The South Carolina supreme court on Wednesday overturned the murder convictions of Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney, due to “shocking jury interference” and ordered a new trial in the 2021 killing of his wife and son.

In a unanimous opinion, the justices said that “although we are aware of the time, money, and effort expended for this lengthy trial, we have no choice but to reverse the denial of Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial” because of what they described as “improper external influences on the jury” by a court clerk during the trial, according to CNN.

Because of what they described as “shocking jury interference” by the court clerk during the trial, the court’s justices said that “we are accordingly constrained to reverse the post-trial court’s denial of Murdaugh’s motion and remand for a new trial consistent with this opinion”.

Murdaugh, 57, was convicted by a jury in 2023 for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and his 22-year-old son, Paul. He received two life sentences. Separately, he pleaded guilty to financial crimes and is now serving concurrent state and federal sentences of 27 and 40 years.

More details soon…