Judge moves Alex Murdaugh retrial from small county, but motion to toss out case will wait

LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — The judge in Alex Murdaugh's murder retrial decided Friday to move the case out of the rural South Carolina county where it consumed life for six weeks in 2023.

But left undecided is a defense request to throw out the whole case because Murdaugh's lawyers said the chief state investigator lied to the grand jury that indicted their client in 2022 and another main investigator was fired for misconduct after taking a job at a different agency.

Murdaugh’s conviction and life sentence for killing his wife and son were overturned in May by the South Carolina Supreme Court after the justices ruled a court clerk may have influenced the jury.

Murdaugh was in a coat and tie Friday after Judge Debra McCaslin ruled he didn't have to wear a prison jumpsuit because he was not a security risk even though Murdaugh remains behind bars serving a 40-year federal sentence and a 27-year state sentence after pleading guilty to stealing about $12 million from clients and his family’s law firm.

The judge agreed Friday to move the retrial out of Colleton County, where the killings happened and the first trial brought throngs of media and true crime fans, overwhelming the few restaurants and hotels in the county of 40,000 people.

McCaslin said she had to move the trial because of all the publicity of the first trial, the circumstances of the court clerk tainting the first jury and the Murdaughs' connections to the surrounding community, where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were chief prosecutors and the family's law firm dominated for a century.

The location of the retrial hasn't been decided and Murdaugh's attorneys called one of their own lawyers to the stand to testify about how Charleston County, where he lived, would be perfect.

The testimony lasted 30 minutes as annoyed prosecutor Creighton Waters asked about how expensive Charleston is and how difficult it is to find parking.

The judge said she wants to take her time and research hotels and courtroom availability for the retrial set to begin on April 5.

McCaslin didn’t hear arguments Friday about dismissing the case.

The defense has said it will provide more information in writing about why it believes the case should be dismissed because State Law Enforcement Division agent David Owen told a 2023 grand jury that blood was found on a shirt Murdaugh was wearing when a different agent determined no blood had been found.

Murdaugh’s lawyers are also concerned about former agent Ryan Kelly, who testified how investigators thought Murdaugh paid another man to shoot him in the head so his son could collect millions in life insurance money but the shot only grazed him.

After the trial, Kelly took a job with the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office but was fired for harassment and improper conduct. More details have not been released.

The true crime sensation continues to fascinate. Dozens of reporters, podcasters, bloggers and others were at the Lexington County courtroom to hear the latest in the case that combines money, violence, power and small-town Southern justice. Afterward, fans stopped defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian in the sweltering parking lot for selfies.

“The Murdaugh case is a total freak show,” Harpootlian said in the courtroom, arguing to move the case.

Prosecutors say Murdaugh shot his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, who was 22, because he believed sympathy over their deaths would buy him time to fix his financial crimes. At that point in 2021, he was close to being exposed by both his law firm and the family of a teen who filed a wrongful death suit after Paul crashed a boat while drinking.

A jury convicted Murdaugh of two counts of murder in 2023. While admitting he is a thief, insurance cheat, bad lawyer and longtime opioid addict, he has adamantly denied the killings.

The judge decided other issues Friday, asking the defense to determine whether there is enough of the dwindling DNA material found under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails for both prosecutors and the defense to run additional tests.

Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian and prosecuting attorney Creighton Waters attend a hearing for Alex Murdaugh, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Judge Debra McCaslin listens to testimony as Alex Murdaugh, right, watches during a hearing Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Prosecutor Creighton Waters listens during a hearing for Alex Murdaugh, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Alex Murdaugh, dressed in street clothing, enters the courtroom for a hearing Friday, Aug. 14, 2026, at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Alex Murdaugh speaks with his attorney, Dick Harpootlian, a status hearing on Friday, Aug. 14, 2026 at the Marc H. Westbrook Judicial Center in Lexington, S.C. (Tracy Glantz /The State via AP, Pool)

MILAN (AP) — Ash spewing from Sicily's Mount Etna has forced the closure of the Italian island’s largest airport for the fifth consecutive day, stranding hundreds of summer holiday travelers during the busiest travel week of the year.

Catania’s airport will remain closed until Saturday afternoon, which falls on the Ferragosto holiday that marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season when millions flock to the sea and mountains, deserting Italian cities.

While Etna’s activity often interrupts flights at the airport, located 30 kilometers (20 miles) south of the volcano, this is the longest emergency since 2002.

“Volcanic ash can be a great risk for aircraft,” said Boris Behncke, a researcher at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology’s Etna Observatory. “It can be sucked into the motors, and force them to stall. This is why everyone is so very cautious with aircraft when there is a volcanic ash emission."

Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. The latest activity has been unusual for its persistence and sustained ash emissions. Northerly winds have spread light amounts of ash to Malta and northern Africa.

“There have been many shorter interruptions — and stronger eruptions — over the past few decades, but this event is different because the ash emission from Etna’s summit has been much more persistent,” Behncke said.

The closure has forced planes to be rerouted to other airports on the island, which has pushed up taxi fares and car rental prices, according to the Corriere della Sera daily. The Codacons consumer association has announced it will file a complaint with Italy’s competition authority following complaints about price gouging.

The SAC airport operator said 36% of nearly 2,000 flights scheduled to arrive in Catania from Aug. 6-12 had been canceled, while more than 600 were diverted to Palermo, Trapani and Comiso in Sicily and Lamezia Terme in Calabria. Flights were able to depart Catania over the weekend, but the airport was officially closed to both incoming and outgoing flights Monday. Comiso also was briefly closed.

The Italian train company Trenitalia has added six trains along the Palermo-Messina-Catania route to help ease the travel pressure.

Italy's federation of travel agencies and tour operators has called for a task force to coordinate responses to disruptions caused by Mount Etna and said it would ask for a review of how airlines handled the cancellations and passenger assistance.

“Operators are working around the clock to provide assistance, cancellations and alternative travel arrangements, but they cannot bear the burden of structural shortcomings and the management responsibilities of others," FIAVET President Gian Mario Pilieri said in a statement.

Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Mareneve near Catania, Italy, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra)

Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Serracozzo near Catania, Italy, early Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Simone Genovese)

Eruptive activity continues on Mount Etna, where lava flows continue to descend on the slopes of the volcano, as seen from Serracozzo near Catania, Italy, early Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Simone Genovese)