Alex Murdaugh awaits his verdict, Colleton County Court Clerk Rebecca “Becky” Hill reads the verdict sealing Murdaugh’s fate on March 2, 2023 (Law&Crime Network)
Fireworks are expected Tuesday at a status conference for Alex Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial as a new judge takes the bench and makes decisions about what evidence will be heard and which witnesses will testify at a three-day evidentiary hearing later this month.
Murdaugh claims Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill tampered with the jury in his double murder trial last year. The jury found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son, Paul Murdaugh, after six weeks of testimony and roughly three hours of deliberation in March 2023.
From left to right: Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh.
Prosecutors from South Carolina’s Office of the Attorney General have argued an evidentiary hearing on the defense claims isn’t necessary. However, Justice Jean Toal, who has been appointed by the state’s high court to preside over the motion, has already decided a hearing is necessary. Toal was the first woman to serve as chief justice of South Carolina’s Supreme Court.
Late Friday, Murdaugh’s attorneys filed a new brief adding the names of witnesses they may call at the hearing. Those included Creighton Waters, the assistant attorney general who led the prosecution of Murdaugh, his paralegal, Carly Jewell, Becky Hill’s daughter, Aubrey Hill, and SLED agents David Owen and Rachel Joseph. Calling Waters to testify at the hearing could become a point of contention at Tuesday’s status conference.
Documents recently came to light that showed Becky Hill passed along emails from members of the public who offered opinions about defense witnesses to Waters and Jewell. However, Hill did not send the emails to the defense team.
The defense also plans to call several jurors to testify including Juror 785, also known as “Egg Lady.” She was dismissed during closing arguments and drew laughs in the courtroom when she asked to retrieve a dozen eggs from the jury room before leaving the courthouse. The circumstances surrounding the dismissal of “Egg Lady” have become a point of contention between the defense and prosecution.
The defense contends Hill fabricated a Facebook post about Juror 785 discussing the case with her ex-husband to get the juror removed. The defense claims Hill asked Juror 785 about her feelings on the case on several occasions. Judge Clifton Newman excused her after interviewing two of her tenants who he said “waffled” about discussing the case with Juror 785.
The defense also plans to call Juror 254, who replaced Juror 785, along with two other jurors — one who was also a tenant of Juror 785 but was not one of the tenants interviewed by SLED. Murdaugh’s lawyers also plan to call Barnwell County Clerk of Court Rhonda McElveen to testify. The defense says McElveen told SLED agents she received complaints from court staff about Hill’s “excessive” contact with jurors during the trial. McElveen was in Colleton County assisting Hill with the trial.
Meanwhile, Murdaugh’s lawyers have asked Toal to bar attorney Eric Bland from participating in the hearing. Bland and his law partner, Ronnie Richter, represent four jurors in Murdaugh’s trial. Richter told Law&Crime last month that he expected the jurors he represents to tell a different story than those who have reported hearing Becky Hill make comments about Murdaugh during the trial.
However, Bland seemed miffed on his podcast that he was not invited to participate in the status conference. In court documents, Murdaugh’s lawyers detailed comments Bland made about Toal in an episode of the podcast, “Cup of Justice” on Dec. 26.
“She has friends sometimes to reward and enemies to punish or she has friends to punish and enemies to reward,” Bland said on the podcast. The quote was mentioned in one of Murdaugh’s briefs.
Bland said he “didn’t like it” when he heard Toal had been appointed to handle Murdaugh’s motion for a new trial. He described her as smart and prepped but also as a strong presence.
“She pees on every corner in that courtroom. It’s hers,” Bland said on the podcast.
The comment mirrored one made by Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian to a website about his strategies for trial in which he discussed “owning the courtroom” and invading the opposing party’s space to create anxiety.
Attorney Eric Bland with Gloria Satterfield’s sons Brian Harriott and Tony Satterfield on Nov. 28, 2023. (Law&Crime Network)
Bland conceded he might have a bias due to a 2008 decision in which Toal found Bland and Richter violated a court order related to a settlement agreement. The decision reversed a lower court decision. Bland credited Toal with being prepared and “lively” during the proceedings.
However, Bland went on to say that he was concerned that he had not been notified about Tuesday’s status conference since he represents four jurors.
Law&Crime obtained a copy of an email that Toal’s law clerk sent to Bland and attorneys for the state and the defense on Dec. 27. In it, the clerk explains that only the parties in the case would be allowed to participate in the status conference and evidentiary hearing.
“The jurors who rendered their verdicts in the murder trial are at most mere witnesses to the current issue of whether the Defendant is entitled to a new trial,” the law clerk wrote.
Toal’s clerk told the attorneys that the participation of attorneys for witnesses seemed premature but welcomed Bland to brief the court on why he believed his participation should be allowed. The clerk went on to say that Toal was weighing what testimony would be necessary from which witnesses.
Bland did not file a brief with the court. He did not return a text message requesting comment for this story on Monday.
Law&Crime will cover Tuesday’s status conference which begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Richland County Courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina.
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