Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, appeared in court again Monday for a pretrial hearing that is likely to be short on substance but long on spectacle. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Associated Press.
Murdaugh's murder convictions and life sentence were overturned last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The only goals of Monday's hearing are to set deadlines for exchanging evidence between the defense and prosecution, and to figure out dates for other hearings and possibly the next trial.
Dozens of media outlets, from international agencies to local TV stations to true crime podcasters, are heading to the Lexington County courthouse to again chronicle every forehead rub and quizzical look from the once rich and imposing Southern lawyer.
It's a rare chance to see up close how prison life has changed the 58-year-old Murdaugh, who still has decades to serve in a South Carolina prison after pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and his family's law firm.
Before the hearing, Murdaugh's lawyers asked the judge to allow him to wear civilian clothes and not have his wrists or ankles shackled. "Mr. Murdaugh's convictions for non-violent, white-collar crimes in no way justify presenting him to the jury pool as a shackled prisoner in a prison jumpsuit," defense attorneys wrote.
Murdaugh's attorneys have also filed other pretrial motions. One asks prosecutors to turn over for testing at a private lab DNA found under his wife's fingernails that investigators said was from an unknown and unrelated man.
While admitting he is a thief, insurance cheat, liar and bad lawyer, Murdaugh has adamantly denied shooting to death his wife and son in 2021. A jury convicted him of two counts of murder in 2023 and he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
But during that trial, a few jurors said the Colleton County clerk of court told them to watch Murdaugh's body language when he testified and to not be fooled. The state Supreme Court ruled that was a suggestion Murdaugh was guilty and overturned his convictions.
The justices also were concerned that days of testimony about Murdaugh's thefts from clients could unfairly turn jurors against him. Murdaugh remains in a South Carolina prison serving a 40-year federal sentence and a 27-year state sentence for his financial crimes.