What’s next for Alex Murdaugh and Becky Hill? Former prosecutor weighs in

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh will not receive a new trial —  according to Judge Jean Toal’s ruling late Monday afternoon.

Murdaugh’s defense attorneys say they will appeal.  So what’s likely to happen next?

Abc columbia’s Lee Williams spoke with a former prosecutor on what we can expect going forward.

Monday’s hearing stemmed from Murdaugh’s defense attorneys accusing Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill with jury tampering.

Eleven out of twelve jurors testified that Hill made no comment about the case and that she had no effect on their verdicts.

One juror, known as “Juror Z,” said Hill did have an effect on her verdict, but also testified that the other jurors persuaded her decision as well.

“To me it felt like… she (Hill) made it seem like he (Murdaugh) was already guilty,” says Juror Z.

Hill took the stand and denied all allegations against her, including that she had any inappropriate conversations with jurors or that she had given a juror a ride home.

Her friend and fellow Clerk of Court for Barnwell County Rhonda McElveen disagreed, saying Hill had told her that she and a bailiff gave a juror a ride home.

Attorney and Former Prosecutor Lori Murray says the things McElveen testified to matched up with what one of the jurors said.

“The problem is Becky got on the stand and lied about whether she had given a juror a ride home, and the defense correctly identified that in their closing argument. But one of the other things missing in that closing argument was one of the jurors lied about it too. We don’t know which one, but nobody said they got a ride home from Becky Hill, so one of the jurors lied about it as well, and that’s huge. That goes to the direct credibility of these jurors,” says Murray.

And what may be next for Hill?

“People were asking yesterday if I thought she’d face charges for jury tampering. And my response to that is, ‘Who cares at this point?’ Because that is the least of this woman’s worries. The jury tampering is a misdemeanor charge, it doesn’t carry very much time. It would be a stamp as to her credibility and the things she’s done in this case, but she’s facing by my view at least three other charges,” says Murray.

Those possible charges include obstruction of justice, illegal wiretapping, and misuse of public funds.

And what’s next for Murdaugh? His defense attorneys say they will appeal.

“It could go up to the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court and they could rule one of maybe three ways. They could say, no, the correct standard was applied, and nothing happens. They could say the correct standard was not applied and they could send it back down for a new hearing like the one we had yesterday, or they could say the correct standard was not applied, but based on the record that was provided, we still find that it was harmless error, and they don’t get a new trial,” says Murray.

Murray believes Murdaugh may get a new trial — though it may be years down the road after the case makes its way through the court of appeals or the SC Supreme Court.

“There’s a decent chance, I’m not gonna say a good chance, but there’s a decent chance he gets a new trial just based on everything in total,” Murray says.