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FILE- Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill is sworn successful earlier taking the basal to attest during the Alex Murdaugh jury-tampering proceeding astatine the Richland County Judicial Center, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, successful Columbia, S.C. Hill, nether probe amid allegations of tampering with the assemblage successful the Alex Murdaugh trial, announced her resignation connected Monday, March 25, 2024. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier via AP, Pool, File)
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The erstwhile tribunal clerk successful South Carolina who helped with the proceedings of lawyer Alex Murdaugh, a powerful, affluent lawyer convicted of sidesplitting his woman and son, showed sealed tribunal exhibits to a newsman and past lied astir it, authorities said Wednesday.
In all, erstwhile Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill was arrested connected 4 charges. She faces obstruction of justness and perjury for showing a newsman photographs that were sealed tribunal exhibits and past lying astir it, according to tribunal documents. Sealed exhibits are lone for viewing by the jury, lawyers successful the case, and tribunal workers.
She besides faces 2 counts of misconduct successful bureau for taking bonuses and promoting done her nationalist bureau a publication she wrote connected the trial, according to the warrants.
Hill, 57, was released connected bail aft tribunal appearances successful Colleton County and Richland County. Her lawyers didn't instantly respond to a connection seeking comment.
“She lives here. She turned herself in. We recovered retired astir these charges past night,” Hill's lawyer Will Lewis said during her quality successful Colleton County court, according to a livestream of the proceeding by WCIV-TV.
Hill was successful complaint of taking attraction of the jury, overseeing exhibits and helping the justice during Murdaugh's six-week proceedings successful 2023 erstwhile helium was convicted of sidesplitting his woman and younger son. The lawsuit progressive power, danger, wealth and privilege and an lawyer whose family had lorded over his tiny South Carolina region for astir a century.
Murdaugh is appealing his condemnation and a condemnation of life without parole, successful portion accusing Hill of trying to power jurors to ballot ‘guilty’ and being biased against Murdaugh for her book. Murdaugh is besides serving a abstracted condemnation of decades successful prison for admitting to stealing millions of dollars from settlements for clients who suffered horrible injuries oregon deaths — and from his family’s instrumentality firm.
An archetypal entreaty by Murdaugh's lawyers was denied, but Judge Jean Toal said she wasn’t definite Hill told the truth astir her dealings with jurors and was “attracted by the siren telephone of celebrity” status.
Some of Hill's charges interest Murdaugh's execution trial. The apprehension warrant said Hill violated a judge's bid to support sealed photographs from the public. A 2nd warrant said Hill lied to Toal during a January 2024 proceeding erstwhile the justice asked: “Did you let anyone from the property to presumption the sealed exhibits?”
The documents bash not specify who Hill is accused of showing the photos to.
Murdaugh's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said they weren't amazed by Hill's arrest.
“We person agelong raised our concerns astir her behaviour during and aft the proceedings and this apprehension further underscores the request to support the integrity of the judicial process. Every suspect is entitled to a just and impartial proceedings and we look guardant to Alex Murdaugh yet getting that just treatment,” their connection said.
One of the charges — misconduct successful bureau — involves wealth that investigators said Hill took for herself. They said that included astir $10,000 meant for bonuses from national wealth meant to amended kid enactment postulation and astir $2,000 successful wealth from the Clerk of Court's office.
The warrant connected the different misconduct complaint said Hill utilized her nationalist relation arsenic clerk of tribunal to beforehand her publication connected the Murdaugh proceedings connected societal media.
All 4 charges are felonies. Hill faces up to 5 years successful situation if convicted of perjury, There are nary limits connected the sentences for the different charges.
Hill was besides accused past May of 76 counts of morals violations. Officials said Hill allowed a photograph of Murdaugh successful a holding compartment to beryllium taken to beforehand her publication connected the proceedings and utilized region wealth to bargain dozens of lunches for her staff, prosecutors and a vendor.
Hill besides struck a woody with a documentary shaper to usage the region courtroom successful speech for promoting her publication connected the trial, which aboriginal she admitted had plagiarized passages, according to the South Carolina Ethics Commission complaint.
Hill resigned successful March 2024 during the past twelvemonth of her 4 twelvemonth term, citing the nationalist scrutiny of Murdaugh’s proceedings and wanting to walk clip with her grandchildren.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.
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