OAN’s Brooke Mallory
2:31 PM – Monday, March 25, 2024
Nearly two months after a judge questioned the credibility of a Colleton County, South Carolina, official but decided that the charges were insufficient to grant Murdaugh a new trial, the court clerk accused of interfering with the jury in Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial resigned on Monday.
At a press conference, Rebecca “Becky” Hill declared that she would not be seeking reelection. She expressed pride in the work she had done during her four years in office, including overseeing “one of the biggest trials in South Carolina history.”
The trial, which resulted in Murdaugh’s life sentence after being found guilty of killing his wife and 22-year-old son last year, “caused me to reflect upon decisions involving my stay in the office of the clerk of court,” according to Hill.
“As we fix our eyes forward, I would like to announce also that my resignation as clerk of court will be effective immediately,” she added.
Hill resigned after South Carolina Judge Jean Toal denied Murdaugh and his attorneys’ request for a new trial in late January. The attorneys claimed that Hill had inappropriately discussed the matter with jurors. However, the clerk vehemently refuted their claims.
In the end, the judge concluded that the remarks made by Hill had not affected the jurors. Although, she was still extremely critical of Hill, who co-wrote a book that was released a few months after the trial, labeling her a clerk who was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and “influenced by publicity.”
During Monday’s press conference, neither Hill nor her lawyer, Justin Bamberg, discussed Toal’s decision. Nevertheless, Bamberg informed reporters that Hill’s statement was “not in response whatsoever to anything going on with any investigation or anything of that nature.”
A representative for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division confirmed to reporters that Hill was the focus of two ongoing investigations as recently as January. One of them concerned “her alleged interactions with the jury” in Murdaugh’s murder trial, and the other concerned “allegations she used her elected position for personal gain.”
Books, videos, and podcasts have been produced about the Murdaugh case, which attracted international attention to the former personal injury lawyer whose father, grandpa, and great-grandfather were all prosecutors for a portion of southern South Carolina from 1920 to 2006.
Murdaugh and his lawyers asked for a second trial, claiming that in addition to pressing jurors to wrap up their deliberations quickly, Hill had also lied to the trial judge regarding a juror who was ultimately discharged. Murdaugh’s legal team asserted that the purpose of these alleged activities was to obtain a “book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial.”
In a hearing where Toal questioned each of the 12 jurors, each allegation was examined. A few of the jurors admitted that they had overheard Hill speak and give her own opinions. However, the only juror who acknowledged that it affected her decision did so while simultaneously upholding an affidavit in which she claimed she was under pressure from the other jurors.
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