The case was adjourned for lawyer Alex Murdaugh after he was convicted of the death of his wife and son

Alex Murdaugh’s murder charges and sentence were thrown out Wednesday by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the clerk of court in his case found him guilty, but the disappointed attorney won’t be getting out of jail anytime soon.

Prosecutors say they plan to try Murdaugh again, meaning another lengthy trial in what has become a true crime through a combination of money, power, Southern rhetoric and deception. It has spawned numerous broadcast miniseries, best-selling books and dozens of true crime podcasts.

Murdaugh, 57, will remain in prison. He pleaded guilty to stealing approximately $12 million from his clients and is currently serving a 40-year sentence.

Prosecutors have said they will seek to try him again for murdering Murdaugh, while Attorney General Alan Wilson said he respects the court’s decision but no one is above the law.

Murdaugh’s lawyers said the trial would look very different, as jurors also ruled out days of evidence in the murder trial about how Murdaugh stole from clients – many of whom are in dire straits – should not be allowed in the future.

Still, the verdict is a win for Murdaugh, who has admitted to being a thief, a liar, an insurance fraud and a bad lawyer, but has denied murdering his wife, Maggie, and young son, Paul, since he found their bodies outside their home in 2021.

“Alex has said from day one that he did not kill his wife and son. We look forward to a new trial,” Murdaugh’s attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said in a joint statement.

Clerk ‘attacks Murdaugh’s credibility’

In their unanimous decision Wednesday, the South Carolina Supreme Court said the conduct of Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill “seriously attacked Murdaugh’s credibility” by suggesting to jurors that his testimony was unreliable.

Several jurors said Hill, who was assigned to preside over the evidence and the judge during the trial, told them to watch Murdaugh’s body language when he testified in his own defense and not be fooled, confused or put off by what he had to say.

“By imploring the jury not to be fooled or to believe Murdaugh’s defense, Hill persuaded the jury to find him guilty, the last issue in the case,” the judges wrote. They added that his comments indicate that there is something unusual and suspicious about his decision to testify.

Hill “put his fingers on the scales of justice, thereby denying Murdaugh his right to a fair trial by an impartial jury,” the judges wrote. “Our justice system provides – indeed demands – that everyone has the right to a fair trial.”

The court said Hill’s motivation was “crying for celebrity” and his intention was to increase sales of his book in the case. Behind the Doors of Justice: Murdaugh’s Killers. It was withdrawn from publication after allegations of plagiarism.

“As the title of his book suggests, it appears that Hill has been busy behind the scenes of justice, undermining the integrity of the justice system he is sworn to protect and preserve,” the justices wrote in the unsigned 27-page decision.

Hill’s attorney in his criminal case did not return a call or email seeking comment.

Hill pleaded guilty to lying about what he said and did during Murdaugh’s trial, including showing crime scene photos to several members of the media. The reporters were not identified and the photos were not described at his hearing in December.

“The court correctly described his behavior as ‘breathtaking,’ ‘disgraceful,’ and ‘unprecedented in South Carolina,'” Murdaugh’s attorneys said.

Prosecutors argued that the clerk’s comments were brief and that the evidence against Murdaugh was overwhelming.

Warned of evidence of theft

Jurors also have a warning for the next jury to try a murder case: be aware of how much evidence Murdaugh stole from his law firm and clients to allow those jurors to hear.

Some of the short evidence of how Mudaugh stole is good, as evidence of how it could connect to the murder of his wife and son. But the court said information such as how some of the people Murdaugh was with were disabled or vulnerable would unfairly incriminate him if they were to focus solely on the fact that he killed his family.

Investigators say Murdaugh was addicted to drugs and his elaborate schemes to steal money from clients and his family’s law firm were beginning to unravel when he fatally shot his young son, Paul, and his wife, Maggie, with a shotgun at their Colleton County home in 2021.

Murdaugh told investigators he didn’t see them for an hour or more before he found their bodies, but his voice was recorded on a video on his son’s phone made about five minutes before the killing.

The weapons used in the killings have not been found and prosecutors have not presented clothing with DNA or blood evidence.