Overview
- At a pretrial hearing on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, Judge Debra McCaslin ruled the retrial must be held outside Colleton County and the 14th Judicial Circuit because an impartial jury cannot be found there after juror influence by the county clerk.
- McCaslin said portions of Alex Murdaugh’s testimony from his 2023 trial may be admitted at the new trial, but she limited use to material relevant to the murders and subject to trial-stage rulings.
- The judge granted the defense permission to pursue additional independent DNA testing on the partial profile recovered from under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails and asked the team to provide quantitative results for further court review.
- McCaslin deferred a decision on the defense motion to dismiss the indictments that alleges investigator misconduct and false grand-jury testimony, leaving that dispute for later briefs and hearings.
- Defense lawyers raised an unverified claim linking an Allendale County shooting to weapons tied to the case and the judge directed prosecutors to check records; prosecutors reported SLED found no known ballistics match so far.