Rebecca “Becky” Hill, the former court clerk in South Carolina during the trial of the disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh, faces charges in two counties for abusing her position in connection with the highly publicized trial two years ago.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced that Hill, 57, is accused of perjury, obstructing justice, and misconduct in her official capacity, according to their statement.
In March 2024, Hill stepped down as the Colleton County clerk of court. She maintained that her resignation was unrelated to an ongoing state ethics inquiry, which later charged her with 76 breaches of state regulations.
Murdaugh was found guilty in 2023 of killing his wife and younger son at the family’s hunting lodge in 2021, as CrimeOnline reported. His attorneys accused Hill of tampering with the jury by suggesting to jurors that he was guilty, but a judge denied him another trial after the jurors said nothing Hill said swayed their verdict, which they took less than three hours to reach. The defense has continued to push, however, and last year the state Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal.
Murdaugh was sentenced to two life terms in prison and later to more than 40 years after he pleaded guilty to defrauding clients and his former law firm to the tune of millions of dollars.
The charges leveled against Hill on Wednesday pertain misuse of her office for financial gain, including using her office to promote a book she wrote about the Murdaugh trial, and making photographs sealed as evidence available “to a third party or parties” in violation of a court order to protect the photos.
The book, “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,” was ultimately pulled from publication over allegations of plagiarism.
The perjury charge stems from her testimony during a hearing in January 2024 in which she denied allowing anyone to see the sealed exhibits. A warrant says that testimony was “false and misleading.”
Hill has denied any wrongdoing, including the 76 ethics violations found by the state commission.
Hill posted a $30,000 bond in Colleton County and a $50,000 bond on the perjury charge in Richland County and was released from jail.
Murdaugh’s attorneys released a statement saying they had “long raised our concerns” about Hill’s conduct and “look forward to Alex Murdaugh finally getting that fair treatment,” although none of the charges have anything to do with the trial itself.
