A juror in Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial had questions about his guilt. She voted to convict anyway — after the Clerk of Court told the jury not to be fooled by the defense. All five South Carolina Supreme Court justices just ruled unanimously that Becky Hill's conduct was unprecedented in the state's history and that her comments tainted the verdict. The court found Hill was motivated by a book deal that depended on a guilty verdict. She pled guilty to perjury in December 2025.
The ruling dismantled the earlier decision by former Chief Justice Jean Toal, who denied Murdaugh's motion for a new trial using the wrong legal standard. Toal required Murdaugh to prove harm. The law requires the State to prove no reasonable possibility of influence. The court said the State couldn't do that. The justices also found Toal improperly questioned jurors about whether the Clerk's comments affected their votes, violating deliberation protections.
For retrial, the court ordered prosecutors to limit financial crimes evidence to material directly supporting the motive theory — calling the twelve-plus hours of financial testimony at the first trial excessive. AG Alan Wilson confirmed the State will retry. Murdaugh remains behind bars on financial convictions.
And while the legal system continues to reckon with itself, the Murdaugh family's longtime housekeeper is filling in the gaps the investigation left open. Blanca Simpson walked into the Moselle house twelve hours after the murders and found staged pajamas, a misplaced wedding ring, and a pattern of evidence that pointed to help — people she calls "the cleaners." She also saw an unidentified white truck at the property the day of the murders that was never accounted for. When she tried to report it to SLED, she says they told her to stop obsessing.
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