One of the jurors in Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial has been removed and replaced with an alternate after she had improper conversations about the trial outside the courtroom, NBC News reported.
The juror, identified as No. 785, denied discussing the case Thursday. According to Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman, the juror spoke with three other people and expressed her opinion on evidence regarding the case.
Murdaugh, who was once a prominent personal injury lawyer in South Carolina, is accused of murdering his wife and son in a plot to direct attention away from his financial crimes.
On Thursday morning, Newman brought the juror in and told her she was being dismissed.
"You have been by all accounts a great juror, smiled consistently and seemingly been attentive to the case and performed well," he said, adding, "Thank you for your service. I'm not suggesting you intentionally did anything wrong, but in order to preserve the integrity of the process and in fairness to all the parties involved, we're going to replace you with one of the other jurors."
After the juror left, the defense began its closing arguments.