Alex Murdaugh back in court for hearing on his murder retrial

Alex Murdaugh returned to court in Lexington, South Carolina, on Monday for a pretrial hearing in his murder retrial, following the overturning of his convictions last month by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The hearing was described as brief on substance but highly watched as the high-profile “true crime” case continued to draw attention. A new judge, Debra McCaslin, set a timeline for proceedings, with the retrial scheduled to begin April 5, and established deadlines for evidence exchange under discovery. Dozens of media outlets were present in the 200-person courthouse. Prosecutors say Murdaugh shot his wife Maggie and their younger son Paul, 22, in 2021, believing that sympathy over the deaths would buy him time to address financial problems. His 2023 jury convictions for two counts of murder were previously overturned.