All language subtitles for The Fall of the House of Murdaugh s01e04.eng

Prominent south
carolina attorney

Convicted of killing his wife
and son wants a new trial.

Today jim griffin
and I filed a petition

Based on newly
discovered evidence

With the south carolina
court of appeals

To stay alex murdaugh's
appeal while a hearing is held

On a motion for a new trial.

Dana kennedy: This
came as a total shock

To me and to a lot of people
who have covered this trial.

Jim griffin: What
we had filed today,

Supported by sworn
testimony of jurors,

Is that the clerk of court had
improper private communications

With the jurors.

Rebecca hill: I
think another thing

That the jury was
turned off with

Was when alex decided
to become a witness.

The right to a jury trial
is a fundamental principle

Of our justice system.

If half of what's in
that affidavit is true,

The prosecution has a problem.

Eric bland: I think the
allegations are serious.

I will tell you that our
jury, in speaking with them

And being part of my job
as being switzerland,

I have to keep a lot of
confidential things inside.

She has a right to
talk with the jury.

She has a right to
calm jurors down.

I'm very optimistic
that, ultimately, we

Will get a new trial.

I'm martha maccallum.

And this is "the murdaugh
trial, the clerk in question."

Six months after the
guilty verdict in the trial

Of the century, alex
murdaugh's defense team

Is now asking for a new trial,
accusing the clerk of court

Of tampering with the jury.

But the south carolina attorney
general says investigators have

Found, quote, "significant
factual disputes

With those claims."

And alan wilson concedes that a
hearing may be needed to decide

If convicted killer
alex murdaugh

Will get an entirely new trial.

So who is rebecca hill, the
colleton county clerk of court

At the center of this
new murdaugh legal drama?

The state of south carolina
county of colleton in the court

Of general sessions in
the term of 2022, July,

The state versus richard
alexander murdaugh,

Defendant, indictment for
murder, sc code 16-3-0010,

Cdr code 0116--

--Ok.

Guilty verdict.

Martha maccallum: March
2, 2023, the world watched

As clerk rebecca
hill read the verdict

In the murdaugh murder trial.

After six weeks of testimony,
it took the 12-person jury

Less than three hours
on a Thursday night

To come back with their verdict.

The disgraced south carolina
attorney alex murdaugh

Was found guilty in the brutal,
cold-blood murders of his wife

Maggie and his son paul.

Murdaugh was
sentenced to two life

Sentences in a maximum
security prison

In mccormick, south carolina.

Now there are serious
questions that

Have been raised about the
role of the clerk of court

In that decision.

Dana kennedy: September 5
was an absolute bombshell.

I think we all thought we were
done with the murdaugh case.

Attorneys for convicted
murderer alex murdaugh say they

Have new evidence
that shows jury

Tampering by colleton county
court clerk rebecca hill.

Today jim griffin
and I filed a petition

Based on newly
discovered evidence

With the south carolina
court of appeals

To stay alex murdaugh's appeal.

Jim griffin: What
we had filed today,

Supported by sworn
testimony of jurors,

Is that the clerk of court had
improper private communications

With the jurors.

And the subject matter--

The subject matter of
those communications

Was the credibility
of the defense

That the murdaugh legal
defense team put up

And it was the believability of
the defendant's own testimony.

Did you love paul?

Did I love him?

Like no other, he and buster.

Jim griffin: Did
you love maggie?

More than anything.

Jim griffin: Did
you kill maggie?

No, I did not kill maggie.

I did not kill paul.

Reported to us by the
jurors that the clerk of court

Would go in to the
sanctity of the jury room

Before he testified
and tell the jurors,

Don't be fooled
by his testimony.

Watch out for his body language.

And if that is true, which we
have every reason to believe

That it is and no reason
to believe that it's not,

There is no choice but to
courts to grant a new trial.

Martha maccallum: In
the days and weeks that

Followed the trial,
the defense began

Hearing of jury tampering.

Initially, they could not get
to the root of those rumors,

Until some new
evidence came to light.

Jim griffin: So immediately in
the aftermath of the verdict,

We had received information
that we needed to look into what

Happened in the jury room.

We started down that road,
and we met a zone of silence.

And then, when the clerk
of court wrote her book,

Published her book, that
zone of silence collapsed,

And jurors were upset about
that, the ones we talked with.

And they were more than willing
to come forward and tell us

The things that we
had sort of heard

Through a whisper campaign.

Dana kennedy: If half of what's
in that affidavit is true,

The prosecution has a problem.

I think the
allegations are serious.

I think when you become a
public official, unfortunately,

You open yourself up to
that kind of scrutiny.

I think it's been unfair that
she's been tarred and feathered

So quickly by harpootlian
and the defense

In such a public fashion.

And I'm confident that there's
going to be a different side

Of the story that we're
going to hear when

This goes to a new hearing.

Neil gordon: I was shocked.

That's not the
becky that I know.

The becky that I know
holds the oath of office

Very closely to her.

She believes in
her oath of office.

And she's just a very credible
person with a lot of integrity.

Martha maccallum: We first
spoke with rebecca "becky"

Hill for our fox
nation series "the fall

Of the house of murdaugh."

She sat down for an
extensive interview

And shared her personal
insights on the case,

The trial, and even the jury.

My name is rebecca
hill, and I am the clerk

Of court for colleton county.

I'm the one that read the
verdict for the guilty verdict

Of alex murdaugh.

And I was a little--

My breath was knocked
out for a moment.

But then I have to tell
myself to treat this just

Like any other trial, any other
verdict that I have to read,

And I have to place my
mind there and take out

Any other personal
relationships.

Martha maccallum:
The 55-year-old hill

Has strong ties to the
lowcountry in south carolina.

Neil gordon: Family
is everything

To becky and her husband.

She got started becoming
a school teacher

And then got
interested in the law

And worked for several
years in lawyers' offices.

And then she got a wonderful
job as a traveling court

Reporter in the
14th circuit, right

There where walterboro is.

And she did that for 14 years.

And then she was encouraged to
run for office by another clerk

Of court in hampton county.

I am pleased to announce
that I will be seeking

Election for the 2020
position of the colleton

County clerk of court.

Neil gordon: And she
won in a landslide.

And she's been the clerk of
court since November of 2020.

Martha maccallum: Hill
took office just six months

Before maggie and paul
murdaugh were murdered

At their colleton county home.

I heard about the
murders of alex's

Wife and son that very night
that it happened, June 7, 2021.

I was home, and I had gotten
a phone call from a very dear

Friend in hampton who told
me, alarmingly, that alex's

Wife and son had been murdered.

And immediately, our
conversation went

To who could have done this.

I hope they find this person.

We felt very, very close
to the situation just

Because of the
murdaugh family, and we

Wanted justice to be done.

Martha maccallum: In
fact, the murdaugh murders

Were close to home for hill.

Her prior work in
the court system

Meant she was often in contact
with two of the most prominent

Attorneys in the
lowcountry, alex murdaugh

And his late father, randolph.

I would say that to know
them was to love them,

Very charming.

They made you feel immediately
like family when they met you.

Neil gordon: We do discuss
the connection in the book

Because that was part of
the struggle that becky had.

Being a clerk of court
in this trial that

Was seen all over
the world, she did

Have a personal relationship.

Being a court reporter
from 2008 until 2020

Gave us a lot of opportunities
to be in court together.

Whenever alex would come into
the courtroom, you knew it.

It was like a whirlwind.

He brought a lot of energy
with him, a lot of charm.

He most usually was
accompanied by his father

Whenever he would come
into the courtroom.

And there was a lot of
banter that would go on.

I was able to be in
a trial several times

With alex and his
father and just

Such a good rapport with them.

She actually credits the
murdaugh men who were attorneys

In helping her come out
of her shell a little bit,

Particularly when you have
a jury pool in front of you

Where you have to kind
of lead the conversation

To determine which jurors
may get eliminated.

So she credited alex murdaugh
and particularly alex's father,

Randolph, for their
courtroom demeanor,

Just how they were
able to navigate

Through opening and
closing arguments

And how they worked
with the jurors.

Rebecca hill: I've
always compared

The murdaughs here in hampton
to the kennedys of our time.

Because like the
kennedys, the murdaughs

Have experienced so many
tragedies within their family.

I was the first
out-of-state reporter

To go to south carolina.

I was there a week
after the two murders.

And I did kind of a whole
investigation of the situation,

Of the place, of the people.

I knew nothing about
it, and nobody really

Did outside of south carolina.

Becky hill, as far as
my interactions with her

And what I know of
her, is that she's

Sort of the quintessential,
sweet, southern older woman.

They call her ms.
Becky or mrs. Becky,

Which is traditional down there.

And she was a friend to all the
media during the trial, which

At the time seemed really nice.

It seemed to be really helpful.

Eric bland: She is
a very nice woman.

She runs a really
good courthouse.

She was extremely personable
through the trial.

And in my interactions
with jurors,

I've come to learn
that she was extremely

Cooperative with the
jurors and making sure

That they were comfortable.

Martha maccallum: But
murdaugh's attorneys

Claim that ms. Becky took her
new position as court clerk

Too far.

Two jurors reportedly
signed affidavits

Saying becky hill
overstepped her role

And tried to influence their
opinions and decisions.

Jim griffin: The legal test
is, is the subject matter

Prejudicial to the defense?

When the subject matter is
and is reported under oath

By these jurors,
it was a direction

On how you should receive
alex murdaugh's testimony.

You should look at him.

Don't be fooled by him.

He would get all his
buddies and get on a boat

And go watch a sunset.

Any 22-year-old people, you
know, do stuff like that.

I mean, he was
such a special boy.

And I think another thing that
the jury was turned off with

Was when alex decided
to become a witness.

They were very
turned off with that.

It did not go the
way I think alex

Would have wanted it to go.

We strongly believe, if
that evidence is accurate,

And the law will
require a new trial.

Dana kennedy: I can't imagine
that anybody thought that she

Would end up being
such a pivotal figure

After everything we
thought was wrapped up.

The trial of richard
alexander murdaugh

Was a huge trial for our county.

For our part of the world, it
was the trial of the century.

It was even bigger than oj.

It was bigger than susan smith.

Dana kennedy: It's like they'd
won the lottery, this town.

And I think everybody
got a little corrupted.

Because back in the beginning,
they all loved alex murdaugh.

And, you know, ms. Becky
said things like, there

Was such charm that he had.

It's amazing how fast
people turned on him even

Before he was found guilty.

Rebecca hill: Sadly, I do
think that alex killed his wife

Maggie and his son paul.

I think he did it out of
a twisted way of love.

I don't think we can wrap
our heads around that thought

Or that fact.

Eric bland: The murdaugh story
had been going on since 2019,

Since the boating accident.

We all have reached certain
conclusions along the way

About alex murdaugh,
certainly after labor day

And the roadside
shooting, certainly

When I came on board
on September 7, 2021

And revealed that they
had taken $4.3 million

From the satterfields.

And then that unleashed
the floodgates for all

Of the financial crimes.

So there's been a lot of
things that have happened

To make people believe one
way or the other about alex

Murdaugh.

He was pilloried in the
press so that people came

In with preconceived notions.

She doesn't have to be free
of opinion regarding his guilt

Or innocence, but she
can't let that guilt

Infiltrate picking a jury.

As the clerk of court, I tend
to be more like a switzerland

In dealing with everyone.

I take no sides.

And I have to be accommodating
to everyone in the courtroom,

No matter what side you're
on, from the jury to the judge

To the witnesses to the
people in the gallery that

Come to the prosecution to
the media that was here.

It was a lot to juggle.

It's a very
important job, and she

Is the liaison between the legal
community and that courthouse.

She's also the liaison between
the public in that courthouse.

And she's the liaison between
judge newman and that jury.

Look, I've been doing
this almost 50 years.

The bedrock of any trial-- and
I've done hundreds of them--

Is that the clerk of court
is the person that makes

Sure the jury gets their
food, if they're put up

For the night someplace to stay,
their travel accommodations

Are met.

They're not someone
that ever should

Talk to them about the case.

I've never had it happen.

Rebecca hill: I will tell you
that our jury, in speaking

With them and being part of
my job as being switzerland,

I have to keep a lot of
confidential things inside.

Our jurors knew that
part of their job

Was to perceive the
defendant as being

Innocent until proven
guilty, and they

Took that job very seriously.

They knew that they had to
hear all of the evidence

Before they could
make a determination.

But I do know that
that's one thing

That they were-- they were
very passionate about what

They were doing.

They took it very seriously.

And they could
perceive the things

That were being shown to them
and talked to them about.

Well, she talks in an
interview about seemingly

How well she knew the jurors,
how smart they were, how they

Could grasp things right
away, which goes a little

Against her proclamation
that she was

Kind of like switzerland
and neutral because so much

Else of what she says and
that she has in her book

Sounds as if she wasn't neutral
at all, that she believed

Murdaugh was guilty,
and that perhaps

She felt that the jurors
should think that too.

I asked her several
times during our interviews

About conversations that she
had with many different people,

Whether it be
somebody on her staff,

If she ever got
into a conversation

With alex, because there were
greetings at the beginning

Of the day.

I was just curious.

And I never got an
inkling that she

Had any improper
conversations with the jury.

We had a lot of stuff go
on during the trial that

Was behind the scenes
that, you know,

The public wouldn't
really know about.

Jim griffin: What you saw
in some of the affidavits

Is the jurors were
separated in two rooms

And sort of broke up
from guys in one room,

Gals in another room.

And so the comments that we've
gotten on the sworn affidavits

Come from the ladies'
room, if you will,

More so than the men's room.

But, you know, we do have
information that we submitted

From one juror where he does
acknowledge that she talked

To him about evidence,
about autopsy photos,

And don't be upset about them.

I mean, that should
not be happening.

She has a right to
talk with the jury.

She has a right to
calm jurors down.

She has a right to maybe
even repeat the things

That were said by judge newman.

He's the only one, by the
way, that can instruct a jury

And direct a jury.

She cannot do that.

Jim griffin: One thing we
want everyone to understand,

That the clerk of court is an
elected official by the people,

Not appointed by the judge,
not appointed by the judiciary.

It's a public official
who's elected and is

An independent state actor.

And so what we are complaining
about in the motion

That we filed today is the
conduct of an elected official,

Not conduct by judge
newman or anybody

In the unified court system.

Martha maccallum: The defense
says it was becky hill's

New book about the trial that
makes her interference clear,

In her own words they claim.

We were hitting brick walls
until her book came out.

And then jurors who obviously
were not comfortable with how

She handled matters were
even less comfortable

With her going on a
book tour and making

Money off what she did.

From the trial itself,
I am able to write a book,

Focusing on what happened behind
the scenes of the trial from

The beginning, when
we started planning,

When we first heard that
the trial was going to be

Fast-tracked and was going
to be happening in January,

To the ending of the trial.

And it's going to focus on
so many aspects of the trial

And things people
didn't know, which

Occurred behind the scenes.

The title is "behind
the doors of justice."

The story that
she tells is not

Accurate in our opinion, at
least the facts as we saw them.

Dana kennedy: It does have
some validity, the idea

That her motivation might
have been money and fame.

Because she does have
a book out in which

She does talk with sort of
great pride about herself.

She talks about being the
queen of the courthouse

And all of that.

So it's something
to think about.

I'm neil gordon, and I'm the
co-author of "behind the doors

Of justice" with becky hill, the
colleton county clerk of court.

When I saw the press conference
and they used "behind the doors

Of justice" as some
sort of motivation

Why becky would allegedly
tamper with the jury,

I just thought that must have
been a joke because I'm waiting

On my big check from
some publishing company

On madison avenue in new york.

When we got together, I
don't mind sharing with you,

I borrowed money to
produce this book,

And they borrowed against,
I think, some 401

Or what have you just to
be able to tell this story,

This snapshot in history.

So we risked money.

And it wasn't decided--

I didn't even meet
her until three weeks

After the end of the trial.

So it doesn't add up.

When becky and I first
chatted about the book,

She just told me she
wanted to share what it was

Like behind the doors of
justice, how the sausage got

Made, if you will.

She also takes her role as
clerk of court very seriously.

And she got the impression
from being in the trenches

That people didn't
really know what the role

Of the clerk of court is.

So in our book "behind
the doors of justice,"

We took a lot of time to explain
the different intricate duties

That she has.

And she wanted to let everybody
in on understanding what it

Was like to be part of
the trial of the century

In a different way.

If anyone is going to
speculate about becky hill's

Motives, she's clear
in her own book

That she had decided
to write a book--

And she called it a god thing--

Prior to the verdict.

And having a conviction this
speedy, which makes it look

Like this is done and dusted,
there's no question he did it,

Jury comes back
in no time, again,

Is so good for a book
about a murder trial.

Martha maccallum:
But hill's co-author

Insists they went through
the proper legal channels

Before going to print.

It was sent off
to a media attorney,

Pretty noted media attorney from
the southeast, who took a look

At it with a red pen and
suggested certain things that

Should be clarified and
certain things maybe that we

Should leave out, et cetera.

So we were pretty
careful, I would say,

In the way that we
went about publishing.

Martha maccallum:
The defense also

Points to several key
moments in the trial

That call into question
becky hill's motives.

First is March 2, when
the so-called "egg

Lady" juror was
removed just hours

Before deliberations began.

A few days ago, I received
a complaint from a member

Of the public indicating
that a juror had engaged

In improper conversations
with parties

Not associated with the case.

In order to preserve the
integrity of the process

And the interests of both
the state and the defense

In a fair trial, that
juror will be removed

And replaced by another juror.

Have you brought everything
that you have outside of--

You left some stuff in there?

What do you have in there?

Say again.

A dozen eggs?

Jim griffin: What
you see in the sworn

Testimony that's in file--

Been filed today
is ms. Hill told

The court that there
was a facebook post

By this juror's ex-husband.

Dana kennedy: Becky
hill apparently

Saw this facebook post, which
we still don't even know ever

Existed, and told
the judge about it.

But since then, it gets really
complicated because the person

She named as being the
author of this facebook post

With a timothy stone.

"egg lady" juror's
husband is tim stone.

He doesn't go by timothy.

And that timothy stone
on facebook's face

Is not even her tim stone.

So it gets really complicated.

And again, she wasn't
in touch with him.

She had restraining
orders against him.

So it really seems
kind of nuts that he

Would have a post there.

Jim griffin: The ex-husband has
filed an affidavit saying I've

Never posted a facebook post.

Ms. Hill and her office says,
he must have deleted it.

We can't find it.

And what we do know, and we laid
it out in detail in our brief,

Is that the apology
facebook post was posted,

I think, on February
16 and said,

We had deleted it the
day before, February 15.

Ms. Hill is telling judge
newman on February 23

That I just saw
this facebook post--

Impossible, impossible.

Dana kennedy: And in fact,
the defense attorneys

Have done a forensic deep dive
on his facebook, on his laptop.

He did not make any facebook
post that anyone can see,

According to them.

We also have in their
sworn testimony that ms.

Hill told this
juror that sled went

Out and confirmed
with your ex-husband

That he posted that--

Not true, according to
the sworn testimony.

Martha maccallum: But becky
hill gave us this explanation

Of why the juror was removed.

Was released from the jury
because of talking to people

That she should not have been
talking to and the speculation

That her ex-husband
could have been contacted

By someone on the defense team.

Her ex-husband and her had not
conversed in over 14 years.

In fact, when they
divorced, she had three

Restraining orders out on him.

And he wasn't someone
that she wanted

To come into contact with.

But through her
interaction with people,

The judge felt that-- and in
talking with the attorneys too,

That it was going to be
safer for her to be released.

Martha maccallum:
Murdaugh's team

Says she invented the post to
remove the juror she believed

Might vote not guilty.

There is another real
amateur hour aspect to this.

Because it's come out that
the court clerk, becky hill,

Was questioning the "egg
lady" juror in her offices

About these issues, especially
the alleged facebook post.

If she started expressing
her doubt of alex's guilt

Or innocence, especially
before they rendered a verdict,

Before they were even
released to deliberate,

I would have thought there
would have been some complaints

By other jurors made.

But there were no
similar complaints.

Nobody said that she had
expressed that she was

Going to vote him not guilty.

So how would ms.
Becky have known

That if she didn't voice that?

That's the disconnect
I'm seeing.

The fact that judge
newman said in open court

He was a little concerned that
she had spent some time talking

To the "egg lady" juror
about these allegations,

It's like, someone
should have, I think,

Been a little bit more
careful about the way

The whole trial was running, in
particular with her position.

Because it isn't a stretch
to think that somebody,

You know, a good old girl
from the good old south,

Might get a little caught up
in what people have called

The trial of the century.

Eric bland: Obviously,
harpootlian and

Is basing this-- the genesis
of this is the, quote, unquote,

"egg juror."

She's the one that was
very upset for being

Discharged from the jury.

From what I
understand, very upset.

But she wasn't discharged
by anything that becky did.

If there's going to
be an investigation,

I think you're going
to be surprised

Of what you hear about the egg
lady from the other jurors.

I think you're going to be
surprised at whether she

Actually followed the
judge's directives

Throughout the trial.

Martha maccallum:
The defense motion

Also points to the jury's March
1 visit to the murder scene.

Rebecca hill: Well, I went with
the jury to do the site visit,

To see moselle.

Of course, my curiosity
was high, just

To see what it looked like.

I've heard so many
stories of moselle

And the good times that
were had out there.

But arriving at moselle
and seeing the property

Was a little
double-edged, knowing

That maggie was murdered there
and paul was murdered there.

Martha maccallum: What
hill wrote in her book

About that visit
is now being called

Into question by the defense.

In it, hill writes, quote--

Well, you know,
the problem I have

With what she says in there
is, after going to marselle--

Moselle, we-- if you noticed,
she used the plural "we"--

Felt such and such
and such and such.

This was just one
day before they started

Deliberations and
less than 48 hours

After a verdict was returned.

And this visit to moselle was
supposed to be very crucial.

We meaning who?

We meaning the jury?

We?

No.

We meaning her and
the court staff.

The jury was together.

She wasn't with the jury.

The jury was being marshaled by
bailiffs and security guards.

I think you're going to
hear from other jurors

That they didn't even hear
anything from ms. Becky

During the walk through.

We meaning is-- she's going to
have to define who that we is.

Neil gordon: And she
mentioned in "behind the doors

Of justice" that at
some point, her eyes

Locked with several different
members of the jury.

And just based on
women's intuition,

She just felt that
was at the point

That it sealed alex
murdaugh's fate.

If she had to pick one moment
in time, that was the moment.

Martha maccallum: But hill
doubled down on what she

Meant by we in our interview.

I've been a court reporter.

I've been a clerk of
court now for three years.

And you get a feel for a jury.

And in speaking with them and
in going to the site visit

That we did to the
moselle property,

We didn't have to speak a word.

Our eyes, between me and
the jury, said it all.

I believe that the
site visit sealed

The deal with their
conviction in alex murdaugh.

It's almost like maggie and
paul spoke from the grave.

And I know that
sounds a little weird.

But there was an eerie,
eerie feeling on the property

That morning that we went.

And when we went
over to the areas

Where paul and maggie had lain,
the wind had even picked up.

But you could just hear in the
breeze voices saying, you know,

That he's guilty.

Martha maccallum:
Murdaugh's team

Also accuses becky hill
of forcing the jury

To reach a quick verdict.

Saying, you know, you
should be able to come

To this pretty quickly.

And by the way, if you don't,
if it's not done by 11:00 pm,

You're going to have
to stay for the night.

I think what
you're going to hear

Is maybe they were
told that they can

Deliberate to a certain time.

And then, at that time, if
a verdict isn't reached,

They're going to end
up going to a hotel

And that they would be
able to return the next day

To continue deliberations.

People deliberating late
into the night, beyond 10:00

Maybe get tired.

There are some people
my age, who are elderly,

10 o'clock at night is kind of
late when you start your day

At 7:00 in the morning.

So if that's pressure,
I don't know.

Martha maccallum:
But that's not all.

One of the things we heard
was, once the jury went out,

Even though there
were six smokers

And they were given smoke
breaks during the entire trial,

Once the jury went
out, they were told,

No more smoke breaks.

You're not-- people
that want nicotine,

You're going to have
to get a verdict first.

Martha maccallum:
In our interview,

Hill also hinted
that she didn't think

It should take a jury long
to find alex murdaugh guilty.

Rebecca hill: After the jury
had gone to the jury room,

I really felt like it was not
even going to take three hours.

I really thought 45 minutes,
and they would be back in here.

So around 6 o'clock, when I
asked the foreperson if they

Were ready for me to order
supper and the response

That I got told me that, no,
they were ready to come out

In the next few minutes, I
kind of knew that it was going

To be a guilty verdict too.

Martha maccallum: And indeed,
in less than three hours,

The jury had a decision.

Breaking tonight, we are
getting word from the pool that

Covers the trial
of alex murdaugh

That a verdict has been reached.

Madam forelady, if
you'll stand for me.

Have you reached a verdict?

Forelady: Yes--
yes, sir, we have.

Is it unanimous?

Forelady: Yes, sir, it is.

I'm the one that read the
verdict for the guilty verdict

Of alex murdaugh.

The state of south carolina
county of colleton in the court

Of general sessions in
the term of 2022, July,

The state versus richard
alexander murdaugh,

Defendant, indictment for
murder, sc code 16-3-0010,

Cdr code 0116--

--Ok.

Guilty verdict.

I just find it difficult to
believe that 12 jurors would

Find somebody of murder,
guilty of murder,

They could get life
imprisonment twice,

Simply because somebody
may have said something,

Made one statement.

Judge newman: Your
jury has been polled,

And the verdict is
a unanimous verdict.

Rebecca hill: Alex murdaugh
had no reaction at all

During the reading
of the verdicts.

There were so many reactions
from so many others.

I could see members
of sled weeping.

They had a lot of time
invested in this investigation.

They knew the murdaughs, for the
most part, from the other side.

They were also torn with doing
a job from knowing this family

For years and years and years
and then coming to grips

With alex being a murderer.

It was hard.

What I haven't
heard from any juror

Yet is any juror said that they
felt that they made a verdict

That they didn't
otherwise wanted to make,

That they were forced into
voting for guilt when they

Thought he was innocent, or that
anything ms. Becky said caused

Them to vote in a certain way.

A lot of these folks just
don't want to get involved,

But they're going to be
involved if we get a hearing

Because each and
every one of them

Is going to have to testify
in an open court before you

As to what happened.

So far, we have been retained
by four of these jurors who

Rendered a verdict.

My clients want to cooperate
with law enforcement

Because they were
law-abiding citizens who gave

A law-abiding oath, and they
rendered a true and just

Verdict without interference.

So they've given
written statements.

They're willing to testify
under oath to support

The verdict that they gave.

Interviewer: Any comments at
all about the allegations?

Did you tamper with the jurors?

Do you have lawyers now?

Any comment at all, rebecca?

I think she's just
nervous, overwhelmed.

And she's relying on
her faith and prayer

And friends and family.

And I always say to her,
what happens in the dark

Will always come to light.

And please remember that if
alex murdaugh is innocent

Until proven guilty and he
had an opportunity for all

The facts to come out,
doesn't becky hill

Deserve that same opportunity?

Eric bland: I think a judge
is going to be hard pressed

To reverse this jury verdict at
this time and maybe says, well,

Send it up to the
appellate court

And let the appellate judges
reverse this if they want.

Dana kennedy: If
I were a betting

Person, if I were an
oddsmaker in vegas,

I'd say he gets a new trial.

But in this particular
case, at the same time,

Nothing would surprise me.

I mean, we thought all the
twists and turns were over.

And there already
were enough of them.

I mean, this is as if it
were scripted by hollywood.

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