives | Murdaugh Family Murders (SC v. Alex Murdaugh 2023)
Approximately half of the 132-page appeal focuses on evidence from the trial, arguing that very little physical evidence connected Alex to the murders. The appeal argues that witness testimony, including an investigator who said he tossed an iPhone around his office to test how it could be damaged, should not have been presented to the jury. Alex’s attorneys also say that multiple text messages between Alex and his drug dealer, Eddie Smith, in the days before and after the murders were never included in the investigators’ timeline.
The other half of the appeal focuses on Becky Hill, who worked as the Colleton County Clerk of Court during Alex’s trial. Hill, who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter sealed court exhibits and then lying about it, has been accused of improperly influencing the jury. Alex’s attorneys say she made comments to the jury to pressure them to vote guilty and was biased against him for a book that she was writing. Hill has denied making any inappropriate comments to the jury.
Oral arguments are scheduled before the South Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 9:30 am ET.
