South Carolina judge allows prior testimony and grants venue change for Alex Murdaugh murder retrial

A South Carolina Circuit Court judge said jurors in Alex Murdaugh's double-murder retrial may hear testimony he gave at his first trial and approved the defense's request for independent DNA testing of evidence from Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails. The judge also granted a change of venue, finding that a fair and impartial trial is unlikely in Colleton County.

"When you testify in a case, there are consequences," Judge Debra McCaslin said at a status hearing. "I’m going to allow it in, subject to what is being testified to in the trial."

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian argued that the county had become hostile to the defense, describing it as "poison" and claiming the courthouse was "the scene of the crime." Prosecutor Creighton Waters responded that the issue was not pre-trial publicity but whether prospective jurors could uphold their oath to be fair and impartial.

McCaslin noted that during the 2023 trial, fewer than one in seven prospective jurors qualified to serve, and she does not believe Murdaugh can receive a fair trial in Colleton County. She said a formal order will later designate the new county for the retrial.

Murdaugh was indicted in July 2022 for the 2021 killings of his wife Margaret, 52, and son Paul, 22. A 2023 jury convicted him, but the state Supreme Court overturned the verdict, citing improper comments by then-Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill that may have influenced jurors. Hill later pleaded guilty to misconduct and was sentenced to probation.