Murdaugh doesn’t deserve a new trial, judge rules

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A judge found Monday that convicted killer Alex Murdaugh does not deserve a new trial and that jurors acted diligently despite hearing potentially prejudicial comments from a court official.

Retired South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal, appointed to hear Murdaugh’s appeal for a new trial, will leave the case open for a few days in case attorneys have valid motions to file, then Toal will finalize the ruling.

Although the judge found comments by Colleton County Clerk of the Court Becky Hill to be “foolish,” the judge said they didn’t impact the jury.

In March, Murdaugh was convicted of the June 2021 shooting deaths of his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul. Murdaugh is serving life imprisonment without parole after a jury found him guilty of the killings.

MORE FROM NEWS 12:

His defense team petitioned in September for a new trial, alleging jury tampering on the part of Hill during his murder trial.

They alleged she tried to influence the jury for personal reasons, like trying to sell copies of a book she was co-writing about the case.

The judge’s decision Monday came after hearing from jurors in the case, as well as Hill.

Two jurors from the trial told the judge they heard Hill make comments before Murdaugh took the stand in his defense.

The first juror said Hill influenced her decision.

A second juror told Toal that Hill made a comment to watch Murdaugh’s body language but that did not influence his decision on the verdict.

Murdaugh’s attorneys, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, accused Hill of pushing the jury to convict their client with comments like, “Don’t be fooled by his testimony.”

Their accusations are backed by a sworn statement from of the jury and a witness who says Hill had private conversations with jurors to influence their decisions.

Toal questioned each juror from the trial about accusations that Hill influenced the jury’s verdict.

Juror “Z” was the first of the 11 jurors to be called Monday. She gave answers that were the opposite of what Juror “X” had given Friday.

When Toal asked Z about comments she overheard from Hill, she said it affected her verdict.

“To me, it felt like [Hill] made it seem like [Murdaugh] was already guilty,” Z said.

EARLIER COVERAGE:

When pressed by Toal after being presented with her original affidavit where she said the jury had pressured her, she said it was a more accurate representation of what had happened.

It was after Juror Z left the stand that Toal informed the court the other jurors waiting to be questioned had their cellphones and may have watched the questioning.

Two of the remaining jurors itted to having their phones out in the jury room. Another said he could hear the others’ phones but it would not influence his testimony. Juror Q also said hearing the questions had no influence on his testimony.

Juror K, the other juror with a phone, said she saw the questioning on Facebook and quickly closed the app.

Toal wavered very little on questions as the jurors were brought into court one by one.

She asked if they heard Hill make comments about testimony, arguments made in court or deliberation time.

The jurors were then asked about what comments were heard, who else might have heard them and whether those comments influenced the juror’s decision.

The evidentiary hearing was expected to last up to three days, but Toal herself said last week she anticipated they would be finished by the end of the day on Monday.

And she was right.

After the decision, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Willson said:

“It does not matter your name, position, or status, no one is above the law. We take very seriously the allegations in this situation and immediately requested an investigation, committed to discovering the truth, regardless of what it might find. After that thorough investigation, and a fair public hearing, it is clear that Alex Murdaugh’s convictions for the murders of Maggie and Paul are based solely upon the facts and evidence of the case. It is time to move on and forward.”

From reports by WCSC’s Patrick Phillips and James Pollard, WRDW’s Steve Byerly and The Associated Press.