Murdaugh defense outlines next steps after South Carolina Supreme Court orders new murder trial

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WTOC) - Alex Murdaugh’s defense team says it plans to ask a judge to move his next murder trial out of Colleton County and to change how jurors are questioned, after the South Carolina Supreme Court ordered a new trial this week.

The court’s decision overturned Murdaugh’s 2023 murder convictions in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. The justices found that the Colleton County clerk of court at the time, Becky Hill, improperly influenced jurors during the weeks of the trial.

Defense: Change venue and expand juror questioning

Attorney Dick Harpootlian, who represents Murdaugh, said one of the first steps his team expects to take is filing a motion for a change of venue away from Colleton County.

“We will make a motion to change venue, and if they want it quickly, they should agree,” Harpootlian said. “Clearly, we can’t get a fair trial in Colleton County, let’s try and find a place to go and do it by consent.”

Harpootlian also said the defense will seek a different approach to selecting an impartial jury.

One option, he said, is asking the court to allow attorneys to directly question prospective jurors during jury selection — a process known as attorney-conducted voir dire.

In South Carolina, that type of questioning is typically reserved for murder cases in which the death penalty is being sought.

If such a motion were granted, it could also allow attorneys to review prospective jurors’ social media accounts as part of screening for bias, the defense argues.

The defense has said the goal is to determine whether potential jurors have already heard about the case or formed opinions — a challenge in a case that has drawn national attention.

Timeline uncertain; judge not yet assigned

No new trial date has been set, and Harpootlian said the process cannot move forward until the state’s chief justice appoints a judge to preside over the case.

“I think we all want to get it going as quickly as possible, but the chief justice hasn’t even appointed a judge in this matter. Then there are all kinds of motions and discovery, we have to go look at the discovery we got 4–5 years ago and see if it’s been updated or needs to be updated,” Harpootlian said.

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said Wednesday he would like a new trial to begin before the end of the year.

Harpootlian said he does not believe that timeline is realistic, and he could see the case going back to trial around this time next year.

Defense says Murdaugh maintains innocence

Harpootlian said Murdaugh has not wavered from his claim that he did not kill Maggie and Paul, and he said his client was surprised by the ruling granting him a new trial.

“When we got the ruling on Wednesday, he read it and talked about it, he still couldn’t believe. Could not accept the fact that he’d won this and was going to get a new trial. I talked to him just 15 minutes ago, he’s accepted it and is looking forward to his new trial,” Harpootlian said.

The defense has also indicated it may seek to revisit evidence from years ago and potentially introduce additional evidence in the next trial, though Harpootlian did not detail what that evidence may be.