The South Carolina Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to take on Alex Murdaugh’s appeal based on jury tampering allegations.
Murdaugh, 56, was convicted in 2023 for killing his wife and son on a family hunting estate in 2021 as a means to get access to life insurance funds as his ever-growing stack of financial crimes came to light in 2021. He is serving two life sentences for the murders.
The former South Carolina legal scion appealed the decision on allegations that former Colleton County Court clerk Becky Hill, who presided over the infamous double murder trial, tampered with the jury.
The state Supreme Court took on that case earlier this year. In January, retired South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Jean Toal ruled that she did not believe a new trial was needed for Murdaugh after hearing from all 12 jurors who convicted Murdaugh in court; only one of those 12 said Hill influenced her decision.
ALEX MURDAUGH COURT CLERK BECKY HILL MISUSED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON PAINT SUPPLIES, DOG BED, GIFTS: COMPLAINT
Alex Murdaugh, convicted of killing his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul, in June 2021, sits during a hearing on a motion for a retrial, Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 at the Richland County Judicial Center in Columbia, South Carolina.
The juror, referred to as Juror Z, said Hill told jurors to watch Murdaugh “closely” and watch his “actions,” adding that she reached a guilty verdict because of the clerk’s comments. Juror Z also testified that other jurors also made her feel pressured to deliver a guilty verdict, as her affidavit stated.
“To me…she made it seem like he was already guilty,” Juror Z, the first to testify Monday, said when asked how the clerk inspired her verdict.
ALEX MURDAUGH COURT CLERK BECKY HILL RESIGNS AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF JURY TAMPERING
Rebecca Hill arrives at the “Today” show studio in New York City on March 6, 2023. She was the court clerk in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)
Toal said before her ruling that while Hill was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and had made “fleeting and foolish comments,” the jurors took their assignments seriously in convicting Murdaugh.
Hill, who co-authored a book about the Murdaugh trial — and later admitted that a passage in the book had been plagiarized — is also facing 76 counts of misconduct. She is accused of using her official position as Colleton County clerk for financial gain, specifically to promote her book.
Hill resigned as court clerk in March.
SOUTH CAROLINA JUDGE DENIES ALEX MURDAUGH’S REQUEST FOR A NEW MURDER TRIAL
Judge Jean Toal talks to the court during the Alex Murdaugh jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool)
Murdaugh was also sentenced to 27 years in November 2023 for his financial crimes. He agreed to plead guilty to 22 counts — including breach of trust, money laundering, forgery and tax evasion — out of about 100 counts totaling as much as $10 million in exchange for the 27-year prison sentence.
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Murdaugh previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering in federal court.
Fox News’ Samantha Daigle contributed to this report.