The South Carolina Supreme Court has approved Alex Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial. This means his previous convictions of murder in the deaths of his wife and youngest son are overturned. 

Murdaugh Family Murders

Alex Murdaugh, 57, was convicted on March 2, 2023, of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son, Paul Murdaugh. While he admitted to several financial crimes and a drug addiction during the trial, he has maintained his innocence of harming his family. 

The former high-profile personal injury attorney appealed his conviction in December 2024 and was granted a hearing to hear oral arguments, which both sides presented on February 11, 2026. 

Clerk Pleads Guilty

The key point that granted him this second chance was Rebecca “Becky” Hill, who served as the Colleton County Clerk of Court during Murdaugh’s six-week-long murder trial. She was accused of improper communications with the jury and charged with obstruction of justice and perjury, to which she pleaded guilty.

The investigation into her served as a win for Murdaugh’s defense team, and they accused her of suggesting to the jurors that the defendant was guilty. They argued she was biased and would comment on the situation while they were around. 

Supreme Court Issues Ruling

In the unanimous ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court, they addressed both sides’ arguments. “Both the State and Murdaugh’s defense skillfully presented their cases to the jury as the trial court deftly presented their cases to the jury as the trial court deftly presided over this complicated and high-profile matter,” the decision read. 

“However, their efforts were in vain because Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill placed her fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.”

One of the jury members, identified as Juror “Z” in court documents, said that Hill told the jurors “not to be fooled” by the evidence Murdaugh’s attorneys were presenting and told them to “watch him closely” and “look at his actions.”

Egg Lady Juror

When rendering their decision, the justices also considered Hill’s involvement with juror 785, also known as the “Egg Lady,” who the jury dismissed after the clerk questioned her about social media posts and if she had been speaking to her ex-husband.

Murdaugh’s attorneys attached an affidavit to their motion for a new trial, explaining that juror 785 said that, “Hill, knowing the juror’s fears about her ex-husband, informed her that law enforcement officers questioned the ex-husband about the posts, offered to reinstate restraining orders Juror 785 had against him, and speculated that the ‘Murdaughs probably got to’ the ex-husband when he called Juror 785 on the morning of the verdict.”

New Trial Granted

The justices are aware of the impact their decision will have to send it back to the trial court and acknowledged that while “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.”

Murdaugh’s appeal also addressed other aspects they believe went wrong during his first trial, such as the lack of physical evidence, improper testimony by prosecution witnesses, and the wrongful introduction of the financial crimes. 

The justices agreed that the evidence related to the financial crimes was fundamental to the state’s theory of motive for the murders, but said it should have been “limited,” and that the prosecution’s presentation went beyond the necessary details.

Murdaugh was initially sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders. In addition, his financial crimes got him 40 years in federal prison and 27 years in state prison, both sentences he has not appealed.