Court clerk in Murdaugh murder trial charged with showing sealed photographs, perjury

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The former court clerk in South Carolina who helped with the trial of attorney Alex Murdaugh, a powerful, wealthy lawyer convicted of killing his wife and son, showed sealed court exhibits to a reporter and then lied about it, authorities said Wednesday.

In all, former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill was arrested on four charges. She faces obstruction of justice and perjury for showing a reporter photographs that were sealed court exhibits and then lying about it, according to court documents. Sealed exhibits are only for viewing by the jury, lawyers in the case, and court workers.

She also faces two counts of misconduct in office for taking bonuses and promoting through her public office a book she wrote on the trial, according to the warrants.

Hill, 57, was released on bail after court appearances in Colleton County and Richland County. Her lawyers didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

"She lives here. She turned herself in. We found out about these charges last night," Hill's attorney Will Lewis said during her appearance in Colleton County court, according to a livestream of the hearing by WCIV-TV.

Hill was in charge of taking care of the jury, overseeing exhibits and helping the judge during Murdaugh's six-week trial in 2023 when he was convicted of killing his wife and younger son. The case involved power, danger, money and privilege and an attorney whose family had lorded over his small South Carolina county for nearly a century.

Murdaugh is appealing his conviction and a sentence of life without parole, in part accusing Hill of trying to influence jurors to vote 'guilty' and being biased against Murdaugh for her book. Murdaugh is also serving a separate sentence of decades in prison for admitting to stealing millions of dollars from settlements for clients who suffered horrible injuries or deaths — and from his family's law firm.

An initial appeal by Murdaugh's lawyers was denied, but Judge Jean Toal said she wasn't sure Hill told the truth about her dealings with jurors and was "attracted by the siren call of celebrity" status.

Some of Hill's charges concern Murdaugh's murder trial. The arrest warrant said Hill violated a judge's order to keep sealed photographs from the public. A second warrant said Hill lied to Toal during a January 2024 hearing when the judge asked: “Did you allow anyone from the press to view the sealed exhibits?”

The documents do not specify who Hill is accused of showing the photos to.

Murdaugh's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, said they weren't surprised by Hill's arrest.

“We have long raised our concerns about her conduct during and after the trial and this arrest further underscores the need to protect the integrity of the judicial process. Every defendant is entitled to a fair and impartial trial and we look forward to Alex Murdaugh finally getting that fair treatment,” their statement said.

One of the charges — misconduct in office — involves money that investigators said Hill took for herself. They said that included nearly $10,000 meant for bonuses from federal money meant to improve child support collection and about $2,000 in money from the Clerk of Court's office.

The warrant on the other misconduct charge said Hill used her public role as clerk of court to promote her book on the Murdaugh trial on social media.

All four charges are felonies. Hill faces up to five years in prison if convicted of perjury, There are no limits on the sentences for the other charges.

Hill was also accused last May of 76 counts of ethics violations. Officials said Hill allowed a photo of Murdaugh in a holding cell to be taken to promote her book on the trial and used county money to buy dozens of lunches for her staff, prosecutors and a vendor.

Hill also struck a deal with a documentary maker to use the county courtroom in exchange for promoting her book on the trial, which later she admitted had plagiarized passages, according to the South Carolina Ethics Commission complaint.

Hill resigned in March 2024 during the last year of her four year term, citing the public scrutiny of Murdaugh's trial and wanting to spend time with her grandchildren.