Alex Murdaugh court clerk Becky Hill resigns two months after her remarks to jury nearly won him a new trial

Becky Hill has resigned from her job as court clerk after her behavior during the Alex Murdaugh trial nearly got the family annihilator's murder convictions thrown out.

Hill announced her resignation on Monday in front of the Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina and said she would not seek re-election.

'It's been my honor to serve as your Colleton County Clerk of Court for the last four years. The Colleton County's Clerk's office is proud of our services and the significant impacts we have made in the history of South Carolina.'

After listing some of the office's accomplishments, Hill highlighted the Murdaugh trial, saying the small town came together and made everyone proud.'

Murdaugh's lawyers had argued he deserved a new trial because of Hill’s alleged actions and comments to the jury.

Hill, an elected Republican, claimed the high-profile trial 'caused her to reflect upon decisions involving my stay in the office of the clerk of court.

Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill has resigned after her comments to the Alex Mudaugh jury nearly got the family annihilator a new trial

Murdaugh, center, talks with his defense attorney Jim Griffin, left, during a jury-tampering hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center on Monday

She said: 'After much reflection, I've decided that it is best not to run again for re-election. I will now be able to focus on being a wife, a mother and grandmother to my two grandboys.'

Hill had held the position since 2020. 

In January, she took the stand in Columbia to deny accusations that she asked jurors in the Murdaugh trial if they thought he was guilty before deliberations or suggested she thought he killed his wife and son.

Murdaugh’s six-week murder trial became a sensation with its mix of privilege, brutality and power. The judges, lawyers and Hill herself all became minor celebrities.

Hill published a book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, on the trial 

The defense made a number of allegations after the guilty verdict, including that Hill told jurors their deliberations shouldn’t take long, thereby implying Murdaugh was guilty.

Murdaugh’s attorneys have also said Hill had conversations in a private bathroom with the jury forewoman and handed jurors business cards of media members who wanted interviews before deliberations.

Hill and three jurors did end up in New York City after the trial for an NBC interview, with Hill writing in her self-published book it was her first plane trip.

However, a judge decided that Hill's actions during the trial did not influence the jury to convict the killer and denied Mudaugh him a new trial.

'I do not believe the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments,' said Judge Jean Toal. 

Murdaugh, 55, was convicted in March 2023 of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul in June 2021.

Prosecutors based their case on damning cell phone evidence that showed him at the crime scene near the time of the murders. The pair were both shot dead at the family's hunting lodge.

Murdaugh's lawyers had argued he deserved a new trial because of Hill’s alleged actions 

Hill and three jurors did end up in New York City after the trial for a NBC interview

He has maintained his innocence throughout and claims the 12-person jury pool was tainted from the beginning, influenced by a swarm of media attention and by the actions of Becky Hill - who went on to write a book about the case.

One of the 12 jurors said that Hill's conduct did influence her.

'To me, it felt like she made it seem like he was already guilty,' the juror testified on Monday.

Asked whether this influenced her vote to find him guilty, she said: 'Yes ma'am.'

In later questioning, the juror told the judge that her August affidavit was accurate, in that she felt her fellow jurors, rather than Hill, convinced her to convict Murdaugh.

'I had questions about Mr Murdaugh's guilt but voted guilty because I felt pressured by other jurors,' she said.

Judge Jean Toal said Hill was attracted by the 'siren call of celebrity' because she wanted to write a book about the trial.

Hill, pictured with Judge Newman, is being accused by Murdaugh's defense team of influencing the jury as they move for a retrial 

Murdaugh has remained adamant that he did not kill his son Paul with a shotgun and his wife Maggie (both circled) with a rifle

Hill wrote a book about the case, 'Behind the Doors of Justice,' but made just $100,000 from it, she told the court.

She admitted that she spoke to people about the possibility of publishing a book before the murder trial ended last year.

She also admitted the book has now been taken off shelves after she plagiarized parts of it.

On the stand, Hill denied trying to influence the jury in any way, and denied a juror's claim that she had warned the jury to 'watch Murdaugh closely' before his testimony.

'I did tell the jury to pay attention just generally,' Hill added.

Hill admitted she sent an email saying she believed the jury would not take long to come up with a verdict.

'It's a gut feeling, that's all I meant by that,' Hill told the court when asked why she said the jury would not take long to deliver on Murdaugh's fate.

The court clerk also admitted telling a court reporter she told Murdaugh was guilty, but added: 'none of us were jurors.'