Live updates: Becky Hill heard ‘siren call of celebrity,’ SC judge says in Murdaugh case

A hearing is being held in Columbia on Alex Murdaugh’s attempts to overturn his convictions in the murders of his wife, Maggie, and son Paul.

Murdaugh and his attorneys claim that Colleton County Clerk of Court made improper comments to jurors during Murdaugh’s trial in early 2023. At Monday’s hearing, Judge Jean Toal plans to question 11 of the jurors. A twelfth juror testified on Friday because of a scheduling conflict this week.

The hearing is taking place in the Richland County Courthouse.

Toal, 80, is a former chief justice of the state Supreme Court.

Murdaugh was convicted in March of killing his wife and son in June 2021 at the Moselle, the family’s Colleton County estate. Prosecutors argued during the trial that Murdaugh committed the murders to divert attention from his widespread financial problems.

The trial is being livestreamed by Court TV. This page will be updated Monday as the hearing goes forward.

5:15 p.m.

Judge Jean Toal denies Alex Murdaugh’s request for a new trial, even as she slams the conduct of Becky Hill during Murdaugh’s murder trial in Colleton County last year.

Ruling from the bench, Toal found that Becky Hill was not entirely credible as a witness, and heard the “siren call” of writing a book long before the trial, based on the testimony of McElveen and comments to others. She also made disparaging comments to the jurors, testimony established.

But Toal also found that jurors obeyed the instructions of the court in rendering the verdict. Eleven said they either did not hear comments or if they did, it had no effect, Toal ruled. The last juror was ambivalent, Toal said, but said on her oath at the trial and in court Monday that she did follow the law and the evidence.

“I don’t believe the authority of our Supreme Court requires a new trial based on fleeting and foolish comments,” Toal said.

Toal found the standard of proof is on the defense to show the clerk of court acted improperly, and that it influenced the jurors’ verdict.

This case was unique in her experience as an attorney and a judge, Toal said. Usually these matters arise during or immediately after a trial, she said, and a judge rules quickly on a mistrial or replacing a juror. This case came to her months later, from the appeals court after the defendant appealed.

4:43 p.m.

Judge Toal said she will review her notes and will rule from the bench this afternoon. We are now in a brief recess.

4:38 p.m.

Defense attorney Jim Griffin says the question is whether conduct is prejudicial, not whether it would have changed the verdict. If the process is prejudicial to the defendant, it should affect the judge’s decision.

Three jurors have said they heard Hill make comments about the case and about Murdaugh’s testimony. “On this record, there is no way to find Ms. Hill credible,” Griffin said. “She crossed herself up on your honor’s questioning.”

4:29 p.m.

In closing, Creighton Waters points out that 11 of the jurors have testified that their verdict was based on the evidence in court and denied that anything improper came from Becky Hill. Even Juror Z, he says, answered “yes” when asked if her verdict was based on the law and the evidence at trial.

The same juror also wrote in her affidavit about pressure from other jurors, which Waters calls “part of the deliberative process,” and that jurors don’t get to change their minds after the fact. “You don’t have a vote in perpetuity. You vote on one day.”

Other testimony about Hill’s conduct, Waters said, is irrelevant if it doesn’t influence the jury’s verdict.

4:12 p.m.

The juror says Becky Hill asked her about possibly doing media interviews. She said this came during the trial around the time the courthouse was evacuated during a bomb scare. She also says Hill handed out cards from journalists to jurors after the trial had wrapped up.

4:04 p.m.

Prosecutor John Meadors tries to ask the juror about statements in an affidavit that Harpootlian’s paralegal Holly Miller wrote about her interview with the alternate juror, but Judge Toal doesn’t allow it into evidence.

3:53 p.m.

The alternate juror, Juror 741, is now testifying. She has previously spoken to Harpootlian and to SLED, she says, and has also signed an affidavit about her time on the case. She did not take part in the jury deliberations.

In your affidavit, you said before the defense put their case, said Hill told jurors the defense “will try to confuse you, don’t let them throw you off.”

The alternate also says she saw Hill speaking to another juror during the trip to the scene of the crime, although she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

3:44 p.m.

Creighton Waters asks if it’s not unusual for court staff to have private conversations about the events of the day, without the jury being present, which McElveen agrees with. She said she doesn’t know of Hill having any improper conversations with jurors.

3:30 p.m.

McElveen was in Walterboro during the trial assisting Hill. She said Hill more than once that they should write a book. “She said she needed a lake house and I needed to retire, and she said a guilty verdict would sell more books,” McElveen said.

At one point, McElveen said she learned Hill had taken a juror home the night before. Hill told here she didn’t talk to the juror about the case. McElveen told her not to do things like that. “You do not spend time alone with jurors.”

McElveen said she heard Hill say “don’t be fooled” by the defense’s evidence, although she did not say it in front of the jurors.

3:18 p.m.

The court will now hear from Rhonda McElveen, the clerk of court of Barnwell County.

3 p.m.

Toal does, however, decline to hear from the “egg lady,” whom Harpootlian says is across the street. Court is adjourned until 3:15 p.m.

2:54 p.m.

Harpootlian wants to bring in another clerk of court Hill spoke to and an alternate juror who was dismissed. Toal said she’s willing to hear from those witnesses if it will contradict Hill’s testimony, although she said she’s unwilling to hear from jurors who did not take part in deliberations on the verdict. Prosecutor Creighton Waters argues it’s unclear when Hill would have made improper statements to the jurors.

2:45 p.m.

After Hill steps down, Harpootlian reads from an email Hill sent to a Japanese film crew asking them not to use body camera footage that should not have been released to them. Will enter it into the record.

2:42 p.m.

Toal reads passages from Hill’s book, including her fear that Murdaugh would be found innocent. Hill says she had made up her own mind about Murdaugh’s guilt but she never communicated those feelings to the jury.

Under questioning from Harpootlian, Hill admits some sealed photos were released accidently to Netflix, although those were recovered. He asked if there was a “financial advantage” for Hill in getting those photos released, but Hill denies that.

2:33 p.m.

Toal asks about sealed photographs of the bodies of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh taken at the murder scene. Those photos were under Hill’s control. Toal asks how they found their way into the media. Hill says someone took a photo of the screen in court displaying images of the photos. She said she never let media members access the sealed exhibits.

2:25 p.m.

Now Judge Toal is asking Hill about the alternate juror who was dismissed, sometimes called the “egg juror” because she requested to take a pack of eggs out of the jury room.

Clifton Newman, the trial judge, was unhappy that Hill had spoken to the juror before he did, Toal said. Hill denies asking questions of the juror herself. Juror said she gave Hill access to her Facebook account, and was unaware of posts about her before Hill brought it to her attention, and that Hill had asked her about her ex-husband.

Hill said she found a Facebook post from a man saying his ex-wife was on a jury and sounded similar to what she had heard. Hill insists she didn’t question the juror about the post, although she says the juror spoke to her about her ex-husband.

2:15 p.m.

Hill denies that she made any comment about watching Murdaugh’s body language or telling the jury the defense would try to “confuse” them. She also said she never told jurors they would have to stay in hotels overnight if their deliberations went too long or deny them smoke breaks.

2:08 p.m.

Hill says she told people requesting seats at the trial that she didn’t expect the jury to be out long for deliberations. “I’ve been a court reporter for 14 years, and clerk of court for three,” she said. “It’s a guess. It’s based on a gut feeling.”

Asked if she believes the Murdaugh family were criminals, as she said in the book. Hill calls it a “poetic license” and says she wouldn’t know if they were criminals or not. Harpootlian says she’s “making stuff up.” Says several things in her book are “not true.”

She said she made about $100,000 from sales of her book.

2 p.m.

Becky Hill admits portions of her book were plagiarized from reporting by a BBC reporter. “I’m very sorry and I have apologized.”

Harpootlian brings up that Hill says in the book she concluded Murdaugh was guilty around the time of the jury’s visit to the family estate where the murders took place, although she describes her role in the trial as “Switzerland” because she needed to maintain neutrality.

1:48 p.m.

Harpootlian tells Hill she was very accommodating to his needs during the trial, and has no personal animus toward her.

Harpootlian is asking about the book written by Hill about the trial. Hill says she had “an inkling” she might write a book before the end of the trial and spoke with her co-author several weeks after the guilty verdict, although she said she did discuss the idea with several journalists.

1:38 p.m.

Becky Hill testified that she never had any improper contact with the jury or express any opinions about Murdaugh or the defense. She said she managed any needs of the jury day-to-day during the murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse. She said she gave a “pep talk” before Murdaugh testified encouraging them to “pay attention” and calling it a “big day.”

1:25 p.m.

We’re back. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said he wants to cross-examine witnesses to present the defense’s case and so far hasn’t been able to question any of the jurors. Judge Toal calls that a “last minute” request and the court doesn’t know who the defense plans to call to the witness stand. She said the court can revisit the issue after Becky Hill’s testimony.

“Juror Z” attorney Joe McCulloch has communicated to the judge by email that the juror would like to “enhance” her testimony. Prosecutor Creighton Waters says there shouldn’t be a “second bite at the apple” with the same witness. Harpootlian would very much like to question Juror Z. Judge Toal says witnesses don’t get a chance to conduct their testimony a second time.

1:09 p.m.

Court is getting ready to resume at 1:15 p.m. with expected testimony from Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, whose alleged improper influence over the Murdaugh trial jury is at the heart of today’s hearing.

The State’s Morgan Hughes took a look at who Becky Hill is and how we got here with this profile of the embattled clerk.

11:48 a.m.

Judge Toal brings all the jurors back in and dismisses them, with apologies for the inconvenience of having to come to Columbia today and thanks for their service.

The court will recess until 1:15 p.m., when Becky Hill is expected to take the stand to testify about her conduct during Alex Murdaugh’s 2023 murder trial.

11:42 a.m.

“Juror K” also admits to watching on her phone, but also says it won’t influence her testimony. She also denies hearing any comments from Becky Hill and says Hill did not influence her verdict. She was the last juror we’ll be hearing from today.

Dick Harpootlian would like to follow up with questions for Juror Z, the juror who did testify about being influenced by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, but Toal denies his request to question her directly. All of today’s questions to the jurors have been asked by Judge Toal.

11:37 a.m.

“Juror Q” also says Becky Hill had no influence over his verdict. Toal nearly skips the cell phone question, but this juror does admit using his phone to watch proceedings earlier. Says what he heard Juror Z say has not influenced his testimony.

11:32 a.m.

“Juror W” tells Judge Toal she left her phone in the car, but did hear the earlier juror’s testimony on another juror’s phone. Says that won’t influence her testimony here today.

Juror W also says she didn’t hear any comments from Becky Hill, and that Hill did not influence her guilty verdict.

11:30 a.m.

“Juror Y” says he was not on his phone, although says other jurors were. So far none of the jurors questioned have owned up to watching the first juror’s testimony on their phones.

He denies hearing any comments from Becky Hill during the trial, and says it did not influence his verdict. So far only Juror Z has said Hill influenced her decision, and only one other juror even heard a comment from Hill about Murdaugh’s testimony at the murder trial.

11:23 a.m.

The next juror, “Juror O,” says he was not watching the proceedings on any of the phones in the break room. Says his verdict was not influenced by Becky Hill.

11:19 a.m.

“Juror P” says he did not see what other jurors may have been viewing on their cell phones. He did hear Becky Hill say jurors should watch Murdaugh’s body language while he was testifying, but his verdict wasn’t influenced by her.

11:15 a.m.

“Juror E” denies seeing the earlier testimony on a cell phone in the break room. He also denies hearing or being influenced by Becky Hill.

With Friday’s testimony, half of the Murdaugh trial jury has now testified. Judge Toal tells the juror “it shouldn’t be too much longer” before the jurors are dismissed today.

11:10 a.m.

“Juror L” said other jurors did have their phones out in the jury room, although he says he didn’t look at them. He says he did not hear any comments from Becky Hill before the verdict and was not influenced by her.

11:05 a.m.

Dick Harpootlian says he believes Becky Hill transported this juror in her personal vehicle during the trial. Juror F testified that Hill did not.

11:02 a.m.

“Juror F” is up next. She says another juror was watching today’s proceedings on her cell phone, but says that will not influence her testimony here today. She also says she did not hear any comments from Becky Hill during the trial and Hill did not influence her verdict.

10:56 a.m.

“Juror C” is now testifying. The juror says he was unsure what other jurors may have been watching, but says some were on their cell phones in the break room.

This juror says he did not hear any comments from Becky Hill about the case before the verdict.

10:51 a.m.

Toal says a bailiff will now be present in the jury room from now on, telling the jurors not to discuss the testimony. Juror Z told the judge she was willing to return to the jury room with the rest of the jurors.

Harpootlian asks future jurors be questioned about what they may have seen from their cell phones. Toal said she will have some questions about that.

10:36 a.m.

Harpootlian objects to affidavit, which he thinks means Toal will not accept testimony. Ask to instruct juror there’s nothing wrong with both statements being true. Toal declines.

Toal also announces that jurors were watching the proceedings on CourtTV on their cellphones from the break room. She plans to continue with questioning jurors, although she’s “not happy about it.”

The jurors were supposed to be sequestered during each other’s testimony, and should not have had access to the proceedings while waiting to be called to testify.

10:30 a.m.

Juror Z says she heard Becky Hill tell jurors “not to be fooled” ahead of Murdaugh’s testimony, which she took to mean Murdaugh would lie during his testimony.

The juror also says the foreperson of the jury said after Murdaugh’s testimony that the defendant was “crying on cue,” and the foreperson criticized another juror for handing Murdaugh a box of tissues during his testimony. The foreperson said the jurors should not interact with Murdaugh because “that’s what the defense attorneys want,” Juror Z said.

Hill told jurors on the day of their deliberations that if they were still deliberating after 11 p.m., they would taken to a hotel, which the jurors were not prepared for, the juror says. Smokers on the jury were also told couldn’t have a break until after the deliberations.

She had questions about Murdaugh’s guilt, but voted out of pressure by the other jurors, Juror Z testifies.

A review of previous public court filings in the case shows that the affidavit that Juror Z read in court was originally sworn to by Juror 630. That affidavit was included in a Sept. 5 motion seeking a new trial by Murdaugh’s lawyer in the South Carolina Court of Appeals.

10:20 a.m.

The juror is taken out of the room as the state asks Judge Toal to ask about an affidavit this juror signed about being pressured by the other jurors. Harpootlian objects, but is overruled.

10:16 a.m.

“Juror Z” is being questioned by Judge Toal. She told the judge she did hear Becky Hill make comments about Murdaugh ahead of his testimony at the 2023 trial, and that it did influence her decision to find Murdaugh guilty. “She made it seem like he was already guilty,” the juror said.

The testimony could be significant. Toal has said that her decision on granting a new trial will be based on whether Hill made comments to the jurors that influenced their decision. The first juror questioned on Monday said Hill’s comments did.

10:10 a.m.

Judge Toal assures the jury, who are being kept off camera on the livestream, that they did nothing wrong in hearing the Murdaugh murder case last year. It was a complex case, and questions about juror influence is usually dealt with much more quickly than this one has been.

Jurors will be questioned separately, with their identities kept anonymous as they were throughout the 2023 trial.

She stops briefly while we listen to some feedback static coming through the courtroom’s sound system. “We have the funkiest sound system,” the judge says.

Harpootlian requests attorney Eric Bland, who has represented clients who have sued Murdaugh and several jurors, not sit close to the jurors while they are testifying. Toal asks Bland to move further back in the courtroom.

9:58 a.m.

Judge Jean Toal begins Monday’s hearing by thanking the press for observing an embargo on one juror’s testimony on Friday. She will begin today’s proceedings by bringing in other jurors from Murdaugh’s Walterboro murder trial last year, and question them one by one.

Friday’s juror had a conflict with today’s proceeding and was questioned separately Friday in a hearing that the press was embargoed from reporting until Monday’s hearing.

But first, defense attorney Dick Harpootlian is arguing against the judge’s use of the term “merit” in Toal’s questioning of the juror on Friday. Toal disagrees with Harpootlian’s assessment that it “confused” the juror.