Murdaugh defense attorneys allege clerk of court tampered with jury

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD)- Defense attorneys for Alex Murdaugh alleged on Tuesday that the Colleton County Clerk of Court, Becky Hill, tampered with the jury that found him guilty of the murder of his wife and son earlier this year and are now asking for a new trial.

In a 65-page motion to the S.C. Court of Appeals and letter to U.S. Attorney Adair Boroughs, Murdaugh’s lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, accuse Hill of jury tampering and request a federal investigation.

“Defendant Richard Alexander Murdaugh…hereby moves the Court for a new trial
after discovering that the Clerk of Court tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe
Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a
quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge
in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense,” the filing states.

Following the six-week double-murder trial, the jury found Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul after three hours of deliberation.

Murdaugh, a disbarred attorney from a prominent South Carolina family, took the stand to defend himself in his double-murder trial, delivering lengthy and emotional testimony.

However, defense attorneys claim Hill “instructed jurors not be ‘misled’ by evidence presented in Murdaugh’s defense and “not be ‘fooled’ by Murdaugh’s testimony.”

The filing also accuses Hill of having “frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson” and asking jurors for their opinion about Murdaugh’s guilt or innocence.

Furthermore, attorneys allege that Hill “invented a story about a Facebook post to remove a juror she believed might vote not guilty.” On the last day of the trial, Judge Clifton Newman removed a juror due to “improper conduct” and replaced her with an alternate.

In a separate letter to U.S. Attorney Boroughs, defense attorneys request a federal investigation based on the new discovery, asserting “Ms. Hill’s actions deprived Mr. Murduagh of his rights under the Constitution” for a fair trial.

Harpootlian and Griffin are expected to discuss the motion during a press conference outside of the South Carolina State House at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

This story is breaking and will be updated.