Alex Murdaugh trial: Experts weigh in on possibility of an overturned murder conviction
Experts disagree on whether Alex Murdaugh will get a murder trial do-over after former Colleton County, South Carolina, court clerk Becky Hill was charged with several felonies on Wednesday in two counties.
“The [suggestion] that Becky Hill is now in legal trouble helps Alex Murdaugh — I strongly disagree with that,” former South Carolina Attorney General Charlie Condon told Fox News Digital. “I think the exact opposite is really true.”
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) on Wednesday afternoon announced that Hill, 57, has been charged with obstructing justice and misconduct in Colleton County and perjury in Richland County. The perjury charge stems from a lie she allegedly told South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Toal in January 2024, when the justice ruled that a new trial was not necessary for Murdaugh upon his appeal.
Charging documents state that when Toal asked Hill, “Did you allow anyone from the press to view sealed exhibits?” Hill responded, “No, ma’am,” which is apparently inconsistent with evidence obtained by authorities. They also accuse her of showing sealed photos to a reporter and using her official position as Colleton County clerk for financial gain, specifically by promoting her book about the Murdaugh case on social media.
MURDAUGH COURT CLERK BECKY HILL RELEASED ON BOND AFTER ARREST ON PERJURY, MISCONDUCT CHARGES
A Colleton County jury in 2023 convicted Murduagh in the June 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on his family hunting estate. The disgraced personal injury lawyer, whose family had a stronghold on the justice system in neighboring Hampton County for about a century, had requested the new hearing based on allegations of jury tampering surrounding Hill, which Murdaugh’s defense team had argued warranted a new trial.
SLED’s charging documents filed Wednesday, however, do not accuse Hill of jury tampering. Fox News Digital has reached out to Hill’s attorney, Will Lewis, for comment.
FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA CLERK IN MURDAUGH MURDER TRIAL ARRESTED ON MULTIPLE FELONIES IN 2 COUNTIES
Condon said he was “surprised by the charges” against Hill “and that they did not include jury tampering.”
“That had been… the focus at the hearing for the retrial. Nothing in [Hill’s charges] about jury tampering,” he said. “To my mind, it’s a really big win for the state and a big loss for the defense because a main ground of their appeal would be this jury tampering, and the fact that there are no charges against former clerk Hill for jury tampering tells me that the authorities looked at that and did not believe there was sufficient evidence to show that she tampered with the jury.”
SOUTH CAROLINA JUDGE DENIES ALEX MURDAUGH’S REQUEST FOR A NEW MURDER TRIAL
Meanwhile, attorney Eric Bland of Bland Richter LLP, who represented multiple jurors in Murdaugh’s murder trial and several victims of his financial crimes, told Fox News Digital that “the optics” of Hill’s charges “bode well for Alex Murdaugh.”
“Three of those charges that are pending in Colleton County really have nothing to do with the trial. [Those are] actions that she took outside of that trial in the course and scope of her duties, taking advantage of her office — obstruction activity. That has nothing to do with it,” Bland explained. “One charge in Richland County is a perjury charge. And it’s perjury that does stem from the [January 2024] hearing where Justice Toal rendered a decision not giving a new trial to Alex Murdaugh.”
Bland noted that Toal said during the 2024 hearing that she did not find Hill’s testimony entirely credible and did not take it into consideration when ruling against a retrial.
“At the end of the day, this is going to be a legal decision on appeal,” Bland said. “Was Justice Toal correct in applying the South Carolina standard on juror interference by an official? And that, as the South Carolina standard says, you not only have to show the juror interference, but you have to show the effect that it had on the jurors and their verdict. I represented six of those jurors. Eleven of those jurors said… anything that Becky Hill said didn’t have any effect on our verdict.”
Of 12 total jurors who found Murdaugh guilty in 2023, 11 said Hill did not influence their decisions. One said he heard the clerk make comments about watching Murdaugh’s body language but said her words did not influence his verdict.
Even if Murdaugh were to get his sentenced reversed and a retrial, he would still be serving the rest of his life in prison for his financial crimes, defrauding his law clients out of millions of dollars, Bland noted.
WATCH: REBECCA HILL ON THE MURDAUGH VERDICT:
Both Condon and Bland said Hill presented herself in a professional manner over the course of Murdaugh’s murder trial, including one of the first days when a bomb threat shut down the entire courthouse and everyone inside had to evacuate.
“She was very warm and engaging, and don’t forget… she touches every aspect of the trial,” Bland said. “She is in charge of the court personnel, the bailiffs. She’s in charge of the clerk of court’s office, where all the filings for the case go, and marshaling all the evidence. She’s in charge of the jurors and making sure that they get there on time and they’re comfortable and they have something to eat. She participates in all the meetings with the judge and the defense attorneys. So, she’s privy to everything. And I think it just got to her head.”
WATCH: Becky Hill is asked whether she tampered with the jury
Condon similarly said the Colleton County courthouse is located in the small town of Walterboro, which does not often see high-profile criminal trials like the Murdaugh case.
“She probably was trying to be accommodating,” Condon said of the charges accusing her of sharing sealed photos with a reporter. “She’s a really nice lady, probably trying to help somebody with their story. And again, I don’t think there was a malicious intent with that whatsoever. Having said that… one would expect a clerk of court under these heightened circumstances to follow each and every rule, and the allegations show that she did not. But I don’t think it was done with any evil intention.”
Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, Murdaugh’s defense attorneys, told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday statement that while the charges against Hill “are serious, they are not surprising.”
WATCH: ALEX MURDAUGH ATTORNEY DICK HARPOOTLIAN REACTS TO HILL’S ARREST
“We have long raised our concerns about her conduct during and after the trial and this arrest further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the judicial process. Every defendant is entitled to a fair and impartial trial and we look forward to Alex Murdaugh finally getting that fair treatment,” the attorneys said.
Harpootlian told Fox News on Wednesday that he believes the charges against Hill will result in a new trial for Murdaugh.
Hill was also previously accused of sending herself nearly $10,000 in federal bonuses in the form of child support payments, according to a notice of hearing. She used federal funds to give food and gifts to court employees, including “Easter Goodies,” Mother’s and Father’s Day gifts, and Valentine’s Day gifts; paint supplies; flowers and decor; various meals for herself; office furniture; and dog food, dog bones and a dog bed, among other items.
SLED charging documents make note of the bonus payments.
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The former court clerk, who held her position for about four years, resigned in March following allegations of jury tampering in the Murdaugh trial but maintained that her decision to leave office was not the result of her conduct during the double murder trial.
“Another significant impact in our clerk’s office was in 2023, when we had to manage one of the biggest trials in South Carolina history. Our small town came together and made everyone proud,” Hill said during a news conference at the time to announce her resignation. “Managing a trial with such importance to the people of South Carolina, as well as to the national and international media interest and public scrutiny, has caused me to reflect upon decisions involving my stay in the office of the clerk of court.”
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She added that her decision not to seek re-election in 2024 would allow her to “focus on being a wife, a mother and a grandmother,” and that she wanted to provide “ample time to other Republican candidates” interested in the position of Colleton County court clerk.
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Her former attorney, Justin Bamberg, who has represented victims of Murdaugh’s financial crimes, said at a March news conference that Hill’s decision had nothing to do with any pending investigations involving the clerk.
