Just days after South Carolina’s highest court wiped away his murder convictions, disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh is now turning his attention toward the court clerk accused of helping taint the jury that found him guilty.
According to Fox News, Murdaugh filed a federal lawsuit Monday, accusing former Colleton County clerk Rebecca “Becky” Hill of violating his civil rights by allegedly manipulating jurors during his double-murder trial in an effort to boost publicity and future book sales.
The 17-page complaint was filed in federal court in Columbia and comes less than a week after the South Carolina Supreme Court overturned Murdaugh’s convictions and ordered a new trial.
“The purpose of this lawsuit is to hold Becky Hill accountable for what she did,” Murdaugh attorney Jim Griffin said during a Monday press conference. “She has not been held to account at all for her conduct.”
According to the lawsuit, Hill repeatedly made comments to jurors during the trial that encouraged them to distrust Murdaugh’s defense team and closely scrutinize his testimony.
The complaint alleges Hill warned jurors not to be “fooled,” “confused,” or “misled” by the defense and urged them to watch Murdaugh’s behavior and body language while he testified.
At least one juror later testified Hill’s remarks influenced her decision to vote guilty, according to the filing.
The lawsuit also accuses Hill of holding private conversations with the jury foreperson in secluded areas and even inside a jury room bathroom during the proceedings.
The South Carolina Supreme Court, in its May 13 ruling, concluded Hill “placed her fingers on the scales of justice” and said prosecutors failed to prove her conduct did not affect the verdict.
“As noted at the outset,” the justices wrote, “Hill’s shocking jury interference” required the convictions to be overturned.
Hill later co-authored a book about the case titled “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders,” which the lawsuit claims earned roughly $100,000 before being pulled amid plagiarism accusations.
According to testimony referenced in the complaint, Hill allegedly said both before and during the trial that a guilty verdict would help boost sales because she “needed a lake house.”
Murdaugh’s legal team also indicated they may seek to move any retrial out of Colleton County.
“One of the things that we’re looking at is a motion to transfer the venue to a different county,” Griffin said.
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian said neighboring Charleston County could potentially be considered.
The defense additionally raised concerns about evidence they claim was never fully investigated during the original case, including unidentified male DNA found beneath Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernail.
Griffin said the defense may ask a court to allow the DNA to be submitted into CODIS, the FBI’s national DNA database.
“We don’t have possession of that DNA, so we can’t do anything with it,” Griffin said.
The attorneys also criticized South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson after prosecutors announced they would again seek the death penalty if Murdaugh is retried.
“He’s probably talking to U.S. political consultants who thought that was a good soundbite for his governor’s campaign,” Harpootlian said. “We’re a little sick and tired … of Alan Wilson playing politics as opposed to playing prosecutor.”
Murdaugh is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, including reimbursement for roughly $600,000 in legal costs from his original murder trial.
The case marks another dramatic chapter in the sprawling legal saga that has gripped South Carolina since Murdaugh was first convicted in the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.
