Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh is no longer a convicted murderer after the state’s top court determined he was denied his right to a fair trial.
On Wednesday, May 13, the South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously ruled to overturn Murdaugh’s convictions for the murders of his former wife Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and youngest son Paul Murdaugh, 22. Judges determined that Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca“Becky” Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice” and interfered with his trial by suggesting to jurors they couldn’t trust Murdaugh’s testimony. According to KCTV, they also ruled the trial judge went too far in allowing evidence of Murdaugh’s financial crimes into his murder trial.
Murdaugh, 57, received two life sentences following his convictions in March 2023—then concluding a sensational six-week examination dubbed South Carolina’s “trial of the century”—but prosecutors now seek to retry him “as soon as possible.” Murdaugh has repeatedly denied that he killed his ex-wife and son in June 2021.
Although the latest ruling has added yet another wrinkle into the case, it will actually do little to change Murdaugh’s status given his other convictions for financial crimes in state and federal court. Here’s what you need to know about his family and the complicated history of his case.
Who are Alex Murdaugh and his family?
Richard Alexander Murdaugh is a member of a prominent legal family in the South Carolina Lowcountry region. Three generations of his family—his great-grandfather, grandfather, and father—served over 87 years as solicitor for the state’s 14th Judicial Circuit, an influential elected position that oversees prosecutions throughout the area.
Murdaugh met his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Branstetter, when both were attending the University of South Carolina. They married in 1993 and later had two sons, Buster and Paul.
The Murdaugh family lived in Hampton, South Carolina, before relocating to their sprawling Moselle property in nearby Islandton. At around 1,700 acres, the complex contained their house, dog kennels, a cabin, and stretches of swamp land.
Maggie met with a divorce lawyer in April 2021, about six weeks before she and Paul were murdered. Paul had previously been in the spotlight as the suspected driver in a 2019 fatal boating accident in Beaufort County, South Carolina, that resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
Why Did Prosecutors Allege Alex Murdaugh Killed His Family?
Prosecutors didn’t identify a specific potential motive, but suggested Murdaugh may have killed his wife and son because his life was spiraling out of control. Murdaugh later testified about his history of drug use in court.
Maggie was living separately from Alex at the time she was murdered on June 7, 2021, and hours before her death, she texted a friend to say Alex was “up to something” and acting “fishy.” He had asked her to meet him at the family compound so they could visit his terminally ill father.
Maggie and Paul’s bodies were found near dog kennels on the property. Paul had been shot in the head and chest at close range with a shotgun, while Maggie was shot several times with a semi-automatic rifle. Alex called the police, claiming he had been at the hospital visiting his father and found the bodies upon his return.
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However, cell phone data and video contradicted Alex’s alibi and placed him at the scene of the crime before their deaths. He was arrested in July 2022, and his trial began on January 25, 2023. Taking the stand in his own defense, Murdaugh denied killing his wife and son but admitted he lied about his whereabouts, blaming “paranoid thinking” due to his drug use.
After six weeks of testimony, the jury convicted Murdaugh of murder after deliberating for only three hours. “Justice was done today,” prosecutor Creighton Waters said after the verdict. “It doesn’t matter who your family is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or people think you have. It doesn’t matter what you think—how prominent you are. If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina.”
Murdaugh was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Did Alex Murdaugh appeal his convictions?
Yes. Almost immediately after his murder convictions in March 2023, Murdaugh filed an appeal. “I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never under any circumstances hurt my son,” the disgraced lawyer said before he was sentenced for his family’s murders.
Then in early September, Murdaugh filed a motion for a new trial on the grounds of jury tampering. Murdaugh’s attorneys alleged court clerk Rebecca Hill made comments to jurors in the case telling them to not be “fooled” by defense testimony and to “watch out” for Murdaugh’s body language during the trial.
An appeals court decided the new trial request could proceed.
In January 2024, Hill testified that she never spoke about the case or Murdaugh with any jurors but acknowledged that she used “literary license” to complete her 2023 book about the case, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.
According to The Washington Post, Judge Jean Toal determined that any possible comments made to jurors during the trial didn’t directly influence their decision to find Murdaugh guilty and the appeal for a new one was denied. Toal also determined that while transcripts of the case showed “some fleeting and foolish comments” by Hill, her words didn’t actively change the minds of the 12 jurors in convicting Murdaugh.
In December 2025, Hill pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to showing sealed court exhibits from the case to a photographer and lying about it in court. She was sentenced to a year of probation.
While South Carolina’s highest court ultimately ruled in favor of Murdaugh and his legal team, the former attorney won’t be going free as he awaits his new trial.
What are Murdaugh’s financial crimes?
Prior to his wife and son’s murders, Murdaugh had already been wrapped up in alleged financial crimes for years. According to his federal indictment, Murdaugh was involved in three different schemes between 2005 and 2021 to obtain money and property from his clients while he was working as a personal injury attorney in Hampton, South Carolina.
This included diverting his clients’ settlement funds to his own personal accounts, as well as conspiring with banker Russell Laffitte to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Laffitte was convicted of these crimes in November 2022. Murdaugh has also been accused of defrauding the estate of his former housekeeper Gloria Satterfield, who died after a fall at the Murdaugh home in 2018.
As part of his September 21, 2023, guilty plea in federal court on 22 charges for financial crimes, any sentence Murdaugh received—eventually determined to be 40 years in prison—would “be served concurrent to any state sentence imposed for the same conduct.” The agreement also required Murdaugh to pay restitution for his victims, forfeit $9 million in assets, and work with the government to repay victims and locate missing assets. Murdaugh cried as he discussed the guilty plea with a judge, claiming he was entering the plea so that his son Buster would see him take responsibility for his actions.
Meanwhile, South Carolina prosecutor Creighton Waters called Murdaugh’s plea deal in the state case a “unique and unprecedented sentence” on white collar crimes. As part of the deal, Murdaugh must serve at least 85 percent of his 27-year sentence, or roughly 23 years.
So although Murdaugh is no longer ordered to spend the rest of his life in prison for murder, he will remain there for the foreseeable future based on his other transgressions.
Where is Alex Murdaugh now?
Murdaugh is serving his sentence in an undisclosed maximum-security prison and has been placed in a protective custody unit for additional protection, as notorious inmates are often at risk when housed in general population. He lives in an 8-by-10-foot cell with only a bed, toilet, and sink.
Murdaugh lost his prison phone and canteen privileges for breaking the rules about phone calls after he read journal entries to his attorney Jim Griffin in June 2023. Griffin recorded the call and provided it to the media. The South Carolina Department of Corrections said this violates rules intended to prevent victims of a crime from having to see or hear the person who victimized them on the news. According to an official report, the recording was for the Fox Nation documentary The Fall of the House of Murdaugh, which released its first three episodes in late August 2023.
Murdaugh’s living son, Buster, has said he believes his father is innocent and didn’t receive fair treatment from the jury during his trial. However, he admits that it is “a fair assessment” to say that the lies and manipulative behavior his father has exhibited could be described as psychopathic.
“Certainly, I think there are characteristics where you look at the manipulation and the lies and the carrying out of that such, and I think that is a fair assessment,” said the 29-year-old, who testified at trial about his father’s drug addiction. Yet, Buster also insists that his father didn’t receive a fair shake from the jury. “I do not believe it was fair,” Buster said. “I think, unfortunately, a lot of the jurors felt that way prior to when they had to deliberate. It was predetermined in their minds prior to when they ever heard any shred of evidence that was given.”
In addition to The Fall of the House of Murdaugh, Alex and his family were the subject of another true crime docuseries. The second season of Netflix’s Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal was released in September 2023. The series debuted on the streaming platform in February 2023, covering not only Alex’s trial but also other family scandals, like the death of Mallory Beach.
In October 2025, Hulu debuted the eight-part drama series Murdaugh: Death in the Family starring Patricia Arquette as Maggie and Jason Clarke as Alex.
Colin McEvoy joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had spent 16 years as a journalist, writer, and communications professional. He is the author of two true crime books: Love Me or Else and Fatal Jealousy. He is also an avid film buff, reader, and lover of great stories.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
