Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of killing his wife and son last year. His lawyers requested a new trial after accusing the court clerk of jury tampering. On Monday, January 29, 2024, the judge ruled against a retrial.
Regarding the allegations made by the defense team, Judge Jean Toal said:
“The evidence was overwhelming…”
Writer Rebecca Hill has become the center of attention amid the Murdoch trial. However, jurors claimed that Hill did not influence the verdict.
A judge has rejected a retrial appeal brought by Alex Murdaugh's defense team after charges were brought against Rebecca Hill
55-year-old Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in 2021. In relation to this, Murdaugh's defense team claimed that the court clerk, Rebecca Hill, influenced and tampered with the jury during the murder trial that was then ongoing. CNN reported that Judge Jean Toal ruled against the defense team's appeal. She explained her decision and said:
“I simply do not believe that the authority of the South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very long trial such as this based on some passing and foolish comment by a publicity-influenced court clerk.”
Toole added that the jury's guilty verdict was not at all surprising. Murdaugh's defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, told CNN:
“We go from here to the Court of Appeals, then the South Carolina Supreme Court, if necessary — and then federal court.”
Justin Bamberg and Will Lewis, the attorneys who represented Rebecca Hill, claimed they believed the jurors in the trial were very professional and acted in accordance with the instructions given to them by the court.
The judge stated that Hill's comments were not sufficient to influence the entire ruling
According to Judge Toole, Hill made some “flinging and foolish” statements during Alex Murdaugh's trial. However, there was insufficient evidence to prove that it influenced the jury's decision. The authorities have not yet brought charges against Rebecca Hill, and she has denied the accusations against her. The state stated that Hill exposed herself to further controversy over the issue after writing a book titled BBehind the Doors of Justice: The Murdo Murders.
While the book was released in August 2023, sales were halted by the end of the year as part of it was found to be plagiarized. Meanwhile, Alex Murdaugh's defense team filed an appeal for a new trial in September 2023. They claimed that Hill wanted to increase her book sales and therefore wanted to end the case quickly. However, she denied these accusations.
While nine of the jurors stated that they did not communicate with the court clerk in any way before the verdict, one said:
“To me, I felt like she made it seem like he was actually guilty.”
Two jurors stated that although they heard comments from Hill, their decision was not influenced by them.
