Infamous Killer Alex Murdaugh Gets Bombshell Win in Family Murders Case

in your affidavit you said before the defense put up their case Miss Hill told the jurors quote the defense is about to do their side they're going to say things that will try to confuse you don't let them confuse you or convince you or throw you off unquote is this true did this say that that's exactly what she doing us I'm sorry that's exactly what she told us okay the highest court in South Carolina may have just given convicted murderer Alec Murdoch a legal Lifeline we are going to break down this major development with attorney Joe Mulla who actually represents two jurors from Alec Murdoch's trial that may play a very important role moving forward welcome to sidebar presented by law and crime I'm Jesse Weber Alec Murdoch the guy we just can't seem to ever stop talking about we have a very very big update in this case because what would you say if I told you we may have Alec Murdoch murder trial part two think about that now is it a long shot or not well that's what we're going to 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drug addiction and as a way to prevent being found out and by himself time he killed his family hey by the way for our 1000th episode let me also call out our incredible sponsors thank you so much for your support and that includes by the way blue land so did you know that laundry detergent pods are also wrapped in plastic yeah that film around your pods is plastic and it ends up in our oceans our Rivers our soil well blue land is launching a firstof its kind fragrance laundry detergent tablet in the scent spring Bloom so after two years of extensive research and development blue land has successfully created a fragrance tablet that not only maintains the company's commitment to powerful plastic-free efficacy but also delivers a delightful scent that customers have been requesting for years so this spring Bloom fragrance is an amazing blend of sun rpen Citrus Fresh wild flowers golden Amber tell me that doesn't sound lovely right and it's really no surprise that blue land is trusted in over 1 million homes including mine I've been using blueland even before they became a sponsor that's how much I believe in them and blueland has a special offer for sidebars audience right now you can get 15% off of your first order by going to blueland.com sidebar you won't want to miss this blueland.com slidebar for 15% off that's blueland.com slidebar to get 15% off now as you may recall after the trial it came out that the clerk of the court Becky Hill was accused of engaging in some Shenanigans during the trial Murdoch's defense team argued that Hill had inappropriate Communications with the jurors during this trial namely trying to influence them to find Alec Murdoch guilty and they argued that Hill had a book deal and she had an incentive to make sure Murdoch was convicted in fact there was an accusation that she allowed a picture of Murdoch to be taken of him in a holding cell as a way to promote her book one of the more alarming allegations was that Hill intentionally got one Jer booted from the jury after she allegedly told Hill she had questions about whether Alec Murdoch was actually guilty on the defense alleged that Hill fabricated a Facebook post authored by the juror's ex-husband a post that said he talked to the juror his ex-wife about the case defense says the ex-husband never posted it but again the jur was dismissed nonetheless and the defense said that they spoke to several jurors and there were issues like Hill allegedly telling the jurors not to believe Alec Murdoch's testimony so what happened a hearing was held to determine what is going on and whether Alec Murdoch should be entitled to a new trial based on what hill allegedly did did she improperly taint and influence this jury I'll give you an example of what happened listen to what one juror said during this hearing did you hear Miss Becky Hill make any comment about this case before your verdict yes ma'am if yes what did Mrs Hill say to watch his actions to watch his actions what else to watch him closely to watch him closely was your verdict on March the 2nd 2023 in any way with any Comm uh influenced in any way with any Communications by the clerk of court Becky Hill in this case yes please all right was your verdict influenced in any way by the communications of the clerk of court in this case yes ma'am and how was it influenced to it felt like she made it seem like he was already guilty all right and I understand that uh that that's the tener of the remarks she made did that affect your finding of guilty in this case yes ma'am all right but ultimately retired Justice Jean toll didn't find the evidence was sufficient to Warrant a new trial that the verdict wasn't directly affected by what hill did or did not do and that didn't come though without some parting words and criticism for Miss Hill Miss Hill denies a and so the question becomes was her denial credible I find that the clerk of court is not completely credible as a witness Miss Hill was attracted by the siren Call of celebrity she wanted to write a book about the trial and expressed that as early as November 2022 long before the trial began she denies that uh uh this is so but I find uh that she stated to the clerk of court Ronda mline and others her desire for a guilty verdict because it would sell books she made comments about Murdoch's demeanor as he testified and she made some of those comments uh before he testified to at least one and maybe more jurors did Clerk of Court Hill's comments have any impact on the verdict of the jury I find that the answer to this question is no each member of this jury took their involuntary assignment very seriously they obeyed the instructions of the Court they obeyed their oath these good and decent citizens of colon County stood to their Duty and rendered their verdict without fear or favor 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 influence Clerk of Court this is a matter within the discretion of the trial judge and I am the trial judge at this moment I do not feel that I abuse my discretion when I find the defendant's motion for a new trial on the factual record before me must be denied and it is so ordered hill by the way now faces 76 misconduct allegation she has resigned from her position and the South Carol law enforcement division has opened up a probe into whether Hill used her office her role for personal game but now the South Carolina Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case this jury tampering issue and they will now hear arguments about whether it was improper for justice toll to deny a new trial based on these jury tampering allegations very very big win for the defense why did the court agree to this could this work could we see Alec Murdoch 2.0 well with that I had a chance to sit down and chat with Joe McCulla an attorney who represents two of the jurors in Alec Murdoch's trial if you had been following our coverage you know who Joe is let's see what he had to say good to see you sir thanks so much for coming on great to be here so what was your reaction and why do you think the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hear this appeal what was your reaction why do you think they decided to do it well it's a really good question and there are lawyers all over South Carolina killing pigeons and reading the inals because there are a few things very significant about this action by the Supreme Court there is the appeal of the murder case which is separate and apart from this new trial motion appeal the defense moved for the the court of appeals or for the Supreme Court rather to take it and and that's not uh it's rarely done I would say except in matters of extreme significance but this court uh as of last week is now um I won't say run but presided over by a new chief justice the new chief justice is a a gentleman named John kitridge um wonderful man and jurist who also happen to write the opinion in State versus green which is what this whole new trial motion revolves around and of course the defenses position in their Motion in this motion for this Court this Supreme Court to evaluate the new trial proceedings they take the position that the judge who presided over that Justice told yeah former Supreme Court justice that she misread State versus green written by the Chief Justice who was a part of this decision to take this case and hear it themselves immediately so so summarize for our viewers what state versus green means and and if the fact that they're taking it up means I think a fair interpretation is just as tall you might have misinterpreted it now it's time for us to set the record straight well I don't know just state for screen and then you can give me your well the simple explanation I guess of a not terribly complex situation is when uh allegations of jury interference any any type of uh communication occurring between Court staff or any out any person outside of the jury itself any Communications that could potentially interfere with the jury's objectivity and deliberations that's something the courts must look into immediately there's nothing I mean there's nothing more sacrosanct in our system than a pure jury so the United States Supreme Court in a case called rener Rimer versus the United States said that in these cases where you are able to validate to some degree that there are a misc commun Communications improper Communications that the presumption arises that these communications have tainted the jury right irretrievably right and that presumption was that standard established by the United States Supreme Court is the subject of State versus green which is a case in which a bayith communicated with the jury on some sidebar issues that had nothing to do with guilt or innocence but a little more than how the weather and and the Justice kitri's opinion in that case found that rener did not apply in that situation but his opinion did not say that rener doesn't apply in a different situation and that's really the issue see I will tell you when I was watching that hearing with Justice toall and this is not to criticize her in any way I felt that the evidence was sufficient and this is not how I feel about Alec Murdoch in the case I think the evidence against him was so sufficient that the finding of him being found guilty was a clear result having said that I thought the evidence was enough for him to get a new trial I thought there was something very improper particularly one of the jurors stepping up and saying you know they heard what um Becky Hill said to them it influenced their opinion I know there was back and forth about whether or not it really influenced their opinion I thought there was enough did you look at that hearing and say that there was something deficient in that hearing something that the Supreme Court now might disagree with well because I have to practice law and North Carolina get back after tomorrow I'm not going to evaluate Justice toll who is an old friend someone I've known my entire life we' grown up in the town and uh went to the same high school I I have to say that as I watched the proceedings um I believed that there needed to be further inquiry I believe strongly that juror number 785 who was the removed juror who was not called upon to take testify but was present across the street in my office from the courthouse I believe that her information because it went to the immediate question of What kinds of communications uh the clerk of court had with the jury with my client with other jurors and I think that's the Crux of the problem here that's the Crux of the situation and that's what uh our you know in this uh taking of the case by our state supreme court taking it away from the the court of appeals leap frogging over that intermediate step what that leaves or presents to this court our Supreme Court are several choices they can declare that the proceedings and the decision were was proper and that no new trial is granted they could find that perhaps the the the trial judge Justice toll did not utilize the right standard or misinterpreted in which case they could then supine declare a new trial mhm I think what's more likely is if they conclude that there are problems with the standard or problems with the scope of the inquiry I think it's far more likely they're going to remand to a trial judge it won't be just as told it likely would be another judge by the name of Taylor who's a very good jurist somewhat new to the bench uh but it would go back to him I think because everything else in the murder case has been assigned to him with the retirement of Judge Newman so I think that it could be remanded to him to really use the proper with the direction to use the standard the court dictates in their decision and then we'll have a whole new hearing and I would imagine your clients might have to testify at that hearing well they were one of my clients testified in the in the last hearing uh the other juror who was the removed your 785 um was not permitted to testify I would hope that in the next proceeding both would be allowed to testify I know you can't uh divulge Communications you had with your clients but do they have a feeling uh do they have a a reaction to the fact that the uh South Carolina Supreme Court is now agreeing to hear this anything you can share uh well I think that they recognize there might be uh you know deja vu all over again right I don't think anyone especially these ladies are happy about the possibility of testifying again it's a kind of a scarifying situation and uh they're prepared to do so and and I want to say to to follow up on something you said ell murck may be the worst human on earth right probably not not the worst and he may very well be very guilty but what they believe and the reason they came forward is that they believe even he deserves a fair trial and you know I've said this before uh the evidence against Alec Murdoch was substantial I without in my mind I was very clear he murdered his family but I've always said this in very high-profile cases and cases where the crimes are absolutely heinous it's even that more important to get it right so that there is not a a situation where there's a retrial and you want to make sure you do it right and that's for justice for the victims it's also you know you don't want to go through the expense the heartache the time of going through another trial so you may have to make sure it goes right and I agree every criminal defendant has a right now you made you said something interesting to me before we started that you had filed a specific motion um about I would say everybody getting a little bit more information about what's going on and now you have to adjust it based on the fact that the Supreme Court has taken us off well I think it may not be clear crystal clear to your viewers that in the last several days to the point just before the the jury was to go back to begin deliv Liberation there had been several days of proceedings backstage what we call in camera just the judge just the prosecution and defense lawyers and a few Witnesses including juror 785 and some others who who gave information to the court those proceedings are what I believe uh well I have previously filed a motion last year to unseal those records to allow me access and so that I could go over over that information with my client because she was in the in camera proceedings only part of the time once I'd looked at those records I believe that the public should be entitled to see what happened backstage to have that information I think I hate I'm not a big fan of the word transparency but I do think that the public is fascinated with this case if not obsessed if they're going to be obsessed then let's fulfill their obsess with knowledge information and so I will be filing another motion which I had previously filed two weeks ago in the court of appeals um now I'm I'm having to file it in the Supreme Court asking the court to either remand it to a trial judge to conclude if if the records should be unsealed or for the court to unseal them spontaneously but when that occurs they'll be available to your viewers to you and and the subject of public discussion I know you can't say anything about it but if you had to take a guess what would be our reaction if that information came out um well I think it'll take some digestive time but but the defense is in favor and has consented to my motion to unseal the prosecution has opposed it fair enough okay I that's whatever whatever you choose to from that what we will if Alec Murdoch if the Supreme Court comes out and says you know what new trial When's the earliest we could actually get a new murder trial for Alec Murdoch I don't know yeah I I really I think I I've been at this business almost 50 years trying criminal cases and the worst cases that I've tried are the ones that I tried more than once sure because as a and I've done it as a prosecutor and as a defense lawyer and it's worse as a defense lawyer prosecutors plot through the deal and their facts don't change the defense can adjust strategies but God knows having to do it again is just a grueling thing and it's no doubt worse for the accused um the victims all of the people that are the players in these melodramas are drastically affected by a trial and then a retrial is just horrible I don't know how he would be able to get a fair and impartial jury you know it was one thing how much attention was brought to the case even before a jury was selected now afterwards this was by the way a case that wasn't not only we followed here but I remember during the closing arguments CNN was doing live coverage of it was following it and I don't remember the last time they followed closing arguments in a case like that maybe Ahad Arbury maybe Kyle writtenhouse something like that but it was a case that took the nation by storm everybody was following it how on Earth can you get a fair Marshall jury far more than a nation I did interviews with the BB DC right I was in Paris last year with my wife and had drinks with a journalist who was uh I bought him drinks in Paris but he spent six weeks in h Walterboro with me so it's a it's a fascinating case that has somehow enveloped the international attention so and it's not over yet no and by the way if he's retried I don't know if you know you know the answer to this big part of the first trial was the introduction of the financial crimes evidence would that come in again you think well I did not believe that the extent of information that was allowed on the financial crimes the other bad acts is what they're called under our laws I thought that I really had issue with that sure and I suspect that that being one of the real spokes in the wheel driving the defense uh appeal that's a big piece of the appeal that that that was so prejudicial I suspect if a retrial were to occur that the new the next judge will study on the Appellate issues and tone some things down fine tune uh the the trial itself and that'll be great because if I have to go watch the next one um maybe we can do it in three weeks instead of six well look I I know motive is not an element of a crime the prosecution doesn't have to prove Pro motive it does help help help tell a story particularly when you're saying a man is accused of killing his wife and son why would he do that the financial crimes were the whole motive it was that you know the world was closing in on him he had to distract let me disagree with you yeah that's what the prosecution started with right but what they ended with was that he really went berserk and kill them and I'm I'm struggling to to find phrase they used uh and it happened to be a phrase that I had used on one of your competing competitor crime programs we don't talk about them um right but I used that phrase because I just read it in some obscure news article and then it popped up two days later in the closing arguments right that nothing was much said about the financial crimes he now was a guy who went insane and killed them but because his world was closing in that's what see we could talk we could debate that all this all day before I let you go because this is this whole issue about whether or not he gets a new trial is centered around Becky Hill and what she allegedly did and I know she has dozens of misconduct allegations levied against or not criminal but ethics violations what's just your overall take on everything that you learned about what Becky Hill is accused of doing I can't tell you the the how sad I am about that because I did not know Becky Hill well before the trial began I contacted her and she was so nice and so professional in dealing with with my needs with the uh press needs with everything that happened in the trial and when things just began to collapse in her world uh I was astonished and so sad she has good lawyers it appears that she's gonna need them um I don't know what's going to happen I know that there's a continuing investigation I'm told uh by the Attorney General's office uh in conjunction with sled or sled is the investigative agency even on about jury tampering as well as these other spending issues but you know the the Attorney General's office the attorney general who participated pretty professionally in the trial itself I think they've got a challenge in being objective I mean I I recall in the uh press conference that follow followed the verdict that the attorney general and his staff were reveling and taking a little Victory lap around the podium and he said I want to thank Becky Hill and somebody says gosh she's up there on the balcony and he said thank you Becky Buu well when you've got that relationship I think that is a real challenge to be objective and uh and I think he's you know his office will have to consider that that's a really good point Joe mullo thank you so much for coming on appreciate it thank you thank you all right everybody that's all we have for you right now here on sidebar thank you so much for joining us and as always please subscribe on Apple podcast Spotify YouTube wherever you get your podcasts I'm Jesse Weber I'll see you next time for the next 1,000 episodes [Music]