Alex Murdaugh’s lawyers allege a South Carolina clerk fabricated a Facebook post to get a juror off the disgraced attorney’s murder trial.
Attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian filed a motion Tuesday accusing Rebecca Hill, clerk of the Colleton County District Attorney’s Office, of repeated “jury tampering.”
The pair further allege that Hill “made up a story on a Facebook post to remove a juror she thought would vote not guilty.”
Harpootlian told NewsNation last night, “We have evidence that she fabricated the existence of a Facebook post from one of the jurors’ former husbands. Never happened. We have a statement from him. He never did.’
The attorney, who is also a Democratic state senator, added, “This is unprecedented that the clerk ran a campaign to discredit the defense and discredit Alex Murdaugh’s testimony.”
Attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian claim they have affidavits from two jurors that are reason enough for Alex Murdaugh to get a new murder trial
Hill, pictured with Judge Newman, is accused by Murdaugh’s defense team of influencing the jury as they file a new trial.
Griffin claimed that Hill even went so far as to tell the jury not to be “fooled” by Murdaugh’s testimony
During the trial, Judge Clifton Newman ordered Hill to post a Facebook post she saw, alleging that a juror’s ex-husband “said things” about how his ex-wife told him what her “judgment would be.”
But the new documents now claim that Hill “invented” the post, with the juror claiming it couldn’t have been done because she hadn’t seen her ex-husband in over a decade.
‘Mrs. Hill has never seen such a Facebook post. She made it up,” the newly filed motion claims.
The former husband also denied the allegations that he wrote the message, as well as a follow-up apology, in an affidavit.
Judge Newman eventually acquitted the juror, but said, “Oh boy. I’m not too happy about the clerk questioning a juror instead of coming over and bringing it to me.”
The lawyers said there are more jurors who won’t talk to them, so they want them subpoenaed to testify under oath.
Griffin claimed that Hill even went so far as to tell the jury not to be “fooled” by Murdaugh’s testimony.
Hill, who is serving her first term as elected clerk, published a book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, about the trial in July
“If we are to believe these jurors, it is an impossible task for the state that we get a new trial,” he added.
Harpootlian also said he is concerned that SLED, who led the murder investigation, would try to put pressure on the jurors.
“We hope those jurors do what the other two who gave us affidavits did: hire a lawyer,” Harpootlian added.
Court documents seen by DailyMail.com state that Hill told jurors “not to be fooled by” Murdaugh and that their “deliberations would not last long.”
It read: ‘Mrs. Hill did these things to secure for herself a book deal and media appearances that wouldn’t happen in the event of a mistrial. Mrs. Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame.”
Hill, who is serving her first term as elected clerk, published a book, Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders, about the trial in July.
Attorneys for Murdaugh said at a news conference that they were made aware of Hill’s alleged behavior after the book’s publication, when jurors reported “angry” at her.
“We hit brick walls until her book came out,” Dick Harpootlian said. “Subsequently, jurors who were clearly uncomfortable with the way she handled things, and even less comfortable with her going on a book tour and making money from it, reported it to us.
She’s trying to make a lot of money. That is the point. I’m trying to make money by selling the book.
James McDowell, Gwen Generette and Amie Williams waived their right to anonymity to appear on NBC’s TODAY show to discuss the case that stunned the nation for six weeks
Court documents allege that Hill, correctly, regularly entered the jury room and had private conversations with the jury foreman “that lasted five or ten minutes”
The team filed a motion on Tuesday on behalf of the disgraced South Carolina attorney alleging that Rebecca Hill repeatedly “messed with the jury.”
Was it a successful plan? Don’t know. If you read it, and I’m not going to give a book review, but the book is not well written. In our opinion, the story is not correct.’
Griffin and Harpootlian say Hill traveled to New York with judges when they appeared on NBC’s Today Show.
NBC did not immediately respond when DailyMail.com contacted us for comment.
Joe McCulloch, attorney for two jurors who signed affidavits, told NewsNation his clients “reluctantly agreed” to speak with the defense team.
He added: ‘This is one of those chips that fall where they can fall. I have great respect for the clerk and it is a pity that we find ourselves here.
“It’s hard to say where this is going, but it’s a challenge for our justice system to evaluate all of this and determine what the next right thing to do is.
“I will say that today’s defense claims, with statements from people I represent, are serious and there is certainly a way for the court to rule that this cannot be categorized as an innocent mistake.
“But we’ll have to wait for the court to do its job.”
Murdaugh’s lawyers allege that Hill violated a South Carolina code that states, “No officer, member, or official shall knowingly use his office, membership, or employment to gain any economic interest for himself.”
Hill also allegedly hosted a post-trial drink with members of the media and court staff following Murdaugh’s double murder conviction.