After the court discovered that a juror had been discussing the matter with her acquaintances, she was dismissed from the Alex Murdaugh double homicide trial on Thursday morning.
At the family’s estate in June 2021, Alex Murdaugh is suspected of fatally murdering his wife and younger son. More than a year later, the disgraced South Carolina lawyer was accused of killing the victims.
Judge Clifton Newman notified the court on Thursday before the defense’s closing argument that he had received a complaint alleging that one of the jurors had “improper conversations with people not affiliated with the case.”
When questioned about it in the jury room at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on Tuesday, the juror denied it, the witness claimed. The jury had given her judgment on the evidence presented in the trial to at least three people, according to information obtained from the three witnesses who were questioned on Wednesday, the judge said.
That juror “shall be dismissed and replaced by another juror in order to safeguard the integrity of the process and the interests of both the state and the defense in a fair trial,” Newman informed the court.
The order was accepted by the state and the defense.
Despite his conclusion, Newman reminded the juror that she had spoken about the case “intentionally or unwittingly” with others who were not on the jury.She was praised by the judge for being a “wonderful juror” who was “attentive to the case and acted well” and was complimented for her participation.
Given all the time you’ve put into it, you probably find it difficult to stop, Newman remarked. “I’m not saying you did anything wrong on purpose, but we’re going to replace you with one of the other jurors to maintain the fairness of the proceedings and to all parties concerned,” the judge said.
