Murdaugh’s story has been told in projects such as Hulu’s 2025 limited series “Murdaugh: Death in the Family.”

Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder conviction overturned on appeal, new trial ordered

Murdaugh's story has been told in projects such as Hulu's 2025 limited series "Murdaugh: Death in the Family."

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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May 13, 2026 8:59 p.m. ET

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Alex Murdaugh in court in 2022. Credit:

Tracy Glantz/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty

- In 2023, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of having murdered his wife and son.

- The case prompted a flurry of projects, including a fictional series on Hulu, documentaries, and podcasts.

- The South Carolina Supreme Court has now tossed out the convictions, citing interference with the jury.

The double-murder conviction against Alex Murdaugh was overturned Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court, marking a major new development in a case familiar to fans of pop culture.

The attorney from a prominent family had been found guilty of murdering his wife and son on March 2, 2023, following more than a month of trial.

On June 7, 2021, Alex called 911 to report that he'd found his wife, Maggie, 52, and the younger of their two sons, 22-year-old Paul, shot to death at the family hunting estate in Islandton, S.C., upon returning from a visit to his mother.

But, on March 2, 2023, a jury found him guilty of two counts or murder and two counts of possession of a weapon. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. (Eight months later, he pleaded guilty to 22 state financial crimes, as part of a plea deal, and he was sentenced to 27 years in prison. In April 2024, Alex was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for those crimes.)

Where is Alex Murdaugh now? Inside the case that became a true crime obsession

See the 'Murdaugh: Death in the Family' cast side-by-side with the real people they play

The decision to reverse the murder convictions was reached after the court found "shocking jury interference" by the court clerk who worked with jurors, according to the *New York Times*.

"Alex has said from Day 1 that he did not kill his wife and son," Alex's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, told the outlet. "We look forward to a new trial conducted consistent with the Constitution."

Lawyers for Alex had taken issue with the conduct of Rebecca "Becky" H. Hill, the clerk of court, insisting that she had a bias against the defendant. Hill later wrote a book about the trial, *Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders*, and left her position.

Jason Clarke stars in 'Murdaugh: Death in the Family'.

Disney/Daniel Delgado Jr.

Per PEOPLE, Murdaugh will remain in prison on his other convictions.

The story of the Murdaugh family has been retold in projects including podcasts and, on TV, Hulu's *Murdaugh: Death in the Family*, a 2025 limited series that starred Jason Clarke as Alex and Patricia Arquette as Maggie. Johnny Berchtold portrayed Paul.

Among others, it was also chronicled in two high-profile documentaries: HBO's three-part *Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty* in 2022 and, in 2023, *Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal* on Netflix.

- Documentary True Crime Shows

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Source: “EW Documentary”