Clerk in Murdaugh Trial Is Charged With Misconduct and Perjury

The former court clerk who handled the trial of Alex Murdaugh, the South Carolina lawyer who was convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife and son, used her position for personal gain, misused public funds, shared information under court seal with a reporter and committed perjury, prosecutors said on Wednesday.

The former clerk, Becky Hill, 57, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with two counts of misconduct in office and one count each of obstruction of justice and perjury, according to court documents.

After Mr. Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison, his lawyers asked for a new trial, arguing that Ms. Hill had improperly influenced the jurors in his case.

A judge denied the request last year, saying that while Ms. Hill had made “fleeting and foolish” comments, Mr. Murdaugh had not proved they were enough to affect the jury’s guilty verdict. Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers have appealed that ruling.

During the trial, Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers had accused Ms. Hill of misconduct, including a series of inappropriate conversations with jurors that they said may have influenced the outcome of the case.

Two jurors signed sworn affidavits saying that Ms. Hill had warned jurors not to “be fooled” by Mr. Murdaugh’s defense. Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers also said that she had private conversations with a juror, and that she told jurors before they started deliberating that “this shouldn’t take us long.”

Those allegations, which Ms. Hill has strenuously denied, became the basis for an investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. A lawyer for Ms. Hill, Will Lewis, declined to comment when reached Wednesday afternoon.

A jury deliberated for less than three hours on March 2, 2023, before finding Mr. Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and their younger son, Paul. Ms. Hill, performing one of her duties, read out the verdicts.

Afterward, South Carolina’s attorney general singled out Ms. Hill as one of the people he wanted to thank, referring to her as “Becky Boo.”

At that time, she had been the elected clerk of court for Colleton County, S.C., since 2020. She was responsible for many administrative matters, including managing jury logistics.

About four months after the trial, Ms. Hill published her firsthand account of the trial in a book that she wrote with Neil Gordon. After it was published, Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers said that they heard from some jurors who said they felt uncomfortable about the book and her promotion of it.

Soon afterward, Mr. Murdaugh’s lawyers accused Ms. Hill of tampering with the jury so that they would quickly return a guilty verdict.

The state attorney general opened an ethics investigation into her conduct, and the State Ethics Commission said last year that it had found probable cause that she had misused her position to enrich herself and promote the book. She later admitted that she had plagiarized portions of the book.

Ms. Hill resigned in March 2024.

After her arrest, Ms. Hill posted a $10,000 bond in Colleton County on the misconduct and obstruction charges, and a $50,000 bond in Richland County, S.C., on the perjury charge, records show.

The guilty verdicts against Mr. Murdaugh, 56, capped the stunning downfall of a man who was hiding a secret life in which he stole millions of dollars from clients and colleagues. He was a fourth-generation lawyer, and his family had long exerted influence in small-town courtrooms across parts of South Carolina. It had controlled a regional prosecutor’s office in the state’s Lowcountry region for more than 80 years, and ran an influential law firm for even longer.

He has maintained his innocence since Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot to death on the family’s rural hunting estate in June 2021.

He admitted that he was at the family’s dog kennels with his wife and son shortly before they were killed, after a video taken by Paul Murdaugh confirmed his presence there. He had previously denied that he was at the kennels, where his wife and son were found shot to death.

Immediately after the verdict, the state attorney general, Alan Wilson, said at a news conference, “Today’s verdict proves that no one, no one — no matter who you are in society — is above the law.”

Mr. Murdaugh had been stealing from clients and his law partners for years before the murders. Prosecutors said that he had carried out the killings in a bizarre, failed attempt to gain sympathy and to stop his law firm from scrutinizing his finances.

Though he is challenging his murder convictions, Mr. Murdaugh has admitted to having stolen vast sums of money over the years. He pleaded guilty in November to financial crimes and was sentenced to an additional 27 years in prison.

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs contributed reporting and Alain Delaquérière contributed research.