South Carolina judge denies Alex Murdaugh's request for new murder trial
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A South Carolina judge on Monday denied Alex Murdaugh’s request for a new murder trial.

Justice Jean Toal ruled Monday that she did not believe a new trial was needed for Murdaugh, who was convicted in the June 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on his family hunting estate.

Murdaugh was back in court Monday for a hearing on jury tampering allegations surrounding Colleton County Court Clerk Becky Hill, accusations which Murdaugh’s defense team had argued warranted a new trial.

Toal said before her ruling Monday that while Hill was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and had made “fleeting and foolish comments,” the jurors took their assignments seriously in convicting Murdaugh.

Murdaugh’s lawyers, Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, alleged in their motion for a new trial that Hill advised jurors not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony, pressured the panel to reach a “quick guilty verdict” and lied to the trial judge in a campaign to remove a panelist who was sympathetic to the defense.

“Ms. Hill did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that would not happen in the event of a mistrial,” the filing says. “Ms. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame.”

Rebecca Hill wearing a gray scarf

Rebecca Hill arrives to the “Today” studio in New York City, March 6, 2023. She was the court clerk in the double-murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division opened two investigations into Hill’s conduct during Murdaugh’s murder trial, including a probe into allegations Hill used her position as clerk to benefit financially from sales of her book about the case, which she later admitted included plagiarized writing, and another probe into the jury tampering allegations.

Murdaugh, 55, was sentenced in March to two life terms for the murders.

The disgraced South Carolina lawyer was also sentenced to 27 years in November for his financial crimes. He agreed to plead guilty to 22 counts — including breach of trust, money laundering, forgery and tax evasion — out of about 100 counts totaling as much as $10 million in exchange for the 27-year prison sentence.

Murdaugh previously pleaded guilty to 22 counts of financial fraud and money laundering in federal court.

Fox News’ Chelsea Torres and Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.

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