By Anna Commander
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Once prominent South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh may get another day in court as his legal team confirmed they plan to file for a new trial after what they call newly "discovered evidence," South Carolina news station WCSC reported Sunday.
On March 2, the 54-year-old Murdaugh was found guilty on two charges of first-degree murder for the 2021 killings of his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22. The following day at his sentencing, Murdaugh was given life in prison without parole. The 11-person jury deliberated for under three hours following the six-week trial.
Before being sentenced, Murdaugh maintained his innocence—as he had done when he took the stand during the trial.
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"I'm innocent, I would never hurt my wife Maggie and I would never hurt my son Paw Paw," he said before his sentence was announced by the judge. "I respect this court, but I'm innocent. I would never, under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie and I would never under any circumstances hurt my son Paw Paw."
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Attorney Dick Harpootlian, who previously represented Murdaugh during his murder trial, scheduled a news conference for Tuesday afternoon in Columbia, South Carolina, he told Newsweek on Monday. Harpootlian also confirmed to Newsweek his intent to file for a new trial, but declined to elaborate on what the newly discovered evidence is.
Criminal defense attorney and legal analyst, Sara Azari, took to X, previously known as Twitter, to comment on the news on Sunday and wrote, "Big time s***! #TheStormsAComin #AlexMurdaugh."
Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer also reacted on X on Sunday evening and wrote, "Interesting. #Alexmurdaugh appeal may be based on jury bias and "newly discovered" evidence. His defense team will hold a press conference Tuesday at 2:30 EDT to discuss. I will definitely be in attendance."
Murdaugh is currently appealing the convictions as Harpootlian tweeted in March: "Today [Jim Griffin] and I filed our notice of appeal for Alex Murdaugh. This is the next step in the legal process to fight for Alex's constitutional right to a fair trial. No amount of vitriol or misguided attacks will stop us from pursuing due process for Alex to the fullest extent of the law."
Newsweek has reached out to legal analysts for comment via social media and email.
Most recently, Murdaugh lost his phone privileges for 30 days after his lawyer recorded him reading journal entries on a call for a documentary about his case, South Carolina Corrections Department officials said last week.
In a post to X, the department wrote last week that Murdaugh "has been convicted of two internal disciplinary charges involving a news interview and using another inmate's PIN number to make a call."
The department also sent a letter to Murdaugh's attorneys explaining that their conduct is prohibited by their inmate-interview policy.
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