Alex Murdaugh's conviction shockingly overturned for life sentences over double-murder of wife and son
A man sentenced to two life sentences has had his murder convictions overturned, though he won't be released from prison as he's serving another sentence.
Alex Murdaugh had his convictions for the murders of his wife and son overturned in a unanimous ruling after the South Carolina Supreme Court found the court clerk in his trial had 'egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility'.
A panel of justices also found that the judge at his trial went too far in allowing evidence of his financial crimes to impact on his murder trial.
He will remain in prison as Murdaugh had pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients, for which he is serving a 40 year federal sentence.
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The 57-year-old had always denied killing his wife Maggie and their son Paul, saying he found their bodies outside his house in 2021, but ended up being convicted of their murders.
The justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Becky Hill, county clerk of Colleton Court, had influenced jurors to find Murdaugh guilty during the murder trial.
She had been assigned to oversee the evidence and the jury during the trial, but she was also writing a book about the case and had been hoping to increase sales.
Hill has pleaded guilty to influencing the jurors in Murdaugh's murder trial towards a guilty verdict, and to obstruction of justice, perjury, and two counts of misconduct in office after admitting she showed sealed crime photos to a reporter.
Legal representatives for Murdaugh argued that there was a lack of physical evidence tying the man to the deaths of his wife and son as no DNA evidence was ever found on him or his clothes despite the victims being killed at close range with powerful weapons.
They also argued that a juror said Hill had made comments urging them to watch his body language and listen to his evidence carefully, which they said removed his presumption of innocence.
Another juror said Hill told them 'not to be fooled' when the defence presented evidence, and when the jury began deliberations she said it 'shouldn't take us long'.
Hill denied making most of the comments the jurors claimed they'd heard her say, but she admitted she had spoken to a bailiff about Murdaugh's decision to take the stand where some of them could hear her and that she'd told them it was a 'big day'.
In a unanimous ruling the judges overturned the convictions and grant the 57-year-old a new trial.
They said: "Although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial due to Hill’s improper external influences on the jury and remand for a new trial."
Alex Murdaugh's case had been the subject of the Netflix documentary Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.
Running for two seasons, it followed a string of incidents between 2015 and 2023 involving Murdaugh and the conclusion to his murder trial.
Joe Harker