Alex Murdaugh court clerk Becky Hill resigns after allegations of jury tampering

Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill announced Monday that she is resigning and will not be seeking re-election this year following allegations of jury tampering in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial.

Hill, who is the subject of two ongoing investigations by the South Carolina Attorney General's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), maintains that her decision does not stem from any of the allegations made against her while she presided over Murdaugh's trial.

"Another significant impact in our clerk's office was in 2023, when we had to manage one of the biggest trials in South Carolina history. Our small town came together and made everyone proud," Hill said during a Monday press conference. "Managing a trial with such importance to the people of South Carolina, as well as to the national and international media interest and public scrutiny, has caused me to reflect upon decisions involving my stay in the office of the clerk of court."

Hill, who held the position of court clerk for about four years, said her decision not to seek re-election in 2024 will allow her to "focus on being a wife, a mother and a grandmother." She added that she wants to provide "ample time to other Republican candidates" interested in the position of Colleton County Court Clerk.

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Her attorney, Justin Bramberg, who has represented victims of Alex Murdaugh's financial crimes, said Hill's decision has nothing to do with any pending investigations involving the clerk.

"Let me be extremely clear: Today is not in response whatsoever to anything going on with any investigation or anything of that nature," Bramberg said. 

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SLED announced in September that it had opened two investigations into Hill's conduct during Murdaugh's murder trial, including a probe into allegations Hill used her position as clerk to benefit financially from sales of her book about the case, which she later admitted included plagiarized writing, and another probe into the jury tampering allegations.

Bramberg said Hill's announcement "could have occurred behind a computer screen or hiding behind her lawyers," but the clerk "was committed to that not happening."

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After being convicted in 2022 for killing his wife and son on a family hunting estate in 2021, Alex Murdaugh appeared back in court in January for a hearing focused on allegations of jury tampering against Hill. 

Murdaugh's attorneys argued that the allegations warranted a new murder trial for the disgraced South Carolina legal scion.

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But Justice Jean Toal ultimately decided, after hearing from the jurors who presided over the case, that a new trial was not necessary. 

Toal said before her ruling that while Hill was "attracted by the siren call of celebrity" and had made "fleeting and foolish comments," the jurors took their assignments seriously in convicting Murdaugh.

Of 12 total jurors who found Murdaugh guilty last spring, 11 said Hill did not influence their decisions. One said he heard the clerk make comments about watching Murdaugh's body language but said her words did not influence his verdict. 

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Neil Gordon, Hill's co-author, said in a Monday statement that a SLED agent interviewed him on March 22.

"They expressed a great deal of concern about Becky possibly using her office for personal gain," Gordon said. "In their questioning of me, they were honing in on how many different times Becky did book signings, interviews, and speaking engagements during the workday. I sincerely hope her resignation lessens any potential action taken against her, and that it restores public trust in the office of clerk of court."

Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.