Murdaugh lawyers demand new trial, FBI investigation, accuse Clerk Becky Hill of jury tampering
Attorneys for convicted murderer Richard "Alex" Murdaugh have announced shocking legal filings today, asking state officials to step away from the case and bring in federal investigators, accusing a Colleton County court official of jury tampering and violating Murdaugh's civil rights to a fair trial, and demanding a new trial.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Murdaugh announced that his attorneys, Richard Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, would be hosting a press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 5, at 2:30 p.m. on the south side of the South Carolina State House grounds, near the Court of Appeals, to discuss a newly filed motion for a new trial based on new "discovered evidence," but did not release details of that motion.
On Tuesday morning, Harpootlian and Griffin revealed their hand, and their new legal cards are shocking.
"Today, we filed a petition based on newly discovered evidence with the SC Court of Appeals to stay Alex Murdaugh’s appeal while a hearing is held on a motion for a new trial," said Murdaugh's attorneys in a joint statement attached to the legal filings.
"Concurrently, we have sent a request to the South Carolina U.S. Attorney to open a federal investigation into the violation of Alex Murdaugh’s civil rights.
"The serious allegations in the petition filed today speak for themselves but we believe they explain a number of peculiarities in the six-week trial. We request that SLED stand down on initiating any investigation of these allegations since they are heavily invested in maintaining Alex’s conviction. We suggest that they wait for the Court of Appeals to rule and receive direction from the trial court, if the Court of Appeals remands the case for an evidentiary hearing. We also would request that those in the media and the public respect the privacy of those included in this filing.
2023-09-05 Ltr to Adair Ford Boroughs by USA TODAY Network on Scribd
"Jim and I want to thank those on our team who stand with us today who have worked tirelessly to ferret out the truth.
"Alex Murdaugh maintained and still maintains his innocence of the murder of Maggie and Paul and he believes the truth will ultimately prevail."
Alex Murdaugh motion for new trial accuses Clerk of Court, author Becky Hill
Murdaugh was convicted of two counts of murder in the 2021 deaths of his wife and son during a six-week trial in Walterboro, S.C., that concluded on March 3, 2023, with Judge Clifton Newman sentencing him to two life sentences. Within days, his attorneys had filed a notice of appeal of that verdict and sentence.
In the motion for a stay of that appeal and a new trial filed with the S.C. Court of Appeals Tuesday, Murdaugh's legal team make several serious allegations against a public official embedded into the heart of that trial – Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, who read the verdict and later published a tell-all book about the historic murder case.
State v. Murdaugh - Motion to Stay by USA TODAY Network on Scribd
In their 65-page motion with attachments, Harpootlian and Griffin make the following allegations of jury tampering against Hill, alleging Hill:
Asked jurors not to believe Murdaugh's testimony or any evidence presented by his defense;
Pressured them into reaching a quick guilty verdict, tell them that their deliberations "shouldn't take them too long;"
Misrepresented information to Judge Newman in a campaign to have a juror believed to be favorable to the defense removed from the jury;
Told jurors not to be "misled" by Murdaugh's evidence or "fooled" by his testimony;
Had frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson, including a private chat with her during the jury's field trip to Moselle, the scene of the crime;
Asked jurors for their opinions about Murdaugh's guilt or innocence;
Invented a story about a Facebook post on the "Walterboro Word of Mouth" group to remove a juror who might not vote guilty;
Prior to Murdaugh's own testimony on the stand, instructed the jury to “watch him closely,” to “look at his actions,” and to “look at his movements,” which at least one juror understood to mean that Murdaugh was guilty;
Told a juror that "the Murdaughs" had "got to" her ex-husband;
Denied jurors a smoke break until they reached a verdict;
Told the jurors they would be famous and handed out reporters's business cards to them after the verdict;
Pressured a group of jurors to do an interview with a network news show after the verdict, but before the sentencing;
Traveled with the jurors to New York City to appear on "The Today Show."
When contacted for comment, Hill and her co-author, Neil Gordon, said they would be issuing a statement later today.
The motion indicates that Murdaugh's team has interviewed several jurors and obtained affidavits with statements supporting their claims.
The motion also claims that Hill "did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial," and that "Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame."
Attached to the motion were affidavits from jurors, the ex-husband of a juror, copies of Facebook posts and pages of Hill's book, "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders."
Also submitted along with the motion is a letter to United States Attorney Adair Ford Boroughs asking for an "urgent federal investigation" into Hill's conduct during the trial, and asking the Federal Bureau of Investigation, not the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, to investigate these allegations.
Murdaugh attorneys double down on allegations during presser
Murdaugh criminal defense attorneys Harpootlian, Griffin and Phil Barber appeared before multiple state and national media outlets during a 2:30 p.m. Tuesday press conference outside the South Carolina State House grounds, near the S.C. Court of Appeals, to field questions about their recent motion.
Harpootlian told reporters a Clerk of Court is supposed to talk to jurors about such matters as their food, lodging and juror pay, and in his 50 years as an attorney he has never seen a court official discuss the matters of a case with the jury.
Griffin told the media that if these allegations involving a "state actor" are true, there is "no choice" for the state court system but to grant Murdaugh a new trial. He added that they have sworn statements from two jurors, and no statements from others contradicting these claims, and his team is "very confident" this new information is accurate.
"I'm very optimistic we will get a new trial," Griffin added. "How long it will take, I don't know."
Griffin added that there is no evidence that Judge Newman did anything "untoward" during the trial proceedings.
How was this new evidence in the Murdaugh murder trial discovered?
During the presser, Murdaugh's counsel said they received information right after Murdaugh's guilty verdict that something improper happened in one of the juror rooms. The jurors had been divided into two groups, men and women, and this allegations reportedly occurred with the woman jurors.
According to the attorneys, at least two of the woman jurors felt uncomfortable about Hill's communications and behavior, and when her book was published decided to come forward, prompting Murdaugh's legal team to further investigate.
These jurors are reportedly being represented by S.C. attorney Joe McCullough, said Harpootlian. McCullough also represented Connor Cook in civil matters related to a 2019 fatal boat crash involving the Murdaugh family.
Murdaugh's counsel said they then went "door-to-door" in rural Colleton County attempting to interview all of the jurors, on "dirt roads" and "in places we didn't know existed in this state." Most of the jurors refused to speak with them, they added, but for now they have two on the record.
What happens next in this shocking, ongoing Murdaugh crime saga?
The S.C. Attorney General has ten days to respond to their motion, said Murdaugh's attorneys.
If Murdaugh's motion is approved, an evidentiary hearing would then be scheduled to consider the matters, and Murdaugh's attorneys would have the power to subpoena witnesses, emails, phone records, etc., and both Hill and every juror could be forced to testify during the hearing.
Murdaugh's team indicated they want this potential hearing open to the media and the public.
Normally, this might take place before the trial judge, but Murdaugh's attorneys pointed out that this may not happen if Judge Newman has to be called as a witness.
If the presiding judge over that hearing finds enough evidence, the case could be remanded for a new trial.
When asked by a reporter if a change of venue would be considered for a new trail, Harpootlian responded, "We've got to get a new trail first, so that's not something we are going to talk about today."
When asked by a reporter is Hill could be criminally charged, Harpootlian replied, "No comment."
Although it is unclear if, where and when a new trial might be held, or who would oversee it, one thing is certain: it would be costly to taxpayers. Murdaugh's six-week murder trial this spring cost S.C. taxpayers more than a half million dollars at both the state and local levels.
Attorneys, officials respond to Murdaugh's shocking new allegations
On Tuesday afternoon Attorney General Alan Wilson's responded with this statement:
"We are currently reviewing the defense’s latest motion and will respond through the legal process at the appropriate time."
Attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter of Bland Richter Law Firm, who represent multiple victims of Alex Murdaugh, also released a response to the newly filed motion for a new trial for Murdaugh.
“It is an extraordinary thing to accuse a Clerk of Court with jury tampering. The right to a fair and impartial jury is the bedrock of our judicial system. Time will tell whether there is any merit in this latest Murdaugh missive, or whether this is just another Murdaugh misdirection. In the meantime, it is important to keep in mind that the system has to work even for the worst of us – this is our only assurance that it will work for the rest of us.”
By 4 p.m. Tuesday, Hill's co-author, Neil Gordon, said that he and Hill wished to release a statement, but were still consulting with attorneys.
This story will be updated later this afternoon as other officials or principals offer comment after the press conference.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Alex Murdaugh alleges jury tampering, demands new trial, investigation
