Murdaugh lead attorney says jury fix and hidden texts could blow up conviction, force new trial

Fox News

3 days ago

The defense attorney for convicted killer Alex Murdaugh said newly uncovered evidence of jury tampering may be enough to overturn the disgraced South Carolina lawyer's murder conviction.
Dick Harpootlian, a Columbia attorney and former state senator who led Murdaugh's defense, told Fox News Digital that Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill's actions during the 2023 double murder trial tainted the jury and should result in a new trial.
"If she had left the jury alone, clearly the worst we would have done was a mistrial," Harpootlian said. "There were two jurors—two—who would not have voted guilty had it not been for Becky Hill's influence."
Murdaugh was found guilty of the murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son, Paul Murdaugh, who were shot to death on June 7, 2021 at the family's hunting estate in Colleton County, South Carolina. He was convicted on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in March 2023.
Harpootlian said one juror, dubbed the "egg lady," was vocal in the jury room about her doubts and was dismissed just days before the verdict based on information provided by Hill. A second juror allegedly told the defense she was pressured into voting guilty by Hill and other jurors.
The defense alleges that Hill attempted to sway the jury to sell more copies of a book she was writing about the high-profile trial.
"She told several of her coworkers that a guilty verdict would be good for book sales," Harpootlian said. "She was working them to influence them to convict."
Hill has been charged with misconduct in office, obstruction of justice, and perjury for allegedly influencing the Murdaugh jury, leaking sealed evidence and lying under oath during a 2024 hearing.
During a 2024 evidentiary hearing, a retired South Carolina Supreme Court chief justice ruled that Hill was not credible and found she had attempted to influence the jury's deliberations.
Murdaugh is currently appealing his conviction before the South Carolina Supreme Court. The state's brief is due Aug. 8, and Harpootlian said a ruling could come by the end of the year or early 2026.
"We have an appeal based on judicial errors and jury tampering," Harpootlian said.
Many believe we have a substantial chance of getting a new trial.
If the appeal fails, the defense plans to pursue a federal habeas petition.
"If we don't get a new trial, then there's something called habeas or post-conviction relief. And if you find that police or prosecutors have hidden evidence that would have been made a difference, you can appeal on that basis," Harpootlian said.
In addition to the jury-tampering allegations, Harpootlian also pointed to newly uncovered text messages between Murdaugh and Curtis "Eddie" Smith, Murdaugh's alleged drug dealer, that may have changed the trajectory of the defense's strategy if they had been disclosed.
The messages, revealed by FITSNews, show Smith and Murdaugh communicating in the days leading up to the June 7, 2021 murders of Murdaugh's wife and son. Harpootlian said his team was unaware of the texts during the trial and might have called Smith as a witness had they known.
"Those texts—some from the very week of the murder—give us more of the timeline around those drug distributions," he said. "It might have made the difference in us calling him to the stand or not calling him to the stand."
The text messages show that Smith and Murdaugh conversed in the days leading up to Murdaugh's murder of his wife and son on their family's hunting estate in Colleton County, South Carolina.
"Hey Brother i need to come get the chech (sic) you got one with you or are you going to be around later," Smith texted to Murdaugh on June 3, four days before the slayings.
Murdaugh replied that he would be back that afternoon and that he "had to deal with some bulls--- this morning."
"Ok Brother just give me a holler," Smith texted, later adding, "Leaving the house now."
The day before the murders, Murdaugh texted Smith, "Call me back."
Within a span of two minutes the morning after the murder, Smith texted Murdaugh, "Tell me what I heard is not true," and, "Call me please."
Those texts went unreturned, and around 6:30 p.m., and Smith cryptically texted Murdaugh, "At fishing hole."
After that message was also met with silence, he texted, "803 *** **13 it will not go through on my phone."
Harpootlian also questioned why Smith had not been prosecuted, calling it "perplexing" and "unjust."
"Eddie Smith, according to the attorney general, is probably the largest distributor of OxyContin in the state's history—and he has not been prosecuted," he said. "Everybody else who was indicted pleaded guilty—except Eddie Smith."
The defense attorney also criticized South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who he claims referred to Hill as "Becky Boo" during the trial.
Harpootlian said Wilson's relationship with Hill is a conflict of interest and urged him to recuse himself from any future investigation into her conduct. Fox News Digital has reached out to Wilson's office for comment.
"There should be a grand jury investigation into Becky Hill's conduct," he said. "But the AG hasn't opened one. Maybe he's waiting to see what the Supreme Court does."
If the court grants a new trial, Harpootlian said it will be "a very different case."
Since Murdaugh has already pleaded guilty to financial crimes, the prosecution will no longer be able to present weeks of financial evidence.
"All that will be left is the forensic evidence and the facts," he said. "And the forensic evidence, I believe, overwhelmingly proves that Alec Murdaugh did not kill Paul and Maggie."