Convicted Murderer Alex Murdaugh Denied New Trial After Claiming Court Clerk Influenced Jury

Alex Murdaugh will not be getting a new trial despite his legal team's claims that a court clerk influenced the jury toward a guilty verdict.

On Monday, January 29, Judge Jean Toal denied the petition on the grounds that she had not found the jury had truly been swayed by Rebecca Hill's alleged remarks.

"I simply do not believe that the authority of our South Carolina Supreme Court requires a new trial in a very lengthy trial such as this on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity influenced clerk of courts," the judge stated at the time.

"Now that I’ve read the record, I say as the successive trial judge that the evidence was overwhelming and the jury verdict not surprising," Toal concluded.

Hill’s lawyers, Justin Bamberg and Will Lewis, were pleased with the judge's ruling.

"We agree with Justice Toal’s finding that the Colleton County jurors selected for this very complicated and lengthy trial were consummate professionals and operated within the instructions of the court," they said in a joint statement on Monday. "We thank them for their service."

However, Murdaugh's attorneys appeared to be unaffected by the decision.

"We go from here to Court of Appeals, then South Carolina Supreme Court, if necessary — and then federal court," the convicted murderer's lawyer Dick Harpootlian told CNN reporters.

Murdaugh's attorney Jim Griffin added, "It’s either going to be decided, in my opinion, in our favor in the appellate court or five years down the road in federal court — unless they change the federal law."

As OK! previously reported, Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering wife Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son Paul Murdaugh, 22, in March 2023.

His legal team attempted to petition for a new trial for the disgraced former lawyer, claiming Hill was attempting to "secure for herself a book deal and media appearances" for herself so she could earn "money and fame" from being involved in the high profile legal proceedings.

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Although one juror testified that Hill told the jury to watch Murdaugh "closely" and to pay attention to his "actions," allegedly making it seem "like he was already guilty," the other 11 jurors did not state that they felt their decision to convict Murdaugh was influenced by Hill's comments.