Judge denies Alex Murdaugh a new murder trial based on allegations of jury tampering by clerk
The South Carolina court clerk accused of jury tampering in the trial of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh testified in court Monday about the allegations.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A judge Monday denied convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh a new trial after a daylong evidentiary hearing that centered on allegations that a court clerk had tampered with the jury and tainted the verdict.
Judge Jean Toal made the ruling after hearing testimony from all 12 jurors in Murdaugh's trial and the Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill.
Toal said Murdaugh had to show that the clerk had made an improper comment and that it influenced the jury. She found that Hill is "not completely credible as a witness" and was lured "by the siren call of celebrity," but that the jurors were not persuaded by her actions.
"I simply do not believe that our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-seeking clerk of court," Toal said.
Hill had denied in her testimony that she tampered with the jury for financial gain or any other reason.
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