Becky Hill quit her job as a court clerk after her behavior during Alex Murdaugh’s trial nearly got the family annihilator’s murder convictions overturned.
Hill announced his resignation Monday outside the Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina and said he would not seek re-election.
‘It has been my honor to serve as Colleton County Clerk of Court for the past four years. The Colleton County Clerk’s Office is proud of our service and the significant impact we have had on South Carolina’s history.’
After listing some of the office’s accomplishments, Hill highlighted Murdaugh’s judgment and said the small town came together and made everyone proud.
Murdaugh’s attorneys had argued that he deserved a new trial because of Hill’s alleged actions and comments to the jury.
Hill, an elected Republican, said the high-profile trial “made her reflect on decisions related to my tenure in the clerk of court’s office.”
Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill has resigned after her comments to Alex Mudaugh’s jury nearly got the family annihilator a new trial.
Murdaugh, center, speaks with his defense attorney Jim Griffin, left, during a jury tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center on Monday.
She said: ‘After much reflection, I have decided that it is best not to stand for re-election again. Now I will be able to focus on being a wife, mother and grandmother to my two grandchildren.”
Hill had held the position since 2020.
In January, he took the stand in Columbia to deny allegations that he asked jurors in Murdaugh’s trial whether they thought he was guilty before deliberations or suggested he thought he had killed his wife and son.
Murdaugh’s six-week murder trial became a sensation for its mix of privilege, brutality and power. Judges, lawyers, and Hill herself became minor celebrities.
Hill published a book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, about the trial.
The defense made a series of accusations after the guilty verdict, including that Hill told jurors that their deliberations should not take long, thus implying that Murdaugh was guilty.
Murdaugh’s attorneys also said Hill had conversations in a private bathroom with the jury forewoman and gave jurors business cards of media members who wanted interviews before deliberations.
Hill and three jurors ended up in New York City after the trial for an NBC interview, and Hill wrote in his self-published book that it was his first airplane trip.
However, a judge decided that Hill’s actions during the trial did not influence the jury to convict the killer and denied Mudaugh a new trial.
“I do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial based on a few fleeting and foolish comments,” said Judge Jean Toal.
Murdaugh, 55, was convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in June 2021.
Prosecutors based their case on compelling cell phone evidence that showed him at the crime scene near the time of the murders. Both were shot to death at the family’s hunting lodge.
Murdaugh’s lawyers had argued that he deserved a new trial because of Hill’s alleged actions.
Hill and three jurors ended up in New York City after the trial for an NBC interview.
He has maintained his innocence throughout and claims the 12-person jury was tainted from the start, influenced by a swarm of media attention and by the actions of Becky Hill, who later wrote a book about the case.
One of the 12 jurors said Hill’s behavior did influence her.
“To me, it felt like she made it seem like he was already guilty,” the juror testified Monday.
When asked if this influenced her vote to find him guilty, she said, “Yes, ma’am.”
In later questioning, the juror told the judge that her August affidavit was accurate, as she felt her fellow jurors, and not Hill, convinced her to convict Murdaugh.
“I had questions about Mr. Murdaugh’s guilt, but I voted guilty because I felt pressured by other jurors,” she said.
Judge Jean Toal said Hill was drawn to the “siren song of celebrity” because she wanted to write a book about the trial.
Hill, pictured with Judge Newman, is being accused by Murdaugh’s defense team of influencing the jury as he prepares for a new trial.
Murdaugh has remained adamant that he did not kill his son Paul with a shotgun or his wife Maggie (both circled) with a rifle.
Hill wrote a book about the case, ‘Behind the Doors of Justice,’ but made only $100,000 from it, he told the court.
He admitted that he talked to people about the possibility of publishing a book before the murder trial ended last year.
She also admitted that the book was pulled from shelves after she plagiarized parts of it.
On the stand, Hill denied attempting to influence the jury in any way and denied a juror’s claim that he had warned the jury to “keep a close eye on Murdaugh” before his testimony.
“I told the jury to pay attention in general,” Hill added.
Hill admitted he sent an email saying he believed it wouldn’t take long for the jury to return a verdict.
“It’s a gut feeling, that’s all I meant by that,” Hill told the court when asked why he said it wouldn’t take long for the jury to decide Murdaugh’s fate.
The court clerk also admitted telling a court reporter that Murdaugh was guilty, but added, “none of us were jurors.”