Augusta co-author of Murdaugh book reacts to case against ex-official

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - An Augustan is reacting to allegations against a former official in South Carolina who plagiarized parts of a book she co-authored with him.

Becky Hill, the former Colleton County clerk of court who served during the Alex Murdaugh murder trial is accused of 76 ethics violations, according to documents from the State Ethics Commission.

Neil Gordon, publisher of the Augusta Business Daily, co-authored a book with Hill on the Alex Murdaugh murder case.

One complaint against Hill alleges she provided confidential information in the form of a photograph of an inmate in a Colleton County Courthouse holding cell to promote the sale of a book and filmed a promotional segment with the Walterboro Chamber of Commerce president for her book in her office at the courthouse, documents state.

A second complaint alleges 74 ethics violations, including 71 counts of use of her official position for financial gain, two counts of use of her official position for financial gain for business with which she is associated and one count of use or disclosure of confidential information.

The count involving the disclosure of confidential information alleges she provided someone with whom she was associated a photograph of an inmate in the courthouse’s holding cell. It is not clear whether that was the same incident alleged in the other complaint or was a separate one.

The two counts of use of her official position for the financial gain of a business with which she was associated allege she authorized checks that were issued to a business with which she was associated for a total of $750.

Of the remaining 71 counts of use of official position for financial gain in the second complaint, she is accused of directing payments be made to reimburse her for the purchase of items that included meals for herself and guests, drinks, snacks, gifts for clerk of court and courtroom employees; office decor; and birthday gifts and meals for family .

She’s also accused of diverting DSS child incentive funds to give herself multiple bonus checks that total $9,880. Laura Hayes, her former deputy clerk, texted her asking about this saying “[you] don’t need to go to jail for une

Gordon, Hill’s co-author on “Behind The Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,” issued the following statement about the South Carolina Ethics Commission’s allegations:

“My wife Melissa and I spoke to ethics commission investigators for several hours about our business relationship with Becky. They were very interested in the picture she texted us of Alex Murdaugh in his jail cell. This morning, the lead investigator informed us we may be called to testify at the December hearing. We are ready and willing to do so if called.”

He said he wrote this in his new book, “Trial Watchers”:

Melissa and I both signed affidavits that we received the photo from Becky Hill, but she did not instruct us to place the photo on social media or in Behind the Doors of Justice.

This author decided to post the photo on Facebook in late May / early June 2023, but after concerns about how the photo was acquired, privacy issues, and so on, it was not placed in the book.

We turned over our text messages related to conversations between Becky and the Gordons. Though it appears she did violate her code of conduct in utilizing her position to acquire and send a protected photo, it is unlikely any serious action will be taken because she had no intent to utilize the photo to earn money’

“The truth is Becky told me to take the picture down after I posted it to social media,” Gordon said. “Ethics investigators told us that’s an important distinction because the law clearly states a violation occurred only if the public official’s intent was to misuse her position for economic gain.”

He continued: “We continue to vehemently deny allegations Becky gave my wife special treatment, allowing her to skip the line of trial watchers to take pictures in the courthouse. As we’ve stated before, Melissa only attended the trial for a few days, didn’t take pictures inside the courthouse during the trial, and didn’t meet Becky until it was nearly over.”

He said that up until Dec. 22, 2023, he had fiercely defended Hill’s integrity and character.

“That’s when I discovered her deception in plagiarizing a full chapter of our book. Her major lapse in judgment makes me wonder if she was worthy of the public trust. Often in these cases, the truth is somewhere in the middle,” Gordon said.

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