Rebecca Hill on Murdaugh verdict: My breath was knocked out for a moment
Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill recalls reading the Murdaugh verdict on Fox Nation's 'The Fall of the House of Murdaugh.'
Lawyers for Alex Murdaugh accused Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of jury tampering less than a week after she described having her "breath knocked out" from the murder verdict and referenced "personal relationships" while discussing the trial in a Fox Nation interview.
Murdaugh's lawyers requested a new trial in an explosive motion on Tuesday, alleging that Hill "tampered with the jury by advising them not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense, pressuring them to reach a quick guilty verdict, and even misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge in her campaign to remove a juror she believed to be favorable to the defense."
Murdaugh's defense team also alleged that Hill had "frequent private conversations with the jury foreperson" to sway the panel toward a guilty verdict.
"Ms. Hill did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial," the filing alleged. "Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame."
Alex Murdaugh listens to the jury charges during his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on March 2, 2023. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)
The motion comes days after Fox Nation aired the docuseries "The Fall of the House of Murdaugh," featuring a sit-down interview with Hill conducted by Fox News host Martha MacCallum where the court clerk spoke candidly about her experience throughout the trial and her reaction to the double murder verdict.
"I'm the one that read the verdict of Alex Murdaugh, and I was a little, um-- my breath was knocked out for a moment, but then I have to tell myself to treat this just like any other trial, any other verdict that I have to read, and I have to place my mind there, and take out any other personal, um, relationships," Hill said in the series.
ALEX MURDAUGH: TIMELINE OF ONCE-POWERFUL SOUTH CAROLINA LAWYER'S SPECTACULAR DOWNFALL
Murdaugh, 55, was sentenced in March to two life terms to run consecutively for fatally shooting his 52-year-old wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, in June 2021 as part of what prosecutors say was an effort to divert attention away from his mounting alleged financial crimes.
A panel of 12 jurors returned a verdict after less than three hours of deliberations. He was found guilty of two counts each of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Alex Murdaugh cries while taking the stand at double murder trial. (POOL)
During her conversation with MacCallum, Hill, an elected official, said she believes the Murdaugh name is "tarnished forever," comparing the now disgraced South Carolina family to "the Kennedys."
"I've always compared the Murdaugh's hearing to the Kennedys. And like the Kennedys the Murdaughs have experienced so much tragedy," she said.
Hill told the Fox News host that she believed the Murdaughs possessed enough power locally to "set the laws, make the laws. And bend the laws."
"You would not want to be on the wrong side of them," she remarked.
Hill also spoke extensively about the Murdaugh family and her role in the trial in her memoir "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders," which hit bookstores on Aug. 1.
The bombshell new filing from Murdaugh's lawyers accuses Hill of warning jurors "not to be fooled" by Murdaugh before he testified and "misrepresenting critical and material information to the trial judge" to get a juror she believed was sympathetic to the defense dismissed.
Hill allegedly instructed the panel to "watch him closely" and "look at his actions," implying that Murdaugh was lying.
The filing also says Hill got one juror booted from the panel Feb. 28 on the eve of deliberations by falsely telling Judge Clifton Newman that the woman's ex-husband had accused her in a deleted Facebook post of talking way too much to friends and family about the case. Hill even wrote about the incident in her book.
At a press conference outside the state Court of Appeals, Murdaugh's attorneys provided further details on their allegations against Hill.
An attorney said the two jurors, who had refused to talk previously, came forward after Hill's memoir was published, angered by how the clerk was "going on a book tour and making money" off the trial.
Hill has not yet responded pubically to the allegations by Murdaugh's attorneys. She did not respond to Fox News' request for comment.
Hill's full interview with Martha MacCallum is available for streaming now on FOX Nation's "The Fall of the House of Murdaugh." The series includes behind-the-scenes footage from the trial, an exclusive interview with Buster Murdaugh and never-before-seen home movies, as well as intimate prison revelations from Alex himself, zeroing in on the life and crimes of the disgraced lawyer.
The series also offers FOX Nation subscribers exclusive access to Alex Murdaugh’s defense team, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, and includes comments from lead prosecutor Creighton Waters, Attorney General Alan Wilson, Moselle dog kennel manager Roger Dale Davis Jr., forensic expert Dr. Kenneth Kinsey and more.
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Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.
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