Alex Murdaugh updates: Juror back in spotlight as killer accuses clerk of court Rebecca Hill of tampering in trial

The former South Carolina attorney has agreed to plead guilty to federal charges he stole millions of dollars from clients.

If Murdaugh doesn’t change his mind before he appears in court on 21 September, it would mark the first time he admits guilt for any crime in court.

Prosecutors say he decided to kill his wife Maggie and son Paul because his millions of dollars of theft was about to be discovered and he was hoping their deaths would buy him sympathy and time to figure out a cover-up.

Attorneys Ronnie Richter and Eric Bland released a statement in response to the bombshell motion filed by Murdaugh’s attorneys.

“It is an extraordinary thing to accuse a Clerk of Court with jury tampering. The right to a fair and impartial jury is the bedrock of our judicial system,” the statement read.

“Time will tell whether there is any merit in this latest Murdaugh missive, or whether this is just another Murdaugh misdirection.

“In the meantime, it is important to keep in mind that the system has to work even for the worst of us – this is our only assurance that it will work for the rest of us.”

The attorneys represent the families of Mallory Beach – who was killed in a 2019 boat crash when Paul Murdaugh was drunk driving the boat – and Stephen Smith – who was found dead in a road in Hampton County in 2015.

After six weeks of dramatic testimony at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, the jury took less than three hours to return a guilty verdict back in March. Alex Murdaugh was then sentenced to life in prison.

On 7 June 2021, Murdaugh’s wife Maggie and son Paul were found shot dead on the family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate.

Jurors heard how Paul was shot twice with a 12-gauge shotgun while he stood in the feed room of the dog kennels on the affluent family’s 1,700-acre Moselle estate. The second shot to his head blew his brain almost entirely out of his skull.

After killing Paul, prosecutors said Murdaugh then grabbed a .300 Blackout semiautomatic rifle and opened fire on Maggie as she tried to flee from her husband.

Murdaugh confessed to lying about his alibi on the night of the murders but continued to claim his innocence of the killings.

The disgraced legal scion lost some of his prison privileges after he fed information to a Fox Nation documentary titled “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh.”

During a jailhouse phone call on 10 June, Murdaugh’s lawyer Jim Griffin recorded him reading aloud entries from the journal he had kept during his double murder trial.

Prison policy prohibits inmates from talking to the media without permission because the agency “believes that victims of crime should not have to see or hear the person who victimized them or their family member on the news,” state prisons spokesperson Chrysti Shain said in a statement.

As a result, Murdaugh has had his phone privileges revoked and his prison tablet computer confiscated. He also lost his ability to buy items in the prison canteen for a month.

He will now have to get permission from prison officials to get another tablet, which can be used to make monitored phone calls, watch approved entertainment, read books or take video classes, the prison spokesperson said.

Alex Murdaugh’s attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian spoke to the media on Tuesday after filing a motion requesting a new trial for the convicted killer on the grounds of jury tampering.

Dick Harpootlian, 74, was one of Murdaugh’s lead defence attorneys in his murder trial.

Prior to representing Murdaugh, he has had a long career as a prosecutor.

He has prosecuted several high-profile cases including the corruption trial of former University of South Carolina President Jim Holderman and the murder trial of serial killer Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins.

As well as being a prominent lawyer, Mr Harpootlian is also a state senator, representing South Carolina’s 20th district.

Jim Griffin, 60, was Murdaugh’s other lead defence attorneys in his murder trial.

Mr Griffin has also had a long career focused predominantly on working as defence attorney in white-collar crime cases.

As well as the murder case, both Mr Harpootlian and Mr Griffin are representing Murdaugh in his slew of other charges including his financial fraud trial.

The duo – who like Murdaugh attended University of South Carolina School of Law – was also previously hired to represent Paul in the boat crash case.

The only surviving son of Alex Murdaugh has broken his silence to deny any involvement in the mysterious killing of gay teenager Stephen Smith – and insist that he still believes his father is innocent of the murders of his mother and brother.

He spoke out in his first TV interview since his family was propelled to national attention, for the new three-part FOX Nation documentary “The Fall of the House of Murdaugh”.

In the interview, Buster slammed rumours that he too could have been involved in a heinous murder – that of 19-year-old Smith in July 2015 – and offered an alibi for his whereabouts on the night the teenager was killed.

He also doubled down on his father’s innocence in the murders of Maggie and Paul, but did not deny that his father may be a psychopath.

Ms Hill and co-author Neil R. Gordon published a tell-all book last month titled “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” that has revealed details from Alex Murdaugh’s high-profile trial.

The clerk is being accused by Murdaugh’s team of improperly influencing the jury and betraying her oath of office for money and fame.

They have filed a motion requesting a new trial on the grounds of jury tampering.

Ms Hill wrote about how she was caught off guard when the jury finished their deliberations after just three hours.

“This was unusual. Most murder trials take some time for the jury to reach a decision, but apparently the jurors were satisfied they would be returning to the courtroom shortly with a verdict,” she wrote. “I was caught a bit off guard.”

She also wrote about how she knew Murdaugh in a professional context for years.

“Regardless of guilt or innocence, for me, reconciling Alex’s diametrically opposite roles was troublesome but not something I would allow to interfere with my sworn duties as clerk,” she wrote in the book.

“Although I was conflicted about knowing the Murdaugh family, and about having so many people watching and listening to me as I read the verdict, I was mostly concerned about Alex being found innocent when I knew in my heart he was guilty.”

The convicted killer is once again claiming to be a victim in one of America’s most explosive murder cases.

While the 65-year-old disgraced legal dynasty heir sits behind bars for the brutal June 2021 slayings of his wife Maggie and son Paul – his defence team is demanding a new trial on the grounds of alleged jury tampering.

Murdaugh’s attorneys held a press conference on Tuesday to unveil damning allegations against Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill, who they claim pressured jurors to convict him.

The attorneys gave a glimpse of Murdaugh’s reaction to the evidence outlined in the motion, saying: “He was astonished, he was shaking, he was in disbelief.”

This is hardly the first time we’ve seen Murdaugh take on a victim role.