What’s inside of the ethics complaint against Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill?

An ethics complaint filed against embattled Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill accuses her of misusing her position for personal gain in the lead-up to and after the Alex Murdaugh trial.

The complaint, filed June 26, accused Hill of cashing a check made out to Colleton County, giving favorable treatment to a photographer and missing work to promote her book.

Hill’s attorney, state representative Justin Bamberg, could not be reached for comment, but others have refuted some of the allegations in the complaint.

But the ethics probe has added to the troubles for Hill, which have grown since the trial. In addition to the ethics complaint, Hill has been accused of jury tampering in the Alex Murdaugh trial and is facing an investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Her son, former Colleton County Technology Director! Jeffrey Hill, was arrested and charged by SLED with wiretapping.

A first-term clerk of court, Hill rose to modest celebrity during Murdaugh’s six-week murder trial, which brought international media attention to Walterboro, South Carolina. She became popular online and with lawyers and the media for her humor and gentle efficiency.

The State reviewed a copy of the ethics complaint, which was first reported on by FITSNews. The name of the complainant was redacted in the document reviewed by The State.

One allegation in the complaint says Hill accepted a $100 check as a donation from a visitor who toured the courthouse. The check, intended to be a contribution for new windows, was made out to Colleton County, but Hill allegedly crossed this out, wrote her own name, and cashed it, according to the complaint.

Other allegations contained in the complaint include that Hill provided unspecified unredacted body camera footage to Netflix, allowed author Michael DeWitt to hold a book signing in the courthouse for a book on Hampton County history and “neglected the office of Clerk of Court to take several trips to promote her book.”

DeWitt told The State that there were two book signing events held at the courthouse for his book “Wicked Hampton County” and that he was invited to hold the events during tours.

A central allegation is that throughout the trial, Hill provided special access for photographer Melissa Gordon, the wife of Neil Gordon who co-authored of Hill’s memoir of the trial, “Behind the Doors of Justice.”

The complaint alleges that Melissa Gordon and Hill met at the start of the trial. After Hill learned that Gordon was a photographer, “Gordon was also allowed into the courthouse every day of the trial, even though it was admitted there was a limited amount of seating for spectators and that entrance was permitted on a first come first served basis.”

Neil Gordon has denied this allegation. In an interview with The State, Gordon said that his wife met Hill towards the end of the trial and the pair hit it off. There was no plan to write a book until weeks after the trial ended, Gordon said.

On an episode of the the podcast “Impact of Influence: The Murdaugh Family Murders and Other Cases” that aired June 22, Hill told hosts Seton Tucker and Matt Harris that she remembered meeting Melissa Gordon around the end of the trial.

“We immediately bonded,” Hill told Tucker and Harris. Hill said Gordon told her that her husband used to be a journalist and the two exchanged numbers. But it wasn’t until three weeks after the trial that Hill reached out with the idea to collaborate on a book, Hill said on the podcast, which aired four days before the ethics complaint was filed.

The allegation that Hill was planning to write a book throughout the trial is also central to a motion filed on Sept. 5, by Alex Murdaugh’s defense attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin. In their motion for a new trial, the attorneys allege that Hill had tampered with the jury in order to secure a conviction and a book deal.

The ethics complaint also alleges that Melissa Gordon was allowed to take a picture of surveillance video showing Alex Murdaugh lying down in his holding cell reading a book “minutes before” the verdict was announced.

“This shows Becky Hill permitted Gordon unimpeded access to the Colleton County Courthouse and facilitated her in taking digital images that no other citizen was permitted to have,” according to the complaint.

In a statement, Gordon said that his wife had not been allowed to bring her camera into the building or take pictures. On a CourtTV appearance Monday, Dec. 4, Gordon said that while he had posted the picture in a Facebook group, neither he nor his wife had taken the picture, and he did not remember where it came from.

Hill has also stated on the podcast that she received legal clearance from the state ethics commission before writing her book.

“I am trying to be very very cautious about doing the right thing,” Hill said.