Ex-court clerk in Alex Murdaugh double murder trial charged with misconduct, obstruction
A former South Carolina court clerk who served during the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh faces multiple charges stemming from the case, including over the promotion of her book about the high-profile trial, court records show.
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca "Becky" Hill, 57, was charged with perjury, obstructing justice and misconduct in office charges on Wednesday, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said. She was arrested and booked Wednesday in Colleton and Richland counties on the charges, the agency said.
The charges come more than two years after Murdaugh was found guilty of brutally murdering his wife, Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, who were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family's hunting estate in 2021. A judge imposed two sentences of life in prison, to be served consecutively for the murders.
MORE: Alex Murdaugh's attorneys allege court clerk tampered with jury in double murder trial
The arrest warrants filed against Hill alleged that she obstructed justice during the 2023 trial and abused her office for her own financial gain in its wake, as well as committed perjury during a hearing amid Murdaugh's bid for a new trial last year.
Hill is accused of obstructing justice in February 2023 during the trial by releasing or making available "'scaled evidence' photographs to a third party or parties, such act occurring in violation of a written court order issued to protect the 'sealed evidence' photographs, in violation of the law of the State of South Carolina," the arrest warrant stated.
She "did willfully, dishonestly, and unlawfully breach her duty of accountability to the public" when she used her office to promote a book she co-authored about the trial on social media, "such act being for her own financial gain and in violation of her duties, in violation of the laws of the State of South Carolina," the arrest warrant alleged. The book, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders," was ultimately pulled from publication over accusations of plagiarism.
Hill is alleged to have given "false and misleading testimony" during a hearing on Jan. 29, 2024, in Richland County, as part of Murdaugh's appeal, when she denied allowing anyone from the press to view the sealed exhibits in February 2023, according to the arrest warrant.
She is additionally accused of receiving financial bonuses totaling nearly $12,000 between September 2021 and March 2024 for her own financial gain, "in violation of her duties, and further in violation of the laws of the State of South Carolina," the arrest warrant alleged.
She has denied any wrongdoing.
MORE: Alex Murdaugh sentenced to 27 years in state prison for financial crimes
During her bond hearing in Colleton County earlier Wednesday, her attorney, Will Lewis, argued Hill was not a danger to the community or a flight risk.
"She lives here. She turned herself in," Lewis said. "We found out about these charges last night. We're here right now, so we'd be asking that she's released on her own recognizance."
The judge agreed, granting Hill $30,000 bond on the obstructing justice and misconduct in office charges. She also posted $50,000 bond on the perjury charge in Richland County and was released on her own recognizance, court records show.
Murdaugh's attorneys called the charges against Hill "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," his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said in a statement. "Every defendant is entitled to a fair and impartial trial and we look forward to Alex Murdaugh finally getting that fair treatment."
Hill resigned as the Colleton County clerk of court in March 2024, amid the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's investigation into allegations she may have abused her government position for financial gain.
She also faces 76 counts of ethics violations from the South Carolina State Ethics Commission over allegations she improperly sought financial gain through her position.
Murdaugh appealed his conviction, alleging jury tampering by Hill, though a judge denied his motion for a new trial in January 2024.
Hill denied she tampered with the jury while testifying during hearings on the appeal. In dismissing the motion, the judge said she found Hill's testimony was not credible but stated Hill's actions were not enough to have changed the jury's guilty verdict. All of the jurors testified they stood by their verdict and were not swayed by anything Hill may have done.
In August 2024, the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear Murdaugh's jury tampering appeal.
Murdaugh has maintained his innocence following his conviction in the murders of his wife and son. During the trial, prosecutors claimed Murdaugh, who comes from a legacy of prominent attorneys in the Hampton County region, killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from his financial wrongdoings as a personal injury attorney at his law firm.
ABC News' Janice McDonald contributed to this report.
Ex-court clerk in Alex Murdaugh double murder trial charged with misconduct, obstruction originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
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