Phil Barber testifies in Murdaugh request to move trial to Charleston
During court testimony, witness Phil Barber refutes claims regarding a lack of affordable lodging near the Charleston County Courthouse. Barber explains that nine budget hotels in Mount Pleasant are only a 15-minute drive from the judicial facility. He also addresses parking accessibility and notes that weekend hotel price increases would not impact weekday court proceedings.
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A South Carolina judge on Tuesday granted a request by Alex Murdaugh that the double-murder retrial for the disgraced attorney be relocated to a new venue.
Judge Debra McCaslin ruled that the trial will take place in Sumter County. Defense lawyers argued that Colleton County’s jury pool was tainted by the highly covered original trial.
In her order, McCaslin wrote that Murdaugh can receive a fair trial in Sumter County, adding that it offers adequate security measures, courtroom facilities, and technological capabilities to conduct proceedings.
Alex Murdaugh attends a judicial hearing on Monday, June 29, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, South Carolina. Murdaugh will be retried in the June 7, 2021, shooting deaths of his wife and son, after his original conviction was overturned due to 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.
Fox News Digital 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 WINS NEW TRIAL AFTER COURT CLERK ALLEGEDLY TOLD JURORS NOT TO BE ‘FOOLED’ BY DEFENSE
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.
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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.
Fox News Digital’s Wehner contributed to this report.
