13 May 2026 , 22:31
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The disgraced lawyer won’t be leaving prison any time soon with prosecutors seeking an immediate retrial at the South Carolina Supreme Court.
The Murdaugh case became a true crime sensation because of the combination of money, power, Southern accents, and treachery.
Murdaugh, 57, will remain in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing around $12 million from his clients and currently is serving a 40-year federal sentence.
Prosecutors said they would aggressively seek to try Murdaugh again on the murder charges with state Attorney General Alan Wilson saying he respected the court’s decision but no one is above the law.
Murdaugh’s lawyers pointed out that the trial will look a lot different, as the justices also ruled days of evidence at the murder trial about how Murdaugh stole from clients, many of them in dire straits, shouldn’t be allowed next time.
Still, the ruling is a win for Murdaugh, who admits to being a thief, liar, insurance cheat, and bad lawyer, but has adamantly denied killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.
‘Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son. We look forward to a new trial,’ Murdaugh’s lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin said in a joint statement.
Investigators said Murdaugh was addicted to opioids and his complex schemes to steal money from clients and his family’s law firm were starting to unravel when he shot his younger son, Paul, with a shotgun and his wife, Maggie, with a rifle, at their home in Colleton County in 2021.
Murdaugh told investigators he hadn’t seen them for an hour or so before he discovered their bodies, but his voice was recorded in a video on his son’s phone made about five minutes before the killing.
The weapons used in the killings have not been found and prosecutors did not present any clothes with DNA or blood evidence.
Deputy Editor