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Pretrial · trial Apr 5, 2027 Pretrial motions — retrial April 2027, venue county sti…

Alex Murdaugh Retrial

At an August 14, 2026 hearing in Lexington County, Judge Debra McCaslin ruled that the retrial cannot be held anywhere in the five-county 14th Judicial Circuit — but she has not yet named the county that will host it, saying she wants to weigh the cost to Colleton County taxpayers first. She also ruled that parts of Murdaugh's own 2023 trial testimony can be used against him, but only the parts about the deaths of Maggie and Paul and only if they clear the ordinary rules of evidence; she barred any mention of polygraphs; and she cleared the way for independent DNA testing of material found under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails. The biggest question is still unanswered: the defense's motion to dismiss the murder indictments outright, on the claim that a SLED agent gave the grand jury physical evidence he later admitted was false, will be argued at a hearing on November 13, 2026, with motions due October 30. The retrial itself remains set for April 5, 2027, and Murdaugh stays in prison regardless of its outcome because of his separate financial-crime sentences. — AP (via Crossroads Today) · WTOC · WACH · ABC Columbia · FITSNews

Alex Murdaugh, 58 — a disbarred South Carolina lawyer and the fourth generation of a family that ran the prosecutor's office in the state's 14th Judicial Circuit for most of a century. He is already serving a 27-year state sentence and a 40-year federal sentence for stealing millions from his own clients. · Two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in 2023; a murder conviction in South Carolina carries a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life without parole.
Not guilty. The defense theory is that someone else killed Maggie and Paul: no murder weapon was ever found, no blood or DNA from the shootings was found on Murdaugh or his clothes, and an unidentified man's DNA was recovered from under Maggie's fingernails. The defense also argues the state's own lead investigator gave the grand jury physical evidence he later admitted was false.
South Carolina Circuit Court — venue undecided · Judge Debra McCaslin · Prosecution: Attorney General Alan Wilson (S.C. Attorney General's Office), Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters (State Grand Jury Division) · Defense: Dick Harpootlian, Jim Griffin, Phillip Barber, Margaret 'Maggie' Fox, Andrew Hand

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Document S.C. Supreme Court opinion (official PDF, Op. No. 28329) Primary legal source · Public record ↗ Document South Carolina Judicial Branch — public index Search by county once the retrial venue is set. · Public record ↗
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How this can end
Indictments dismissed — no retrial at all
The defense's pending motion asks the judge to throw out the murder indictments because, it says, SLED's lead agent gave the grand jury physical evidence he later admitted was false. Dismissing an indictment for that reason is rare, and it would not necessarily be permanent — the state could in principle go back to a grand jury. Murdaugh would still not walk out of prison: he is serving 27 years on state financial crimes and 40 years federally. The motion is set for argument November 13, 2026.
— FITSNews · Court TV · WACH
Venue set — the judge names a county
Judge McCaslin has already ruled the trial leaves the 14th Circuit; what is left is choosing where. The defense first asked for Charleston, then wrote to the judge on August 17 recommending Richland County (Columbia) instead. The state has floated York, Lancaster, Spartanburg, Newberry and Florence. Whichever she picks decides which South Carolinians make up the jury pool — and who pays for a months-long trial. She will announce it in a written order.
— AP (via Crossroads Today) · WIS · WBTV
Retrial proceeds as scheduled on April 5, 2027
Judge McCaslin has said that once she sets a trial date she keeps it. A second jury — in a county the parties are still fighting over — hears the case fresh, under new limits: less financial-crime evidence than in 2023, no polygraph talk, and whatever the DNA retesting produces.
— UPI · ABC Columbia
Guilty of murder (one or both counts)
South Carolina murder carries a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life without parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in 2023. In 2023 the trial judge imposed two consecutive life sentences.
— Washington Post · AP timeline (via WACH)
Not guilty — acquittal on the murders
An acquittal ends the murder case permanently; double jeopardy bars the state from trying him a third time on these charges. It would not free him: he would continue serving 27 years for state financial crimes and 40 years in federal prison for stealing from clients.
— NPR · Post and Courier
Hung jury / mistrial
If the second jury cannot agree, the judge declares a mistrial and the state may try him again — a mistrial is not an acquittal, so double jeopardy does not block a third trial.
— State v. Murdaugh, S.C. Supreme Court (May 13, 2026)

The law behind the verdict, in plain English →

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