The Alex Murdaugh Retrial: April 5, 2027

On May 13, 2026 the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed Alex Murdaugh’s murder conviction and remanded the case for a new trial. The Court held that comments made to jurors by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill triggered a presumption of prejudice the State could not overcome. Read the full story — including what Shay McNeal witnessed firsthand — on the reversal page.

The Supreme Court reversal →

Evidence of Murdaugh’s Financial Crimes

The decision states on

page 24:

“As to …whether the trial court should have restricted the extent to which the State was allowed to present this evidence; that is, whether the trial court should have excluded some of the evidence— we unanimously hold the trial court allowed the State to go far too long and far too deep into aspects of Murdaugh’s financial crimes that were not probative of the State’s theory of motive, which gave rise to considerable danger of unfair prejudice, and therefore should have been excluded.”

The decision states on

page 25:

“The trial court specifically found Murdaugh’s commission of the financial crimes “does not suggest to the jury that the defendant has a tendency to commit murder.” As we will discuss below, we find considerable unfair prejudice in allowing the State to go as far and deep into detail as it did.”

The decision states on

page 26:

“By our calculation, the State spent a total of 12.5 hours of actual testimony before the jury over ten days of trial to introduce evidence related to Murdaugh’s financial crimes. We are convinced the State could have effectively presented evidence to support its motive theory in a fraction of that time .”

• February 11, 2026 — Appeal heard (Opinion No. 28329)
• May 13, 2026 — Conviction REVERSED AND REMANDED
• April 5, 2027 — New trial begins
• Spring 2027 — The Closing Argument is published