LEXINGTON COUNTY — Alex Murdaugh is scheduled to appear at a pretrial hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, at 10 a.m. in the Lexington County courthouse. The hearing aims to set deadlines for the exchange of evidence between legal teams and to schedule future proceedings, including a trial.

This hearing follows the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision in May 2026 to overturn Murdaugh's murder convictions and life prison sentence. Murdaugh is charged with killing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his son, Paul Murdaugh, whose bodies were found outside their home in 2021.

A jury convicted Murdaugh of two counts of murder in 2023, and he received a life sentence without parole. The Supreme Court's ruling indicated that the Colleton County clerk of court's instructions to jurors, suggesting they watch Murdaugh's body language, implied guilt. Additionally, the justices expressed concern that testimony regarding Murdaugh's financial crimes against vulnerable clients could have unfairly prejudiced jurors during the murder trial.

Murdaugh's defense attorneys have filed several requests in anticipation of upcoming hearings and the retrial. They requested that Murdaugh be allowed to wear civilian clothes and remain unshackled during court appearances. The defense attorneys wrote, "Mr. Murdaugh's convictions for non-violent, white-collar crimes in no way justify presenting him to the jury pool as a shackled prisoner in a prison jumpsuit via video cameras at televised pretrial hearings."

The defense also filed a motion asking prosecutors to provide DNA found under Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails for testing at a private lab. Investigators previously stated this DNA belonged to an unknown man unrelated to the case. Furthermore, defense lawyers requested that the next trial take place outside of Colleton County.

Murdaugh's attorneys also requested that he be given a laptop without internet access in prison to review evidence. Murdaugh, who is 58 years old, is currently incarcerated in a South Carolina prison and is serving a 40-year federal sentence and a 27-year state sentence for financial crimes. He pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $12 million from clients and his family's law firm. He was disbarred during his legal troubles and has consistently denied shooting his wife and son since their bodies were found in 2021.