The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear Alex Murdaugh’s appeal of allegations of jury tampering.
Murdaugh, 56, faces a sentence in 2023. Killed his wife and son He committed the murders on his family’s hunting property in 2021 as a way to obtain life insurance money as his growing list of financial crimes came to light in 2021. He is serving two life sentences for the murders.
The scion of a former South Carolina law family is appealing his sentence over allegations that Becky Hill, the former Colleton County court clerk who presided over the infamous double murder trial, rigged the jury.
The state Supreme Court heard the case earlier this year. In January, retired South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Jean Toll ruled that Murdaugh did not need a new trial after hearing from all 12 jurors who had convicted him in court, only one of whom said Hill had influenced his decision.
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Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, in June 2021, attends a retrial hearing at the Richland County Justice Center, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, in Columbia, South Carolina.
Juror Z said Hill had instructed the jurors to keep a “close” eye on Murdaugh and observe his “behavior.” Convicted Juror Z also testified in his affidavit that he felt pressured by other jurors to vote guilty.
“To me, she made it seem as if he was already guilty,” Juror Z, the first to testify Monday, said when asked how the clerk influenced her verdict.
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Rebecca Hill arrives at the “Today” show studios in New York City on March 6, 2023. She was a court clerk in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
Before sentencing, Toll said Hill was “attracted by the allure of celebrity” and made some fleeting and foolish comments, but that jurors had taken their task of convicting Murdaugh seriously.
Hill co-wrote a book about the Murdaugh trial and later admitted to plagiarizing passages from it, but she also faces 76 charges of misconduct. Colleton County Clerk For financial gain, specifically to promote her book.
Hill resigned as court clerk in March.
South Carolina judge denies Alex Murdaugh request for new murder trial
Judge Jean Toll addresses the courtroom during Alex Murdaugh’s jury tampering hearing, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, at the Richland County Justice Center in Columbia, South Carolina. (Andrew J. Whitaker/Post and Courier via The Associated Press, Pool)
Murdaugh also faces a 27-year sentence for financial crimes in November 2023. In exchange for his 27-year sentence, he agreed to plead guilty to 22 of nearly 100 charges totaling $10 million, including breach of trust, money laundering, forgery and tax evasion.
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Murdaugh previously pleaded guilty in federal court to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering.
Fox News’ Samantha Daigle contributed to this report.
