Becky Hill's co-author accuses her of plagiarism in Alex Murdaugh trial book

A non-fiction book detailing the 2023 double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh will be unpublished after one of its co-authors accused the other writer of plagiarism.

In a Tuesday news statement, journalist Neil Gordon said he discovered alleged plagiarism from his co-author, Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, while writing "Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders."

The statement said that both writers "have made the difficult decision to unpublish the book and cease sales after revelations co-author Becky Hill plagiarized a portion of the book without co-author Neil Gordon’s knowledge."

While reviewing thousands of pages of Hill’s e-mails to reporters, Gordon said he found an exchange between Hill and BBC reporter Holly Honderich, who reportedly shared a long excerpt from an upcoming article regarding the Murdaugh trial.

When Gordon compared the article’s text to a 12-page book passage in the Preface of "Behind the Doors of Justice" – supposedly written by Hill – he "realized she’d lifted the article’s text and made it her own," according to Tuesday's statement.

Why did Becky Hill allegedly plagiarize?

Gordon said the stress of book deadlines led to the problem, according to the news release.

"When I confronted Becky about this, she admitted she plagiarized the passage due to deadline pressures," Gordon said in the release.  "As a veteran journalist myself, I cannot excuse her behavior, nor can I condone it."

Hill is "deeply remorseful" regarding the allegations that surfaced from the book, her attorneys said in a statement Tuesday.

"The pressures of developing additional content under tight time deadlines resulted in Ms. Hill taking material written by BBC reporter Holly Honderich and submitting it to her co-author Neil Gordon as if it were her own words," the statement said. "Ms. Hill accepts full responsibility for this unfortunate lapse in judgment and has personally reached out to Ms. Honderich to express her sincere apologies."

Gordon immediately notified BBC reporter

After discovering the alleged plagiarism, Gordon says he immediately notified the BBC reporter about Hill’s actions, and he’s been told the media outlet’s attorneys are investigating.

USA TODAY has reached out to the BBC and Honderich for comment.

"This has blindsided me," Gordon said. "Journalism has been my life’s work; my credibility and integrity are paramount to everything I do. I can’t be associated with anything like plagiarism and will no longer partner with Becky Hill on any projects. I’d like to apologize to our readers, and publicly to the BBC and the reporter."

The self-published book, currently available online through Amazon and Audible, will be unpublished "until next steps for the book have been identified," according to her attorney's statement.

"Ms. Hill has great respect for the tireless work journalists do every day and sincerely regrets using Ms. Honderich's words as her own," Hill's attorneys said.

Hill previously accused of jury tampering and public corruption

These are not the first allegations against Hill concerning her book and Murdaugh's six-week murder trial in Walterboro, South Carolina. Hill oversaw the operations of the courthouse, meaning she swore in witnesses, ensured the jurors had what they needed, and also read the jury's guilty verdicts for the court record on national television.

In September, Hill was accused of jury tampering by Murdaugh's attorneys, who demanded a hearing to seek a retrial. That hearing has not been held yet, but Hill has denied those allegations even as the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the S.C. Attorney General's Office investigate the claims.

In December, she was accused of ethics violations and possible public corruption while in office before the S.C. Ethics Commission and the South Carolina Attorney General's Office is now investigating those claims, as well.

Throughout these allegations, before today's statement, Gordon had steadfastly defended Hill, even speaking out on Court TV and other national media outlets.

Who is Alex Murdaugh?

Now an infamous and disbarred Hampton attorney, Murdaugh comes from a legacy Lowcountry legal family who was accused of over a 100 financial crimes. On March 2, he became a convicted murderer when a jury found him guilty of killing his wife Maggie and younger son Paul on June 7, 2021.

While the 55-year-old has pleaded guilty to financial crimes, he staunchly denies having a hand in the killings. On May 23, a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court in Charleston returned 22-count indictment against Murdaugh for bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.

Where is Alex Murdaugh now?

Murdaugh has been serving two consecutive life sentences in a South Carolina maximum-security prison since March. He is separated from the general population due to safety reasons, according to state corrections officials. He lives in a single 8-by-10-foot cell in an "undisclosed location" with a bed, toilet and sink.

"Inmates in this unit receive all privileges afforded those in the general population inside this self-contained unit," the South Carolina Department of Corrections said in March.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Co-author accuses Becky Hill of plagiarism, Alex Murdaugh book halted