Fireworks are expected Tuesday at a status conference for Alex Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial as a new judge takes the bench and makes decisions about what evidence will be heard and which witnesses will testify at a three-day evidentiary hearing later this month.

Murdaugh claims Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill tampered with the jury in his double murder trial last year. The jury found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son, Paul Murdaugh, after six weeks of testimony and roughly three hours of deliberation in March 2023.

Prosecutors from South Carolina’s Office of the Attorney General have argued an evidentiary hearing on the defense claims isn’t necessary. However, Justice Jean Toal, who has been appointed by the state’s high court to preside over the motion, has already decided a hearing is necessary. Toal was the first woman to serve as chief justice of South Carolina’s Supreme Court.

Late Friday, Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a new brief adding the names of witnesses they may call at the hearing. Those included Creighton Waters, the assistant attorney general who led the prosecution of Murdaugh, his paralegal, Carly Jewell, Becky Hill’s daughter, Aubrey Hill, and SLED agents David Owen and Rachel Joseph. Calling Waters to testify at the hearing could become a point of contention at Tuesday’s status conference.

Documents recently came to light that showed Becky Hill passed along emails from members of the public who offered opinions about defense witnesses to Waters and Jewell. However, Hill did not send the emails to the defense team.

The defense also plans to call several jurors to testify including Juror 785, also known as “Egg Lady.” She was dismissed during closing arguments and drew laughs in the courtroom when she asked to retrieve a dozen eggs from the jury room before leaving the courthouse. The circumstances surrounding the dismissal of “Egg Lady” have become a point of contention between the defense and prosecution.

The defense contends Hill fabricated a Facebook post about Juror 785 discussing the case with her ex-husband to get the juror removed. The defense claims Hill asked Juror 785 about her feelings on the case on several occasions. Judge Clifton Newman excused her after interviewing two of her tenants who he said “waffled” about discussing the case with Juror 785.

The defense also plans to call Juror 254, who replaced Juror 785, along with two other jurors — one who was also a tenant of Juror 785 but was not one of the tenants interviewed by SLED. Murdaugh’s lawyers also plan to call Barnwell County Clerk of Court Rhonda McElveen to testify. The defense says McElveen told SLED agents she received complaints from court staff about Hill’s “excessive” contact with jurors during the trial. McElveen was in Colleton County assisting Hill with the trial.

Meanwhile, Murdaugh’s lawyers have asked Toal to bar attorney Eric Bland from participating in the hearing. Bland and his law partner, Ronnie Richter, represent four jurors in Murdaugh’s trial. Richter told Law&Crime last month that he expected the jurors he represents to tell a different story than those who have reported hearing Becky Hill make comments about Murdaugh during the trial.

However, Bland seemed miffed on his podcast that he was not invited to participate in the status conference. In court documents, Murdaugh’s lawyers detailed comments Bland made about Toal in an episode of the podcast, “Cup of Justice” on Dec. 26.

“She has friends sometimes to reward and enemies to punish or she has friends to punish and enemies to reward,” Bland said on the podcast. The quote was mentioned in one of Murdaugh’s briefs.

Bland said he “didn’t like it” when he heard Toal had been appointed to handle Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial. He described her as smart and prepped but also as a strong presence.

“She pees on every corner in that courtroom. It’s hers,” Bland said on the podcast.

The comment mirrored one made by Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian to a website about his strategies for trial in which he discussed “owning the courtroom” and invading the opposing party’s space to create anxiety.

Bland conceded he might have a bias due to a 2008 decision in which Toal found Bland and Richter violated a court order related to a settlement agreement. The decision reversed a lower court decision. Bland credited Toal with being prepared and “lively” during the proceedings. 

However, Bland went on to say that he was concerned that he had not been notified about Tuesday’s status conference since he represents four jurors.

Law&Crime obtained a copy of an email that Toal’s law clerk sent to Bland and attorneys for the state and the defense on Dec. 27. In it, the clerk explains that only the parties in the case would be allowed to participate in the status conference and evidentiary hearing.

“The jurors who rendered their verdicts in the murder trial are at most mere witnesses to the current issue of whether the Defendant is entitled to a new trial,” the law clerk wrote.

Toal’s clerk told the attorneys that the participation of attorneys for witnesses seemed premature but welcomed Bland to brief the court on why he believed his participation should be allowed. The clerk went on to say that Toal was weighing what testimony would be necessary from which witnesses.

Bland did not file a brief with the court. He did not return a text message requesting comment for this story on Monday.

Law&Crime will cover Tuesday’s status conference which begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Richland County Courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina. 

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Lawyers for convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh say the clerk of court in his murder trial forwarded emails about defense witnesses to prosecutors and talked with jurors about the case during his six-week trial, according to a newly filed brief.

Murdaugh is asking for a new trial, claiming Becky Hill tampered with the jury by speaking to them about her belief in their client’s guilt. In a brief filed this week, attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian said they plan to impeach Hill’s testimony. They said she should not be allowed to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination if called to testify.

“She waived the right to assert the Fifth Amendment in this proceeding when she submitted an affidavit specifically denying each allegation against her,” Griffin and Harpootlian wrote.

Prosecutors submitted an affidavit signed by Hill to the court in which she denied all of the allegations of jury tampering. Since then, though, Murdaugh’s lawyers say new information has come to light, further calling Hill’s credibility into question.

“Ms. Hill is alleged to have stolen money, illegally sold access to the courthouse, conspired with her son to conduct illegal wiretaps, and even had her book removed from publication because of her plagiarism,” the lawyers wrote.

Hill’s son, Jeffrey “Colt” Hill, was charged with one count of wiretapping last November. He’s accused of using his position as Colleton County IT director to listen to the phone calls of another county employee. FITSNews in South Carolina has reported Colt Hill did so to keep his mother up to date on an ethics complaint made against her regarding her conduct during the Murdaugh trial.


Hill wrote a book after the trial, “Behind the Doors of Justice.” Late last year, she admitted to using a BBC reporter’s story in the book without the reporter’s permission. FITSNews also reported that Hill is being investigated for misusing federal funds at the Colleton County Clerk of Courts Office that were earmarked for child support enforcement.

Murdaugh’s lawyers claim these revelations have damaged Hill’s credibility regarding her denials.

While none of the jurors in Murdaugh’s trial have claimed Hill’s comments impacted their decision to find him guilty, Murdaugh’s lawyers say that is not the legal standard.

“Even if every juror were to testify that he or she would have reached the same verdict regardless of Ms. Hill’s tampering, a new trial is required if it is proven that Ms. Hill communicated with jurors about the merits of the evidence presented,” Griffin and Harpootlian wrote.

Prosecutors view the case much differently, however. They hope to preserve the murder convictions and claim Murdaugh hasn’t met the bar for an evidentiary hearing.

In a brief filed Thursday, prosecutors said the burden is on Murdaugh to prove the jury tampering occurred.

“Not a single juror who actually deliberated on the case indicates that their deliberations or verdict was in any way affected by the improper contacts alleged,” prosecutors wrote.

Prosecutors are asking Justice Jean Toal, who is now presiding over the motion for a new trial, to limit questioning of the jurors to two issues: first, did they answer when polled after the verdict, and did they follow Judge Newman’s instructions to follow the law and the evidence when reaching a verdict.

The defense stated in its motion that jurors would be questioned in camera, meaning behind closed doors. And Justice Toal would be the person to question the jurors.

Judge Clifton Newman, who is now retired but presided over Murdaugh’s trial, would also be questioned in camera by Justice Toal if necessary.

A hearing will be held on Jan. 16 in Richland County, South Carolina. The evidentiary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29-31.

Alex Murdaugh is serving two consecutive life sentences for the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. They were found shot to death on the family’s Moselle property in June 2021.

Murdaugh has maintained his innocence. Late last year, he pleaded guilty in state court to a long list of financial crimes charges. He is serving a 27-year sentence. He will be sentenced this year on federal charges for the same crimes.

 

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