Judge Daniel Hall has declined a two-part motion that would sever Parker’s Kitchen from the Murdaugh defendants and change the venue in the wrongful death suit filed by Renee Beach after her daughter died in a 2019 boat crash.
Mike DeWitt of editor of the Hampton County Guardian tweeted throughout the hearing on Friday afternoon in which Parker’s attorney argued that the Murdaughs have too much notoriety due to Alex Murdaugh’s double homicide conviction and alleged financial crimes and that Parker deserves to have his portion of the civil trial heard without the weight of Murdaugh as a codefendant.
Parker’s attorney also argued that Murdaugh is too well-known for the trial to be fair.
Beach family attorney Mark Tinsley reportedly fired back, saying that if a fair murder trial could be held in neighboring Colleton County, then a fair civil trial was possible in Hampton County.
With Hall’s ruling to deny these motions, the trial is slated to begin on Aug. 14. According to DeWitt, court officials expect to mail 600 jury summons and only need a pool of 20 to impanel a jury and seat alternates.
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Beth Braden
Beth Braden is an award-winning journalist with experience covering government, education and crime and courts for more than 10 years. In addition to following breaking news and writing feature stories about life in her home state of Tennessee, her by-line appears on several internationally known websites.
Beth is passionate about communicating complex information in an easy-to-understand manner and she loves to pore over public records and court documents as she seeks out patterns and context to share with her audience. In her spare time, she enjoys quilting, strange museums, and good cups of coffee.
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