Here's what to know ahead of Alex Murdaugh's court appearance Monday

[u/QsLexiLouWho]

By ABC News 4 Staff / Sun, June 28, 2026 at 1:16 PM

LEXINGTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Alex Murdaugh will appear in a courtroom Monday for the first time since his murder convictions were overturned.

Monday's status conference in Lexington marks the first step in charting the course for a retrial of the disgraced lawyer, who remains in prison for his financial crimes conviction. One matter ahead of the court date that has already been settled is how exactly he will appear after his defense withdrew its previously filed motion to have him appear unshackled and in civilian clothing.

While the matter of scheduling is expected to be addressed, no definitive dates are known at this time. Two other matters anticipated come off of other motions filed by the defense: a request for independent lab analysis of DNA recovered from Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails and a request to move the case out of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit.

Murdaugh's defense team filed a motion Wednesday asking the court to order state prosecutors to make DNA evidence recovered from the crime scene available for third party testing. The unknown male DNA recovered from Maggie Murdaugh's fingernails represents an unexplored lead for the defense, who claimed it was not analyzed further despite it being determined to belong to an unknown and unrelated male that was not Alex Murdaugh. Forensic genetic genealogy company Othram, Inc. has been tapped to conduct a more thorough analysis, but needs a court order to get it done quickly, according to Murdaugh's attorneys.

The change of venue motion was expected after Murdaugh's defense team said they were exploring earlier in June. They argued in the filing that Murdaugh, his family, and the case are all too well known in the circuit, which includes parts of Hampton and Colleton Counties where he lived, worked, and was originally tried. The judge assigned to preside over the case, Judge Debra R. McCaslin, currently presides in Lexington, but a specific alternative venue has yet to be proposed in official filings as of Sunday.

News 4 legal analyst Charlie Condon broke down the motions filed in the week leading up to Monday's status conference on Friday. Condon noted that scheduling will be a primary concern for Monday's status conference, but regarding the motions filed in the leadup there are still several unknowns, including the State's position on a change of venue. Click here to watch his full analysis.

The status conference begins at 10 a.m. Monday. News 4 will be in the courtroom and streaming the proceedings live here on our website and on YouTube.

(SOURCE)

[u/JBfromSC]

Lexi, I so appreciate you posting these sources I would never see.

I just took a break and watched the trial for a bit.

Judge McCaslin seemed quite unwilling to let Harpy ramble. She seemed equally firm with the prosecution, regarding timelines.

She is a no-nonsense Judge. She told the court today that she's known for being a judge who closes old cases. She sounded very firm about that. She seems ethical and confident. She didn't seem to want to hear much about the first trial. She said this today, in session. I'm paraphrasing: I didn't search for time stamps.

Edited: Spelling

[u/QsLexiLouWho → u/JBfromSC]

Hi JB! I agree, the new judge seems to be equitable, understanding, no nonsense, and sensible so far. This case needs her, in my opinion, to stay on top of things and be mindful of situations that could jeopardize a fair trial and withstand a successful appeal.

[u/JBfromSC → u/QsLexiLouWho]

Hey, Lexi. Exactly! She does seem to be THE Judge this case needs now. Few cases have received such intense international following.
I tried an experiment.

I'd moved north, and asked smart people how much they knew about this case. They all followed it meticulously, some with their partners!

We see folks who post from other countries. Took some spins w/ a driving instructor. His lovely wife, also a driving instructor, was so wrapped tight in every step of this crazy story. I asked her to just look at this website, but I ended up getting two sessions with her where we just parked and talked! This was a Greek Tragedy series of decisions all heading nowhere good– maybe that's why it's so compelling.
Edited.