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Alex Murdaugh seeks dismissal of murder indictments, alleging agent lied to grand jury

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 8 outlets, mostly left-leaning (63%).

8 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers asked a South Carolina judge at a Friday pretrial hearing to dismiss his original murder indictments, arguing that the lead investigator lied to the grand jury. Murdaugh was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, and sentenced to life in prison. The state Supreme Court has since overturned those convictions. UPI reports that a retrial is set to begin in April in Sumter County. In an Oct. 30 motion, the defense also alleged that prosecutors knowingly presented fabricated blood-spatter evidence. Murdaugh is separately serving up to 40 years for financial crimes after pleading guilty.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers asked a judge at a Friday pretrial hearing to dismiss his original murder indictments.

    Reported byFar Left1Left3Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    NBC News, ABC News, CBS News
    Center
    United Press International
    Right
    New York Post

  2. Murdaugh’s lawyers argue that the lead investigator lied to the grand jury.

    Reported byFar Left1Left3Center1Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Boston Globe
    Left
    NBC News, ABC News, CBS News
    Center
    United Press International
    Right
    New York Post

  3. The state Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh’s 2023 murder convictions and life sentence.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    NBC News
    Center
    United Press International

  4. Murdaugh’s retrial is set to begin in April in Sumter County, according to UPI.

    One outletUnited Press International· Center

  5. Murdaugh is serving up to 40 years for financial crimes after pleading guilty in a separate case.

    One outletUnited Press International· Center

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Murdaugh’s lawyers asked a judge to dismiss his original murder indictments, alleging the lead investigator lied to the grand jury. The main difference is wording: left and right headlines use verbs such as seeks, wants and pushes, while center headlines foreground the hearing and the evidence challenge.

  • the left

    5 outlets

    Left headlines lead with the defense’s request and attribute the agent-lied claim to the lawyers; the ABC, Boston Globe and CBS versions reuse the Associated Press report’s wording.

    Alex Murdaugh seeks dismissal of murder case, says agent lied to grand jury
    NBC NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center headlines present the hearing and the defense’s challenge to the evidence as the news, using neutral verbs such as has, to question and bid.

    Alex Murdaugh has hearing on indictments, testimony
    United Press InternationalCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The only right-side coverage is a New York Post rewrite of an Associated Press report, framing the request as the defense pushing for dismissal and alleging the investigator lied.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read 4 of the 8 articles in context when it wrote the analysis. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

5 outlets

Leads with

  • The defense’s request to dismiss
  • The lawyers’ claim the agent lied
  • Murdaugh’s legal push
See the 5 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • The hearing and testimony
  • The evidence challenge
  • Avoiding a retrial
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • The defense pushing for dismissal
  • The alleged investigator lie
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    ABC News, Nov 13, 3:06 AM EST

  • Center

    2 hr 36 min later

    Its first report, Nov 13, 5:42 AM EST

  • Right

    7 hr 24 min later

    Its first report, Nov 13, 10:30 AM EST

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. ABC NewsLeftNov 13, 3:06 AM EST
  2. NewsNationCenterNov 13, 5:42 AM EST
  3. The Boston GlobeFar LeftNov 13, 6:37 AM EST
  4. New York PostRightNov 13, 10:30 AM EST
  5. HuffPostFar LeftNov 13, 11:28 AM EST
  6. NBC NewsLeftNov 13, 11:49 AM EST
  7. CBS NewsLeftNov 13, 11:50 AM EST
  8. United Press InternationalCenterNov 13, 1:52 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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