Judge Rules on Convicted Killer Alex Murdaugh New Trial Request After Clerk of Court's 'Fleeting and Foolish Comments'

A South Carolina judge has ruled that convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh will not receive a new murder trial, according to authorities.

After his conviction, Murdaugh’s attorneys asked for a new trial, claiming the court clerk tampered with the jury that found him guilty.

As Front Page Detectives previously reported, a jury found Alex, 55, guilty of brutally murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, at the family’s estate in South Carolina on the night of June 7, 2021, and he is currently serving two consecutive life sentences.

On Oct. 17, 2023, Chief Judge H. Bruce Williams signed an order, which sent the case back to circuit court. That court was tasked with considering allegations of jury tampering by the Colleton County clerk, Front Page Detectives reported.

On Jan. 29, Judge Jean Toal stated the court clerk did make improper comments to the jury, but stated the comments did not influence the verdict it reached, CNN reported.

“I simply do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial such as this on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity influenced clerk of courts,” the judge said.

Judge Toal added, “Now that I’ve read the record, I say as the successive trial judge that the evidence was overwhelming and the jury verdict not surprising.”

However, attorneys for Murdaugh don’t appear to be stopping at this judge’s decision.

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Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian told CNN, “We go from here to Court of Appeals, then South Carolina Supreme Court, if necessary — and then federal court.”

In addition to two life sentences, Murdaugh was sentenced to 27 years for stealing more than $8 million from clients and his former law firm.