Alex Murdaugh sues Becky Hill in federal court in jury tampering at SC murder trial

Alex Murdaugh, the disbarred lawyer whose double-murder conviction was overturned last week, has filed a lawsuit alleging his civil rights were violated when clerk of court Rebecca “Becky” Hill tampered with the jury at his trial.

The 17-page lawsuit was filed in federal court in Columbia, S.C., on Monday morning.

Murdaugh’s lawyers, Dick Harpootlian, Jim Griffin and Phil Barber, have scheduled a 1 p.m. press conference in Columbia, apparently to discuss the lawsuit and answer other reporters’ questions.

The ongoing Murdaugh legal saga, with its overtones of dynasty, millions in embezzled client funds and political and social power, is one of the nation’s most sensational criminal cases this century. With the filing of Monday’s lawsuit, the case has taken yet another surprising twist.

In the lawsuit, Murdaugh seeks to hold Hill accountable “for her wrongful conduct under color of state law and to recover compensatory and punitive damages as provided by law,” the lawsuit said.

In 2023, Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son Paul by a Colleton County jury after a six-week trial. The jury deliberated less than three hours.

“Acting under color of state law and abusing the power and authority of her elected office, Ms. Hill made repeated, improper extrajudicial communications to jurors in which she urged them not to be “fooled,” “confused,” “thrown off,” or “convinced” by Murdaugh and his defense,” the lawsuit says.

“In so doing, Ms. Hill ‘became a character witness on behalf of the State, encouraging the jurors to question Murdaugh’s credibility,’ and ‘essentially implored the jurors to find him guilty, the ultimate issue in the case’,” the lawsuit says.

In her position as Colleton County clerk of court during the trial, Hill had extraordinary access to jurors, making sure they got meals and snacks and had proper rooms in which to take breaks and, at the end, deliberate Murdaugh’s fate.

SC high court voids conviction

Last Wednesday, May 13, 2026, the S.C. Supreme Court unanimously reversed Murdaugh’s murder convictions and called for a new trial. The five justices held that Hill’s jury tampering violated Murdaugh’s constitutional right to a fair trial by an impartial jury.

“Murdaugh brings this action to hold Ms. Hill accountable for her wrongful conduct under color of state law and to recover compensatory and punitive damages as provided by law,” the lawsuit says.

Murdaugh is now serving a 27-year state sentence for embezzling funds in state prison. When that sentence finishes, he will be transferred to federal prison, where he will finish out a 40-year sentence for fraud, money laundering and other crimes. In all, Murdaugh is estimated to have stolen more than $10 million from clients and his law firm.

Prosecutors have said he shot his wife and son to death in June 2021 to distract from questions that were being raised about missing money, questions that would have exposed his secret life of financial crimes.

Last December, Hill pleaded guilty to various criminal charges — perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct — involving the misappropriation of public money while she held the clerk of court’s position in Colleton County. She was sentenced to probation.

However, now that the State Supreme Court has categorically said in its l ruling that Hill tampered with the Murdaugh jury, that ruling would apparently bolster the chances of a successful civil lawsuit, or even a criminal charge, against Hill. Jury tampering is a crime in South Carolina.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated with coverage from the Murdaugh lawyers’ press conference and other sources.

.

This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 11:44 AM.