Sumter County chosen for Murdaugh retrial
Alex Murdaugh covers his mouth while listening to statements at a status hearing for his retrial on Friday, Aug. 14, in Lexington.
Henry Taylor | The Post and Courier / Pool
Alex Murdaugh looks to his attorney Dick Harpootlian during a status hearing ahead of Murdaugh's retrial Friday, Aug. 14, in Lexington.
Henry Taylor | The Post and Courier / Pool
Murder defendant Alex Murdaugh looks back to his legal counsel in a status hearing ahead of his retrial Friday, Aug. 14, in Lexington.
Henry Taylor | The Post and Courier / Pool
Posted
Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder retrial scheduled for April 2027 will be held in Sumter County, the presiding judge ordered today, Tuesday, Sept. 8.
The new courthouse venue, in the town of Sumter, is 80 miles from Walterboro (Colleton County), where the initial trial was held in 2023.
Sumter is about 60 miles from the Lexington County courthouse where Murdaugh’s pretrial hearings have been held since the S.C. Supreme Court threw out his convictions this May.
The new courthouse venue, in the town of Sumter, is 80 miles from Walterboro (Colleton County), where the initial trial was held in 2023.
Sumter is about 60 miles from the Lexington County courthouse where Murdaugh’s pretrial hearings have been held since the S.C. Supreme Court threw out his convictions this May.
Judge Debra McCaslin said Sumter County will enable Murdaugh to have a fair and impartial trial on the charges that he fatally shot his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul.
McCaslin said the new venue has the necessary security measures, courtroom facilities, technological capabilities and supporting infrastructure.
Murdaugh’s defense attorneys had requested moving the trial to Charleston County or Richland County. State prosecutors left the decision up to the judge.
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