Alex Murdaugh Sues Court Clerk for Murder Trial Interference (1)

Disbarred South Carolina attorney Richard Alexander Murdaugh filed constitutional claims in an attempt to get damages for alleged jury tampering by a court clerk after receiving two life sentences in 2023 for the murders of his wife and son.

Murdaugh sued a former clerk for the Circuit Court of Colleton County, S.C., Sunday for allegedly relaying extrajudicial communications to jury members that “urged them not to be ‘fooled,’ ‘confused,’ ‘thrown off,’ or ‘convinced’ by Murdaugh and his defense,” according to a complaint filed to the US District Court for the District of South Carolina.

The lawsuit claims that former clerk Rebecca Hill intentionally manipulated the jury on Murdaugh’s case so she could “write a book about the most high-profile trial in South Carolina history” and use the profits to buy a lake house. Her book, “Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders” includes exclusive details about the trial and her decades-long connection with the Murdaugh family.

Murdaugh’s trial garnered national media attention after a Netflix documentary and several true crime podcasts shared the story behind the murders and shed light on the family’s political influence. Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison in March 2023, but the state supreme court recently tossed his conviction after finding that Hill “‘placed her fingers on the scales of justice’” for personal financial gain.

After Hill got her book deal in August 2023, various jurors allegedly came forward and, through affidavits and statements, described Hill’s “efforts to obtain her desired guilty verdict through jury tampering during trial.” According to the lawsuit, incidents of jury tampering included Hill having a private conversation with a juror during a jury visit to the murder site, sharing reporters’ business cards with jury members during the trial, and urging jurors to watch his body language.

Hill resigned from her clerk position in March 2024 after a trial court found she “was attracted by the siren call of celebrity” and “allowed public attention of the moment to overcome her duty,” the complaint said. By December 2025, Hill pleaded guilty to charges of perjury, obstruction of justice, and misconduct in office.

Murdaugh claims Hill’s acts of jury tampering violated the Sixth and 14th Amendments. His lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, along with reimbursement for $600,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.

Hill’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Richard A. Harpootlian PA and Griffin Humphries LLC represent Murdaugh.

The case is Murdaugh v. Hill, D.S.C., No. 2:26-cv-01989, complaint filed 5/17/26.