Former county clerk in Murdaugh murder trial charged with obstruction of justice and misconduct
CrimeFacebookTweetLink
Follow
The former clerk of court who read the guilty verdicts against notorious convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh is now facing multiple felony charges.
Rebecca 'Becky' Hill was arrested early Wednesday morning in Colleton County, South Carolina, and charged with obstructing justice and two counts of misconduct, according to court records. She was also charged with one count of perjury in Richland County, South Carolina. Two of the charges are related to Murdaugh's 2023 murder trial.
Hill was released on a personal recognizance bond, according to Colleton County jail records.
She is accused of making available photographs that were sealed evidence, 'which prevented, obstructed, impeded, hindered, or potentially impeded or hindered the administration of justice' during Murdaugh's trial for the murders of his wife and son, according to an arrest warrant for the obstruction of justice charge.
Hill is also accused of allegedly using her position as the clerk of court to promote her book, 'Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,' resulting in one of the misconduct charges, according to the arrest warrant.
The second misconduct charge appears unrelated to the Murdaugh trial.
In Richland County, Hill is also facing a perjury charge for 'false, misleading, or incomplete' testimony she gave during an evidentiary hearing to establish if Murdaugh should get a new trial.
Hill allegedly lied under oath when during testimony she was asked, 'Did you allow anyone from the press to view the sealed exhibits' by former state Chief Justice Jean Toal. Hill responded 'No Ma'am.'
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which released the arrest warrants, has been investigating Hill since early 2024 over allegations of jury tampering in Murdaugh's murder trial and whether she used her elected position for personal gain.
Murdaugh's attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, told CNN in a statement in a statement the charges were not surprising for them.
'We are aware of the charges filed against Becky Hill and while these developments are serious, they are not surprising. We have long raised our concerns about her conduct during and after the trial and this arrest further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the judicial process. Every defendant is entitled to a fair and impartial trial and we look forward to Alex Murdaugh finally getting that fair treatment,' the attorneys said.
In late 2023, Murdaugh's legal team requested a new trial based on allegations that Hill tampered with the jury by making comments implying Murdaugh's guilt to jurors.
Last year, Toal, a retired Supreme Court of South Carolina chief justice, said that Hill was 'attracted by the siren call of celebrity' and made improper comments to the jury, but ruled the comments did not influence the verdict it reached.
'I simply do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial such as this on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-influenced clerk of courts,' Toal said.
Murdaugh's team has since appealed that ruling.
Hill has repeatedly denied the allegations against her but resigned her position as clerk of court in March 2024. She maintained her resignation was unrelated to the state investigations.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sean 'Diddy' Combs trial recap: Ex-girlfriend ‘Jane' faces more cross examination, says she initiated some ‘hotel nights'
The trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs continued Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, with 'Jane' — a pseudonym for an alleged victim and ex-girlfriend of Combs — returning to the witness stand for a fifth day of testimony in the high-profile sex trafficking case. Federal prosecutors say that for decades, Combs abused, threatened and coerced women to participate in drug-fueled marathon sexual encounters called "freak offs" and used his business empire, along with guns, kidnapping and arson, to conceal his crimes. In direct testimony, Jane tearfully recounted the 'freak offs'— which she called 'hotel nights' — telling the court that she felt obligated to 'perform' sex acts for Combs with other men because he was paying her rent. She also testified about a brutal assault she endured before Combs ordered her to cover up her injuries and take ecstasy for an impromptu 'hotel night.' Facing more cross-examination by the defense on Wednesday, Jane told the court that she initiated some of the encounters, including one in which she hired two men. She appeared emotional while reading texts she sent to Combs in 2023, calling him a 'blessing' and saying she was grateful that he was taking care of her financially. Combs's defense team said they'll finish Jane's cross-examination Thursday morning. The 55-year-old hip-hop mogul is facing five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he could face life in prison. Here are some key takeaways from Wednesday's testimony culled from various reporters and news organizations in the courtroom, including CNN, NBC News, and the Washington Post. Before Jane's testimony got underway, Judge Arun Subramanian listened to arguments over a prosecution request to dismiss one of the jurors for reasons that have not yet been made public. Prosecutor Maurene Comey told Subramanian that the government was initially reluctant to ask for the removal of juror no. 6, but has since concluded the juror appears to have shown 'a lack of candor with the court that raises serious issues.' Defense attorney Alexandra Shapiro objected, saying it was a 'thinly veiled effort to dismiss a Black juror.' Subramanian said he would handle the issue on Thursday after hearing in writing from both sides. Under cross-examination by the defense, Jane acknowledged that she once threatened to not participate in a 'hotel night' with Combs for Valentine's Day 2022 after she saw social media posts of him on vacation with another woman. She demanded that he leave the vacation a day early and return to her. When he agreed, she planned the 'hotel night,' decorating the room with rose petals and hiring two male entertainers to have sex with her while Combs watched. Jane testified that it was her idea to have the two men in the room with her at the same time. 'Yes, that was my suggestion,' Jane said in court, adding that Combs was 'excited about that.' In late August 2022, Jane testified that she told Combs how much she appreciated the sexual encounters after a hotel night with him and a sex worker named Paul. Jane texted Combs that she's 'having so much fun' and she would 'never take this for granted and will always make sure you are taken care of.' Big picture: The defense is seeking to refute the prosecution's claims that the alleged victims were coerced by Combs into participating in the marathon sexual encounters by showing they were willing participants. Having Jane acknowledge that she arranged a 'hotel night' with two men, and later saying she was having 'fun' is part of that effort. On the witness stand, Jane read text messages she sent to Combs in April 2023 after a hotel night, right around the time she moved into a rented Los Angeles home, which Combs is currently paying for. 'The fact that you are the reason for my child's joy is a feeling inside me that I can't explain,' Jane read, tearing up. 'You are truly a blessing in my life, I have never had a man take care of me like you do,' Jane continued. 'You are my lover, my partner, my boyfriend,' she wrote.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump AI czar hits back at ‘doomer cult' and mass-unemployment fears
White House AI czar David Sacks dismissed concerns about artificial intelligence taking away jobs on Tuesday, just days after a major AI leader warned the technology could lead unemployment to climb as high as 20% in the next few years. 'Personally, I don't think it's (AI) going to lead to a giant wave of unemployment,' Sacks told attendees at the Amazon Web Services summit in Washington, DC. 'I think it's actually very hard to replace a human job entirely. I think it's easier to replace pieces of it.' 'I don't think we're going to have 20% unemployment,' he added. The comments come after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei told Axios that artificial intelligence could wipe out as much as half of entry-level, white-collar jobs in the next one to five years. In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper last month, Amodei said he feared people won't adapt quickly enough to the speed of AI's innovations. 'I really worry, particularly at the entry level, that the AI models are very much at the center of what an entry level human-worker would do,' he cautioned. 'I think we do need to be raising the alarm. I think we do need to be concerned about it. I think policymakers do need to worry about it.' 'AI is starting to get better than humans at almost all intellectual tasks, and we're going to collectively, as a society, grapple with it,' Amodei continued. Experts predict at least some economic upheaval due to the swift adoption of new technology, but opinions vary widely on how, when or even to what extent that will happen in the world's largest economy. Sacks singled out what he called a 'doomer cult,' which supports what he believes is restrictive AI regulation, underestimates the capacity for AI-driven economic growth and overestimates potential job losses. 'I could see AI driving our growth rate to something like 4 or 5%' he said. 'I think you're already seeing the beginning of an AI boom. I mean, I'm very optimistic that this will be a huge economic tailwind for us.' Still, Sacks acknowledged that AI will inflict some pain for people whose opportunities may be upended by the new technology. 'There will be some retraining that is required for students and workers, and I don't want to minimize that,' Sacks continued. 'So there will be challenges too, but I think it's going to be a really bright future.' A recent survey from the Pew Research Center found that nearly two in three US adults believe that AI will lead to fewer jobs over the next two decades. More than half of all Americans say they are 'extremely' or 'very' concerned about job losses due to AI. But it nevertheless remains a national security priority, Sacks said. He told attendees that he believed China is only three to six months behind the United States in AI. 'China is not years behind us in AI,' he said. 'It's a very close race.' Sacks' comments come as President Donald Trump is trying to pass his sweeping domestic policy and tax cut bill, which includes a 10-year moratorium on enforcement of state AI regulations, including laws aimed at preventing hiring discrimination or non-consensual, explicit deepfakes. Academics, tech workers and advocacy groups have warned the provision could shield AI companies from potential harms they inflict on society. Anthropic's Amodei told CNN he sees huge potential in AI, which he believes could cure cancer. But he also fretted about what that advancement could cost in jobs. 'I really worry, particularly at the entry level, that the AI models are, you know, very much at the center of what an entry level human worker would do,' he said. But Sacks said AI is coming, and it's best to be prepared rather than try to stop it. It will proliferate throughout the economy as chips powering AI grow more powerful and enable significantly more intelligent models. 'I don't think that the right thing to do here is to throw up a wall and just be so afraid of AI that we try to resist it,' he said. 'It's kind of like telling the tides to stop. It's just not going to happen.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
CNN Reporter Mocked For Noting 'The Smell Of Weed Is In The Air' At LA ICE Protests
A CNN reporter is going viral for an offhand comment he made Tuesday about cannabis while covering protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies in Los Angeles. During a segment at a protest site, reporter Nick Watt described the scene for viewers, claiming at one point that he saw 'some people who I would suggest might be interested in causing some trouble a little later on,' who were in masks and swimming goggles 'for the tear gas.' The Scottish-born Watt also noted graffiti reading 'F Trump' on a building being guarded by National Guardsmen and noted that 'the mood in the crowd is getting more agitated' as the clock moved closer to the 8 p.m. curfew declared by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. But it was his next comment that lit a fire on social media' 'The smell of weed is in the air,' he said. 'People are not looking at all, Abby, like they are gonna abide by this curfew and get out of here,' he said. Watt's weed comments were mocked on social media because marijuana has been legal in California since 2016 and ― like it or not ― it's common to smell it even in places where there aren't massive protests. Also, while Watt's comments may have sounded as if he were hinting that tensions between protesters and the Guardsmen might lead to violence, many people pointed out that cannabis just tends to make people really mellow. HuffPost reached out to Watt for comment, but he did not immediately respond. However, his cannabis comments lit a fire on social media. Cannabis Industry Cautiously Optimistic It Won't Be Burned By Trump LA Police Swiftly Enforce Downtown Curfew As Protests Against Trump's Immigration Crackdown Continue Dozens Of Journalists Targeted, Shot, Detained While Covering LA Protests, Press Org Says
