Key names to know as Murdaugh double-murder case gets stunning reset
The stranger-than-fiction saga of the Murdaugh family — the Southern legal dynasty unraveled by double murder and massive financial fraud — is heading back to the courtroom for a high-stakes do-over.
Alex Murdaugh, the once-powerful South Carolina attorney whose family name carried courthouse weight for generations, was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, at the family’s Moselle hunting estate in June 2021.
But on May 13, the state Supreme Court unanimously reversed the convictions, finding that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca "Becky" Hill improperly influenced jurors.
Here are key names to know ahead of the second trial.
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Before the murders, Murdaugh was part of a legal dynasty in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as elected prosecutors in the region for more than 80 years, while the family law firm was a legal powerhouse.
At his 2021 murder trial, prosecutors argued that Murdaugh killed his wife Maggie and son Paul as his financial crimes were closing in, hoping the killings would generate sympathy and buy time from his impending money troubles.
While Murdaugh has admitted to stealing money and committing insurance fraud, he has denied the murders.
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In 2023, he was convicted after a six-week trial and sentenced to consecutive life terms without parole. But the convictions were recently overturned, leading to the legal scion’s return to court.
He remains behind bars on state and federal financial-crimes sentences tied to stealing roughly $12 million from clients.
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Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, was Alex Murdaugh’s wife and one of the two victims found dead near the dog kennels at Moselle on June 7, 2021.
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Maggie and Alex were married at the Second Presbyterian Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Aug. 14, 1993.
Maggie was shot four or five times with a rifle, while Paul was shot twice with a shotgun.
In a retrial, Maggie’s death will again be central to the state’s burden. Prosecutors must prove who killed her and Paul, beyond a reasonable doubt, without the benefit of the now-vacated 2023 verdict.
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Paul Murdaugh, 22, was Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s younger son and the second murder victim. Long before his death, Paul was already a controversial figure because of the 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
At the murder trial, Paul became crucial in another way: his cellphone video from the kennels. The state’s case relied heavily on evidence placing Alex Murdaugh at the murder scene shortly before the killings.
Richard "Buster" Murdaugh is Alex and Maggie Murdaugh’s surviving son.
WATCH: Buster Murdaugh: I do not believe the trial was fair
In a Fox Nation series "The Fall of the House of Murdaugh," Buster spoke candidly about his father and his murder trial during an exclusive sit-down interview conducted by Fox News' Martha MacCallum.
"I do not think that he could be affiliated with endangering my mother and brother," he said. "We have been here for a while now and that’s been my stance."
Since the conclusion of the first trial, Harpootlian’s message has been that the first trial was tainted by Hill’s misconduct and that the second trial must be carried out under stricter rules.
Harpootlian, one of Murdaugh’s lead defense attorneys, has already previewed a retrial strategy that includes seeking a venue change, attorney-led jury questioning and possibly sequestering jurors.
Jim Griffin, another Murdaugh defense attorney, has been central not only to the appeal but also to Murdaugh’s civil lawsuit against Hill.
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After the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed Murdaugh’s convictions, Griffin helped announce a lawsuit against Hill. The suit accuses the former clerk of violating Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial and seeks punitive and compensatory damages, as well as $600,000 of attorneys’ fees.
Griffin said the lawsuit was meant to hold Hill accountable and reveal the "entire scope of her conduct."
Creighton Waters is the prosecutor who secured the original guilty verdicts. Now he faces the job of trying to win the case a second time, under a microscope, after the first conviction was blown up.
Waters and Harpootlian have already previewed competing visions for the retrial, with Waters signaling an impending fight over whether Murdaugh can receive a fair jury in South Carolina.
"We depend on our citizens to do what their oath requires them, put aside things that they might have read in the media or in a podcast or whatever, and base their evidence and their decisions solely on the evidence that's presented in the courtroom," Waters told Fox News Digital.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said prosecutors could seek the death penalty if Murdaugh is convicted again.
WATCH: AG vows quick retrial after Supreme Court tosses Murdaugh murder convictions
"We’re back to square one on this case," Wilson said in a statement to Fox News Digital, adding that all legal options were on the table, including the death penalty.
In the first trial, Murdaugh received life without parole. A retrial could, in theory, expose him to something more severe if prosecutors pursue capital punishment and meet the legal requirements.
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South Carolina Supreme Court found Hill exercised "improper external influences" during the first trial.
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According to testimony reviewed by the court, jurors said Hill told them to "watch him closely," "watch his actions" and not be "fooled" by the defense.
The court’s ruling also referenced findings that Hill was drawn by the "siren call of celebrity" and allowed public attention to overcome her duty.
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Hill co-authored a book about the proceedings, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders," which the lawsuit says earned roughly $100,000 before being withdrawn amid plagiarism allegations.
WATCH: Becky Hill walks into Colleton County Courthouse
According to the book’s synopsis, Hill had known the Murdaugh family for decades and was aware of "the rumors of corruption and crime surrounding the Murdaugh family."
WATCH: Murdaugh court clerk Becky Hill appears in South Carolina court for hearing
The state’s Supreme Court said Hill "egregiously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility" by suggesting to jurors that he was guilty and that his testimony could not be trusted. Hill later pleaded guilty to lying about what she said and did during the trial, including showing graphic crime-scene photos to media members.
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Hill had previously pleaded guilty to four charges — obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits and then lying about it, plus two counts of misconduct in office for taking bonuses and promoting a book she wrote on the trial through her public office.
"There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I’m ashamed of them and will carry that shame the rest of my life," Hill said in a statement read to the court.
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She was sentenced to three years of probation.
Beach, 19, died in a 2019 boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh. The crash and ensuing litigation helped drag the Murdaugh family’s power into public view before the killings.
Alex's father, Randolph Murdaugh III, was the top prosecutor overseeing South Carolina's Lowcountry until 2005 — including Beaufort County, where the crash occurred. The family wielded enormous influence in the region.
Paul had taken out five friends in his father's boat Feb. 23, 2019, and they were all drinking heavily. Paul had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit when he smashed into the piling of the bridge.
After the collision, it took more than a week to recover Beach's body about five miles from the crash site.
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In the first trial, the prosecution argued Murdaugh’s financial life was collapsing before the murders due to Beach’s death.