A former South Carolina Supreme Court Justice has ruled that barring the outcome of further appeals, there will be no new trial for convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, while simultaneously assailing the credibility of the public official accused of tampering with his jury.
So what's next for embattled Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, a still-seated public official accused of jury tampering and state ethics violations?
While Hill and her attorneys did not respond to requests for comment or an interview, state officials made one fact clear in the aftermath of the Murdaugh hearing: Hill remains under investigation in two probes by state police, and other potential troubles remain on the legal horizon.
SLED says jury tampering investigation into Becky Hill still 'active' and ongoing
S.C. State police confirmed in early January they were conducting two, separate criminal investigations into Hill, who oversaw the double murder trial of disgraced Hampton attorney Murdaugh, and was the subject of a hearing toconsider granting him a retrial.
On Jan. 10, Renee Wunderlich, director of Public Informationfor the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED), stated that SLED had two open investigations into Hill: "1) regarding her alleged interactions with the jury in the State vs. Richard Alexander Murdaugh and 2) regarding allegations she used her elected position for personal gain."
On Monday, Jan. 29, a specially appointed judge, former S.C. Justice Jean Toal, conducted a hearing on the jury tampering allegations and denied Murdaugh's motion for a new trial. But the jury tampering issue is not over.
"Monday’s hearing does not change the status of SLED’s investigations," Wunderlich told The Hampton County Guardian Thursday. "Both SLED investigations are active and ongoing."
Will Becky Hill be facing perjury charges after the Alex Murdaugh hearing?
During the hearing, held in the state capital and lasting less than a day and a half, Justice Toal questioned all 12 jurors, one alternate juror, another county clerk of court, and Hill herself.
At times, Hill's testimony contradicted statements given by other witnesses, as she categorically denied making improper statements to jurors, having improper conversations with jurors, and even giving one juror a ride home from court.
While Toal denied Murdaugh's motion on the legal standard that he failed to prove alleged tampering influenced the jury's verdict, she publicly chastised Hill in open court.
"I find that the Clerk of Court is not completely credible as a witness," said Toal about Hill, who hasadmitted to plagiarism in her recent book, "Behind the Doors of Justice," and is facingethics complaints and two state police investigations.
"She was attracted by the siren call of celebrity," Toal stated but added that she did not believe "fleeting and foolish comments" by the "publicity-influenced Clerk of Court" legally warranted a new trial.
Toal further indicated that she believed Hill made improper comments, even though Hill had denied the allegations in written affidavits, during SLED interviews, and even on the witness stand last week.
"She made comments about Mr. Murdaugh's demeanor as he testified, and she made some of the comments before he testified to one and maybe more jurors," Toal stated during her ruling remarks. "The Clerk of Court allowed the attention of the moment to overcome her duties."
However, Wunderlich declined to comment on the question of SLED opening a perjury investigation against Hill.
Will Becky Hill remain in office in Colleton County?
Hill is in the final year of her first four-year term as the elected Clerk of Court for Colleton County. The seat is up for re-election in November.
During a recent conversation with The Hampton County Guardian, before the latest allegations, Hill stated that she did not plan to run for public office again.
Hill has not been indicted or convicted of any criminal charges, nor officially sanctioned for ethics violations.
Unless Hill chooses to resign from office, she is likely to remain there until November. In South Carolina an elected official is usually only removed from office by an act of the governor, and typically only when that official is facing official criminal or ethics charges.
What's next for Alex Murdaugh?
The former Supreme Court Justice took her comments after the ruling a bit further, stating that after reading the entire, six-week murder trial transcript, she, like trial judge Clifton Newman, found the evidence in Murdaugh's murder trial "overwhelming" and the guilty verdict "not surprising."
Murdaugh's legal team had four days to file an objection or subsequent motions before she put the case on the record.
As of midday Thursday, there were no additional filings on the public record from Murdaugh's legal team. Murdaugh's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment or further information.
Murdaugh's attorneys put his murder conviction appeal on hold to pursue the jury tampering hearing, and it is expected that they will refile that appeal to the higher courts.
What led to this Murdaugh-Hill jury tampering saga?
As the chief court official in Colleton County, Hill oversaw the inner workings of the Walterboro courthouse and the jury duringMurdaugh's six-week, double-murder trialthat led to the March 2, 2023, conviction in the June 2021 murders of Murdaugh's wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
But the Murdaugh murder saga was far from over. Murdaugh, who steadfastly denied guilt during the trial and during his March 3 sentencing, appealed his conviction and two life sentences, even as hepleaded guilty to more than a score of financial crimesin state and federal courts.
And on Aug. 1, Hill, along with a co-author, released a self-published, tell-all book about the trial,Behind the Scenes of Justice.
From there, the Murdaugh saga further engulfed Hill and continued to unravel at almost exponential speed.
In September, Murdaugh's attorneysaccused Hill of jury tamperingby attempting toinfluence the jury regarding Murdaugh's testimonyand possible guilt to obtain wealth and fame through her book and demanded a retrial.
In December, the S.C. Attorney General's Office announced it was looking intopossible ethics violationsreported to the S.C. Ethics Commission in June. The ethics complaints alleged that not only did Hill use her public office for personal gain through the book and television projects, but she also misused public money.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: What's next for Becky Hill? SLED's jury tampering case is still open
