{"id":2390,"date":"2026-06-29T22:08:45","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2390"},"modified":"2026-06-29T22:08:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:08:45","slug":"hes-not-a-serial-killer-harpootlian-tells-new-murdaugh-judge-who-shows-her-stuff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=2390","title":{"rendered":"\u2018He\u2019s not a serial killer,\u2019 Harpootlian tells new Murdaugh judge, who shows her stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cThis guy\u2019s no serial killer. He\u2019s not Ted Bundy,\u201d an animated defense attorney Dick Harpootlian told Judge Debra McCaslin during an hourlong pretrial hearing Monday morning at the Lexington County courthouse for accused double murderer Alex Murdaugh.<\/p>\n

Read more Inmate takeover ends as SBI regains control of jail in eastern NC, officials say<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u201cPotential jurors are watching this right now,\u201d Harpootlian told the judge, explaining how the accused killer\u2019s orange prison garb and the three sets of chains and manacles he wore were being live-streamed by Court TV around the state and nation and are highly prejudicial to any future jury.<\/p>\n

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\u201cParading him around in a jumpsuit shackled like an animal … makes it more difficult for us to get a jury,\u201d Harpootlian said.<\/p>\n

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Harpootlian had Murdaugh stand, then pointed to the three circles of linked metal binding his client<\/p>\n

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\u201cChains around the waist, chains around the hands, chains around on the feet!\u201d Harpootlian told the judge, his voice rising.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s not dangerous,\u201d said Harpootlian. \u201cThe only thing he\u2019s been convicted of is stealing money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Prosecutor Creighton Waters objected, saying it was not the prosecution\u2019s fault that Murdaugh, 58, was wearing a prison jumpsuit and manacled. After all, he put himself in prison for serious financial crimes and will stay there for another 40 years, Waters said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThis is a basic security consideration,\u201d Waters said, adding that \u201cthe first two goals of any escape attempt\u201d are to get rid of restraints and wear civilian clothes.<\/p>\n

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McCaslin delayed a decision. \u201cI will take it under advisement and issue an order on that,\u201d McCaslin said on the issue of whether Murdaugh will continue to wear chains and prison clothes in pretrial hearings.<\/p>\n

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A time warp as Judge sets trial date<\/h2>\n

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The 60-minute hearing was like a time warp: In the past, Harpootlian and Waters sparred many times in hearings before nationwide television audiences leading up to Murdaugh\u2019s 2023 double murder trial, then all the time during the six-week trial and at post trial hearings as well.<\/p>\n

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Now that the S.C. Supreme Court overturned his murder convictions in May, for killing his wife, Maggie, and son Paul, Murdaugh is to go on trial again.<\/p>\n

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And Harpootlian and Waters are at it again \u2014 albeit with a fresh judge and a new set of legal issues mixed with a host of old ones.<\/p>\n

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Harpootlian and Waters differed on when the trial should start.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe were trying to do this before the end of the year,\u201d Waters told the judge.<\/p>\n

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To which Harpootlian replied, \u201cTo do it before the end of the year for us to be adequately prepared cannot be done.\u201d The defense team includes eight expert witnesses, all of whom are just beginning to get familiar with the facts of various facets of the case, not to mention DNA studies that have to be done that will be time-consuming, he said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat we are comfortable with is late spring or early summer,\u201d Harpootlian said.<\/p>\n

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Unresolved issues<\/h2>\n

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After some discussion with Harpootlian and Waters, McCaslin set April 5 \u2014 early spring and a week after next Easter \u2014 as the date for picking jurors and for the trial to begin.<\/p>\n

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McCaslin made it clear the date was firm. \u201cWhen I set a trial date, I don\u2019t do continuances.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But she also indicated if unforeseen circumstances develop, the trial might be delayed. In the world of South Carolina criminal trials, trials don\u2019t always start on the first designated date.<\/p>\n

Read more Man shot someone near SC hiking trail, then killed his mom in Waxhaw, NC sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n

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Other issues remain to be decided:<\/p>\n

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