SUMTER, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – As Alex Murdaugh’s murder retrial approaches, the Sumter County clerk of court says his staff is preparing for a case that will bring national attention — and questions about how the court will protect the integrity of the proceedings.
The retrial was ordered after the South Carolina Supreme Court found that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill made improper comments to jurors during Murdaugh’s first murder trial. The court ruled that the state had not overcome a presumption that those comments prejudiced the verdict.
Murdaugh’s retrial is scheduled to begin April 5, 2027, in Sumter County. Before then, attorneys are expected in Lexington County for another pretrial hearing, where the defense’s request to dismiss the murder indictments is among the matters the judge has said she wants to address…