Phil Barber testifies in Murdaugh request to move trial to Charleston
Testifying in court, witness Phil Barber pushed back on arguments that affordable places to stay are scarce near the Charleston County Courthouse. Barber said nine lower-cost hotels in Mount Pleasant sit about 15 minutes by car from the courthouse. He also discussed parking availability and pointed out that higher weekend room rates would not affect a trial schedule held during the workweek.
A South Carolina judge on Tuesday approved Alex Murdaugh’s bid to move his upcoming double-murder retrial out of its original venue.
Judge Debra McCaslin ordered that the new trial be held in Sumter County, siding with defense attorneys who maintained that extensive publicity from Murdaugh’s first trial had compromised the jury pool in Colleton County.
McCaslin said in her written order that Sumter County can provide Murdaugh with a fair trial, citing the county’s sufficient courtroom space, security arrangements and technology needed to handle the proceedings.
Alex Murdaugh appears at a judicial hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. Murdaugh is set to face a new trial in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son after his initial conviction was thrown out over jury tampering. (Tracy Glantz/The State via Pool)
“The judge considered several factors including the financial impact on Colleton County, the convenience of witnesses, courthouse security, transportation and security of Murdaugh, courtroom facilities, and technological capabilities,” the order states.
Murdaugh’s attorneys had suggested Charleston or Richland County courthouses for the venue transfer before McCaslin made her ruling.
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News Media has reached out to Murdaugh’s attorneys and prosecutors.
Murdaugh was granted a new trial after the South Carolina Supreme Court determined his right to a fair proceeding was violated when it found that former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill improperly influenced jurors during his 2023 murder trial.
Alex Murdaugh arrives for a judicial hearing on June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. A judge o Tuesday ordered his retrial be moved to Sumter County. Murdaugh will be retried for the June 2021 shooting deaths of his wife and son, after his original conviction was overturned due to jury tampering. (Tracy Glantz/The State via Pool)
As a result, the court unanimously overturned his 2023 convictions and two life sentences.
Murdaugh is charged with murder and weapons offenses for the June 2021 shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and 22-year-old son, Paul, at their family estate.
At his 2023 trial, Murdaugh admitted to misleading investigators about his location shortly before his wife and son were shot, but he has consistently denied killing either of them.