South Carolina authorities on Wednesday morning charged Becky Hill, the former Colleton County court clerk who presided over the Alex Murdaugh murder trial, with multiple felonies.

The State Ethics Commission last year accused Hill, 57, of using her official position as Colleton County clerk for financial gain, specifically to promote her book about the Murdaugh case, part of which she admitted to and apologized for plagiarizing.

While her charges are not specified, the Colleton County website states that Hill is also under a “hold for South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.”

“We are aware of the charges filed against Becky Hill, and while these developments are serious, they are not surprising,” Dick Harpootlian, Murdaugh’s defense attorney, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “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.”

Colleton County court clerk Rebecca Hill walks past her daughter, who is singing at a party in Walterboro, South Carolina, March 1, 2023. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)

“Another significant impact in our clerk’s office was in 2023, when we had to manage one of the biggest trials in South Carolina history. Our small town came together and made everyone proud,” Hill said during a news conference at the time to announce her resignation. “Managing a trial with such importance to the people of South Carolina, as well as to the national and international media interest and public scrutiny, has caused me to reflect upon decisions involving my stay in the office of the clerk of court.”

She added that her decision not to seek re-election in 2024 would allow her to “focus on being a wife, a mother and a grandmother,” and that she wants to provide “ample time to other Republican candidates” interested in the position of Colleton County court clerk.

Her former attorney, Justin Bamberg, who has represented victims of Murdaugh’s financial crimes, said at a March news conference that Hill’s decision had nothing to do with any pending investigations involving the clerk.