Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has appealed his conviction for the 2021 murders of his wife and son.
The former socialite, 56, was given two life sentences without parole for their murders last year after a jury of seven men and five women deliberated for less than three hours.
Crime scene experts determined he ambushed his son Paul, 22, in the kennels and shot him twice before shooting his wife Maggie, 52, five times, even as she fell to her knees at the The family’s 4,000-acre hunting estate in Moselle, South Carolina. June 7.
On Tuesday, the criminal and his attorneys filed a 121-page appeal document with the South Carolina Supreme Court laying out the reasons why they believe Murdaugh’s conviction should be thrown out.
He and his legal team argue that his conviction should be overturned due to alleged jury tampering by former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill.
His lawyers have argued that weeks after the highly publicized trial ended, jurors were told by jurors that Hill, who resigned from her position earlier this year, made comments to jurors not to be misled by Murdaugh and to “watch his body language ‘.
In January, the claims were presented to former South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal as Murdaugh’s lawyers pushed for him to get a new trial.
They have also argued that evidence presented at his murder trial showing Murdaugh’s involvement in major financial crimes — which saw him sentenced to an additional 40 years — should not have been presented to prosecutors.
Alex Murdaugh, 56, and his attorneys have filed a 121-page appeal with the South Carolina Supreme Court, outlining reasons why they believe his murder conviction should be thrown out.
Murdaugh was convicted of killing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son Paul Murdaugh (both center), 22 on June 7, 2023 on the family’s 1,800-acre hunting estate in Moselle, South Carolina.
After receiving notice of the possible jury interference, Toal questioned each juror, as one said her decision may have been influenced by Hill’s alleged comments. WCNC reported.
Toal later denied the new trial request, citing that Hill’s comments must have caused a juror’s decision to change the verdict as a whole, or what she called “unprecedented jury tampering.”
In August, Toal’s decision was overturned by the Supreme Court, which is now tasked with considering whether Murdaugh should get a new trial.
“Common sense dictates that when an elected state official enters the jury room during a murder trial to argue for a guilty verdict because she wants to make money selling books about the guilty verdict, the result should be a mistrial,” they argued his lawyers.
They alleged that Hill would regularly inappropriately enter the jury room, ask jurors for their opinions on Murdaugh’s guilt or innocence, and have private conversations with jurors about the evidence.
One juror was dismissed after Hill claimed to have seen a Facebook post from the juror’s ex-husband, suggesting she had told him she already knew what the verdict would be.
Hill denied telling a juror that Murdaugh had likely “had” a witness and that “everything Mr. Murdaugh had said were lies.”
He and his legal team argue that his conviction should be overturned due to alleged jury tampering by former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill (pictured).
She also denied claims that she told the jury “this can’t go on for long” as they began their deliberations.
“Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame,” Murdaugh’s attorneys alleged in their motion.
Murdaugh, himself a former attorney, has filed a separate appeal of his conviction, which has been put on hold while his jury tampering allegations play out in court.
His six-week trial heard that both his wife and son were shot in the head after initially being injured at dog kennels on the family’s estate.
Paul was shot twice with a shotgun, each round loaded with a different size shot, while his mother, who apparently ran to her son as he was being slaughtered, was shot multiple times with a .300 Blackout semi-automatic rifle.
Murdaugh claimed he found the bodies of his wife and son after returning home from visiting his parents, but prosecutors based their case on damning cell phone evidence that showed him at the crime scene around the time of the murders.
Hill’s book about the case, “Behind the Doors of Justice,” earned her $100,000 but was pulled from shelves within weeks after she admitted to plagiarizing parts of it.
Murdaugh claimed he found the bodies of his wife and son after returning home from visiting his parents, but prosecutors based their case on damning cellphone evidence that showed him at the crime scene around the time of the murders.
In August, the Supreme Court decided they would consider granting Murdaugh a new trial after South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal initially denied it.
South Carolina officials filed 76 charges of ethics violations against Hill in June, alleging she arranged to have a photo of Murdaugh taken in his cell, gave herself bonuses and used county money to buy dozens of lunches for her staff, prosecutors and a salesperson. .
She resigned in March, during the final year of her four-year term, citing public criticism of the Murdaugh trial and wanting to spend time with her grandchildren. She has not publicly discussed the ethics allegations.
Her attorney, Justin Bramberg, has previously said her firing has nothing to do with the ongoing investigations against her.
The murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh shocked South Carolina, where the family was known as a political and legal dynasty.
Members of the family had served as lawyers and prosecutors for the Low Countries region for 85 consecutive years.
In addition to his murder charge, Murdaugh was convicted of 22 federal financial crimes, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering after stealing millions from clients at his law firm.
He is currently serving 40 years for these crimes, concurrent with his 27 year sentence for state fraud convictions, and will serve a consecutive life sentence for the murders of Maggie and Paul.
He was also ordered to pay $9 million in damages for his financial crimes after receiving settlement money from excessive fees or expenses for more than twenty clients.
Prosecutors said the FBI found 11 more victims than the state investigation revealed and that Murdaugh stole nearly $1.3 million from them.
The killer apologized to his victims at his sentencing, saying he felt “guilt, sadness, shame, embarrassment and humiliation.” As with his state sentencing, he offered to meet with his victims so they can say what they want to say and “inspect my sincerity more closely.”
“There is not enough time and I do not have a sufficient vocabulary to adequately convey to you in words the depth of my feelings about the things I have done,” Murdaugh said.