How Alex Murdaugh Could Get a New Trial After Being Convicted of Killing Wife and Son

Alex Murdaugh — the disgraced former South Carolina attorney who was slapped with two life sentences after being convicted of killing his wife and son in 2021 — could get a new murder trial and potentially walk on the charges.

The state’s Supreme Court agreed to hear the 56-year-old’s appeal, which is based on a damning accusation that a fame-hungry clerk tampered with his jury.

The opioid-addicted scion — whose influential family was said to lord over Hampton County for nearly a century — was found guilty last year of gunning down his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and son Paul, 22, in a scheme to collect insurance money and cover up financial crimes against his clients.

But that conviction could get thrown out after his defense team learned Colleton County Court Clerk Rebecca Hill urged jurors “not to be fooled” by Murdaugh’s “tearful testimony” claiming he was innocent.

Critics charge Hill was gunning for a guilty verdict to bolster sales for her self-published book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders.

Renowned New York City attorney Peter Gleason exclusively tells In Touch if the stunning accusation is verified, a new trial is necessary.

“If they indeed have a court official influencing or attempting to influence a jury, that is outrageous misconduct that would warrant a new trial,” says Gleason. “And if it is true, this clerk should face criminal consequences!”

Murdaugh’s first jury tampering appeal was rejected by Chief Justice Jean H. Toal in January — even though one juror admitted, “To me [Hill] made it seem like he was already guilty.”

At the time, Toal determined Hill made “fleeting and foolish comments” because she was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity,” then reaffirmed the conviction due to insufficient evidence.

But a second appeal, filed by defense attorney Dick Harpootlian, a state senator, and cocounsel James M. Griffin, convinced the state’s highest court that jurors may have been swayed by Hill, who’s facing 76 counts of misconduct for using her office for personal financial gain.

Even if Murdaugh gets a new trial — and secures an acquittal — it’s unlikely he’ll go free because the disbarred attorney was also hit with 40-year sentences in federal and state prisons for swiping dough from his law firm and clients — including a state trooper who became a quadriplegic in a job-related car crash.

Meanwhile, Murdaugh is also still awaiting trial on conspiracy charges for allegedly hiring a hitman to shoot him in a botched scheme to funnel life insurance money to his surviving 31-year-old son, Buster.