RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — We're just one day away from the start of an evidentiary hearing to see if Alex Murdaugh will get a new murder trial.
In March, the disgraced former lawyer was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul. Now, he's back in the courtroom, this time in Richland County.
Many of the key players are familiar from the murder trial, but there are some new faces we're expecting to see.
Murdaugh's defense attorney Dick Harpootlian is helping lead the charge for this new trial. He worked for the state as the chief prosecutor in the fifth judicial circuit for 12 years before switching to defense. He currently serves as a Democratic state senator.
Jim Griffin makes up the other half of Murdaugh's defense. He is a trial and healthcare lawyer with a background working as an assistant US attorney for the state. He now runs a private practice.
For the state, Creighton Waters is still the chief prosecuting attorney for the state grand jury, where he's worked for 25 years. State Attorney General Alan Wilson, whose office oversees the case, could sit alongside him.
A major new face for this hearing is Justice Jean Toal. She was the first woman to serve as a South Carolina Supreme Court justice and then later as chief justice. Before that, she practiced law for two decades in plaintiff and defense work. Justice Toal retired after 27 years on the high court in 2015 but is now back on the bench to preside over Murdaugh's hearing.
The public will hear from — but not see — all 12 jurors who deliberated on and delivered the final verdict. The court will be taking measures to protect their identities, so we don't know their names, and no one can video them directly.
Eric Bland, Ronnie Richter and Joe McCulloch are all local lawyers representing a handful of jurors.
Then we have Becky Hill, the Colleton County Clerk of Court. The defense claims she tampered with the jury, saying she inappropriately cautioned them ahead of Murdaugh's testimony during the murder trial. The purpose of this hearing is to find out whether that's true and if it impacted jurors. She's also the author of the book "Behind the Doors of Justice," which has been unpublished over plagiarism allegations.
Lastly, Will Lewis and Justin Bamberg are attorneys who are representing Hill.
Those are all the people expected in the courtroom, starting with a single juror's appearance on Friday at 9:30 a.m. The rest of the jurors — and Hill — will be heard from over three days next week.
News19 will be in the courtroom, providing continued coverage of all the proceedings. Check for updates on-air and online.