Corrupt or naive? Small-town darling Becky Hill is surprising centerpiece of Murdaugh retrial effort

On a small stage at the Hampton Street Auditorium, Becky Heirs showed her range.

The 17-year-old Walterboro High School senior wowed the judges at the 1985 Miss Walterboro contest by singing and gesturing American Sign Language to the song “You Needed Me.”

That night, she took home the crown.

Two years later, Mary Rebecca Hiers became a Hill. She married Tommy Hill in an early-December wedding officiated by her brother, the Rev. Terry Hiers. She walked down the aisle holding the same white satin-covered Bible her mother carried when she was married.

Hill, 55, is a Walterboro sweetheart through and through. She’s helped with local charities and run local boards, and in 2020 she won a strong victory in her bid for Colleton County Clerk of Court. Hill even ties her family’s roots to the powerful and well-known Murdaugh family, noting in her book that Hill’s grandfather Felder Hiers was allegedly in the moonshine business with Solicitor Buster Murdaugh in the 1950s.

But now, Hill is embroiled in controversy. She’s accused of jury tampering and has admitted to plagiarizing a portion of the book she co-authored about one of the most notorious trials in South Carolina history.

As early as Monday afternoon, Hill is expected to take the witness stand and answer questions about whether she influenced the jury that found disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and younger son.

Hill was thrust into the national spotlight as the Clerk of Court presiding over Murdaugh’s double murder trial last winter, and she followed up the national spectacle by writing a book, “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,” with Augusta-based writer Neil Gordon. It was part memoir, part trial diary, recounting Hill’s own rise to Clerk of Court and detailing her thoughts and feelings behind the scenes of the trial.

The book was released in August, and by late December, Hill’s co-author discovered a portion of the book was plagiarized, and the sales were suspended.

The plagiarism news came after Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a September appeal to his murder convictions claiming that Hill had tampered with the jury behind the scenes, and after an ethics complaint alleging Hill used her office improperly. Murdaugh’s attorneys claim that Hill wanted a fast verdict to bolster book sales. Hill has denied the allegations.

A court official who publicly expressed certainty at Murdaugh’s guilt, Hill has become the cause of at least some hope that his conviction could be overturned and a new trial granted. For many who have known Hill, this turn in her personal narrative — and the allegations against her — has come as a puzzling surprise.

Those who spoke with The State about Hill came to know her either through the trial or through her job as Clerk of Court. They called her gracious, lovely, professional, accommodating and more superlatives. They all called the allegations shocking. But no one wanted to speculate: Is she guilty of swaying the Murdaugh trial, or was she just naive? Was this a mistake or something more?

“It came out of left field,” said Dana Erickson, managing editor of Walterboro’s local paper, The Press and Standard.

‘Becky Boo’

“Miss Becky” Hill is known by many monikers: She is mother to daughter Aubrey and son Jeffrey. She’s “Nana B” to her grandchildren. She’s “Becky Boo” in emails to Gordon and others.

She’s a colorectal cancer survivor, a sign-language interpreter and musician, a former officer of the Colleton County Republican Party, chairman of the Walterboro-Colleton County Airport Commission, a champion for her Faith Assembly church, a friendly face about town and a self-described “legal eagle.”

“She’s full of a lot of Southern grace,” Gordon said — a sentiment echoed by most who spoke with The State.

Gordon recalled a time they were traveling together to promote their book.

Hill ran into a convenience store, “and it was taking awfully long, and I looked out the side mirror and she was giving a homeless man a $20,” he said. “She got back in the car and said, ‘Don’t tell my husband,’” with a laugh.

Scott Grooms worked for the city of Walterboro as the press liaison during the Murdaugh trial and also works at the Colleton Civic Center doing audio and technical work for local performances.

Hill’s daughter is a singer, and Grooms has run tech for some of Aubrey’s performances.

“She was involved in making sure the events went well. She was a proud mama,” Grooms said of Hill.

Gordon agreed that Hill is a “family” person. Gordon’s family shared a beach rental with Hill and her family in Tybee Island while promoting the book. One night, Hill’s husband, Tommy, made steaks. On another, Hill signed copies of their book for restaurant employees.

Hill was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2018 and spent that year getting treatment. That same year, both her children were married, she wrote in her book.

Erickson, with The Press and Standard, said she’d only met Hill a few times, but when she ran into Hill at a recent event, it was like running into an old friend. They sat together afterward and laughed and talked with a group of women.

“You’ve heard of Southern hospitality? Epitome.” Erickson said of Hill. “If there had been rocking chairs and sweet tea, it would have painted the whole picture.”

If you needed directions, Hill would nearly take you herself to where you needed to go, added Press and Standard general manager Amanda Mosley.

“Here, let me show you, follow me,” Mosley pantomimed.

In high school, Hill was in the National Honor Society and on student council. While studying at the University of South Carolina at Salkehatchie, she also worked for Walterboro attorneys Perry Buckner and Paul Siegel, according to her wedding announcement.

In her book, Hill writes she worked as a middle school teacher and for state and local disability agencies before becoming a freelance court reporter. Then in 2008, she was assigned as a court reporter to Buckner, who by then was the administrative judge for the 14th Circuit.

Hill’s early legal career helped her secure a number of campaign donations from high-profile attorneys in the Lowcountry when she ran for Clerk of Court in 2020, including from multiple former law partners of Alex Murdaugh.

Hill won her election to become a first-time clerk by a wide margin, with 56% of the vote, or nearly 11,000 ballots cast in her favor, compared to about 8,600 for her Democratic opponent.

“I would be honored to be Colleton County’s next Clerk of Court and be a part of my hometown, my community, as a leader who can make a difference,” Hill said in an interview with the Press and Standard before the election. “I will be compassionate, fair, honest and dedicated to upholding our Clerk of Court’s office with pride and professionalism.”

Hill did not respond to interview requests for this article.

The author

The August heat didn’t stop fans from lining up around the block to get an autographed copy of “Behind the Doors of Justice” when it was released last year.

Hill sat at a table at the back of the local Colleton Coffee shop with her daughter, Aubrey, and co-writer Gordon, beaming and signing autographs.

“Folks were legitimately excited for the book signing,” said Jessica Burdick, owner of the coffee shop that hosted Hill’s book signing.

Burdick described Hill as “very gracious” and a “lovely, welcoming lady.” When Hill would come into the shop, it wouldn’t be uncommon for her to spot someone she knew and sit down and chat for half an hour.

Gordon had never seen anything like Hill’s book signing.

“I felt like she was very beloved, and the people that came up to her just felt like they knew her forever,” he said. He added that Hill was in her element signing books and doing interviews, and she never turned away a fan who wanted a picture together.

Before the book’s release, Hill had been on a bit of a tour discussing the spectacle of the trial. The month before her book signing, she was the featured speaker at a local charity luncheon, where she discussed the trial proceedings as well as “a story about a juror who was torn between civic duty and personal obligation and their struggle,” among other details, according to reporting by the Press and Standard.

Not everyone is a fan of Hill’s book deal.

Kimber Santorella, who served as an officer of the Colleton County Republican Party with Hill, said she was critical of Hill publishing a book while holding public office. She called it a conflict, “and we see how that’s playing out in the media,” Santorella said, but declined to speak further.

Hill herself expressed caution about the ethics of writing a book about the trial. In emails, Hill asked advice about the state Ethics Commission in an exchange with Rita Shuler, a former SLED agent and current true crime writer.

“I’ve gotten some ‘haters’ out there who are making their voices (heard) and I want to make sure I don’t get indicted and go to jail! LOL,” Hill wrote to Shuler.

The media darling

Grooms sat in several meetings with Hill during the Murdaugh trial and said she handled her role with poise. As media liaison and tourism director, Grooms oversaw the chaos outside of the courthouse, and Hill oversaw the chaos within.

“You work events where the organizer is like a bull in a china shop — she didn’t come off that way at all,” Grooms said.

Hill touched nearly every aspect of the trial, from helping facilitate jury selection to coordinating with news photographers and attempting to keep the identities of jurors private. It was Hill’s job to read the final guilty verdict.

Behind the scenes, the trial wore on Hill. In her book she writes that she was “as nice and patient as I could be,” but halfway through the trial, “inside a storm was brewing.” She admitted to exploding on another Colleton County employee and sending an impulsive email in response to what she saw as a challenge to her abilities as Clerk.

She tried to explain her feelings to her husband, Tommy, “in between uncontrollable crying spells,” she wrote. “I’m fifty-five-years old, and why do I have to answer like a child for things I have to do in my job.”

Throughout the trial, she stayed in touch with fellow Lowcountry clerks who checked on her mental health each week and “sent up prayers for me and everyone involved.”

After the trial, reporters and lawyers thanked Hill profusely.

“Despite all that’s happened since, she was really applauded for how comfortable she made everyone involved,” Gordon said.

Hill found good seats for reporters and spectators who traveled to see the trial. Nearly everyone who emailed Hill was found a seat, and as the trial wore on, she started letting groups in through the side door.

She wrote “Hello sweet Nancy Grace” in emails to the controversial TV personality. She had a joint birthday party with a Wall Street Journal reporter, which many journalists — including some from The State — attended. She nicknamed another reporter “Frenchie” and helped another find a mechanic to fix a flat tire.

Hill was such a hit during the trial that when it ended, attorney Joe McCulloch threw her a party at the Walterboro Wildlife Center, which was the media hub during the six-week event.

The media who covered the trial were invited, meals from the nearby food trucks were brought in, and Hill’s daughter performed.

“There was a point when I took the microphone and extended our collective thanks, that of the media and myself, to her for her efforts,” McCulloch said. “She worked tirelessly.”

Hill even dedicated a chapter of her book to the “lifelong friends” she made during the trial, including many reporters.

Soap opera

Hill’s star soared after the trial. She traveled to New York City to appear on the “Today” show, the first time she ever flew on a plane. She was interviewed by broadcasters and podcasters and spoke at events around Walterboro.

The trajectory was short-lived.

An ethics complaint against Hill was filed in June, accused her of cashing a check made out to Colleton County, giving favorable treatment to Gordon’s wife, Melissa, and missing work to promote her book. Gordon denies that his wife was given special treatment.

In September, Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a motion asking for a new trial claiming that Hill had tampered with the jury. Hill is honest in her book about believing Murdaugh to be guilty and is accused of telling jurors it “shouldn’t take long” to deliberate.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has opened two investigations into Hill — the first investigating whether she improperly interacted with Murdaugh’s jury, and the second investigating concerns she has used her elected office for personal gain.

Hill has denied the jury tampering allegations in a sworn affidavit.

She has admitted to plagiarizing a lengthy article by BBC reporter Holly Honderich for the preface to her book, which Gordon discovered after thousands of Hill’s emails were publicly released.

Hill’s son, Jeffrey, is also being investigated for wire tapping and is accused of intentionally intercepting and listening to a phone call between two unnamed victims on July 20 while he was serving as the Colleton County technology director.

“I wish I understood,” Gordon said of the plagiarism, but said he and Hill are still on good terms. But he agreed it’s hard to reconcile it with the woman he knows.

“It’s kind of like a soap opera, every week is a new episode,” Mosley with the Press and Standard said, adding, “While people may have their opinions, it’s best to wait and see what happens.”