ALEX MURDAUGH MAJOR TWIST: DOUBLE KILLER TO WALK FREE?

[Music] breaking news tonight does it ever end with this guy Alex murdog major twist will this double killer actually walk free good evening I'm NY Grace this is crime stories thank you for being with us [Music] emergency I need police wife I can see his brain but she's got a hole in her head I can see his brain gee I want wonder why Alex murdog because you shot him that's what a jury said but now in a stunning and very upsetting twist it looks like Alex murdog could walk free how how is that possible because it appears if I'm reading the two leaves correctly what the South Carolina Supreme Court is going to do is Grant him a new trial is that going going to happen so what and am I supposed to believe him and his lawyers or the court clerk who is accused of wrongdoing H speaking of lying and who to believe listen 4147 M Road I need the police IM my wife badly bad okay how did they shoot did they shoot yourself oh no hell no okay and are they breathing no ma'am okay and you said it's your wife and your son my wife and my son are they in a vehicle no man they're on the ground out at my kennels shot in the head and he shot really bad okay so let me understand I'm supposed to believe him and his lawyers over the court clerk straight out to Mark pepper high-profile lawyer joining us uh joining out of Charleston with the pepper Law Firm Mark I'm supposed to believe him you can hear him lying the jury found him guilty did you did you hear that uh it's my wife and my son and all the and all the screaming and the carrying on it's all lies I don't disagree and certainly the jury didn't I mean as you may recall he took the stand for what seemed like forever and everything that came out of his mouth was a lie I'm not so sure why anybody would believe him at this point Nancy okay does did anyone tell Mark pepper he's supposed to argue with me and take the other side I I I'm happy to do that well you may not necessarily have to believe him Nancy maybe I don't either but if the Supreme Court of South Carolina believes that the jury tampering affected the outcome of his trial it may not matter to them whether he was lying or not if his Sixth Amendment right to a fair and impartial trial was violated then they'll let him lie again on the stand at a new trial that's the issue that's before us that's come out of this bombshell ruling last week by our Supreme Court I I I'm I'm stunned hold on straight out to Jennifer Wood joining us director research at fitsnews.com fits news fitsnews.com who was really all up in this story from the beginning about three inches up murog tailpipe Jennifer thank you for being with us what is happening how is this happening thanks for having me you know this is the story that will just never end but you know really what we're looking at is their allegations that Becky Hill the clerk of court in coleton County now former Clerk of Court tampered with the jury by talking to them about the about the merits of the trial and that one jur said that that affected her decision one juror said it affected her decision Jennifer Wood joining us from Fitz news did that one juror state it would have changed her DEC ision had that not happened because that's the standard that is the legal standard it's interesting how she phrased it um she said that she felt influenced to find Mr Murdoch Guilty by Becky Hill's remarks before she entered the Jury Room well Jennifer Wood you're absolutely correct let's hear it from the horse's mouth listen 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 me 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 that sound was from our friends at WLTX H okay that is jar Z who says that an off-hand comment by the clerk of court Becky Hill affected her decision you know what I find that really hard to believe Dr Bethany Marshall joining us high-profile psychoanalyst and author of deal breaker you can see you're on peacock right now and she's at Dr Bethany marshall.com Dr Bethany how would an off-hand comment by the calendar clerk the court clerk just kind of erased the weeks and weeks of testimony you've had where Alex verock got up there on the stand and was proven to be a liar proven to be a liar and all that all the ballistics evidence all the nav system evidence all of the digital evidence yeah forget about that it was because Becky Hill yeah watch watched him on the stand what that made her vote guilty Nancy that's giving Becky Hill a lot of power isn't it you're right weeks of testimony blatant lying on Murdoch's part him getting up and taking the stand himself and being so unbelievable besides the fact Nancy there's Vere before they choose the jurors these jurors are very well schooled and taught as to how to engage in critical thinking when it comes to a trial it's not like they enter the jury pool with absolutely no instruction they're also a part of a community they talk to each other they talk things over and then Nancy at the end of the day there's just common sense when you hear all this testimony Murdoch shot his his wife and son the heinous nature of the crime why would one comment from a court clerk override all of that it doesn't make sense so I would wonder you know what else is motivating this drawer I I'd have to examine her in person to know but it's something other than the fact that she was influenced okay what exactly are the claims because yes Becky Hill and not taking her side and I'm not taking anybody's side but it's really hard for me to think of throwing the baby out with the bathat hey the calendar clerk the court clerk made an inappropriate comment they she told the jury to hurry up with the verdict and that somehow translates into a new trial yes the court clerk made a book deal for 100 grand but does that mean murdog is not guilty how did her having a book deal which we may frown upon but how does her having a book deal get him a new trial shouldn't she just be reprimanded why do we have to have a new trial and jeopardize a true verdict I I'm not getting it what exactly are the allegations because this is somehow turned into Becky Hill versus Alex murdog I mean if that's my choice I'm clearly going to rule against murdog but the law must be followed whether we like it or not first what are the allegations listen in a bombshell ruling the South Carolina Supreme Court will consider whether interference from a court clerk helped sway the jury in convicting Alex Murda of killing his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul murall lawyers say Becky Hill tried to get the jury to convict murd to help push sales of a book she is writing about the case in general and specifically about the trial okay I'm hearing that but Jennifer Wood joining director of research fitsnews.com yes she had a book deal yes she published a book based on the murog Saga but what does that have to do with whatever she allegedly said to the jury what did she say to them about a book deal and how does she push them to get a guilty verdict and how would a guilty verdict be more Sensational than a not- guilty I mean I sat through the evidence as you did Jennifer Wood I was not surprised when they found him guilty it would have been much more of an explosion if they had found him not guilty like tot mom like OJ Simpson like Robert Blake The Shocker is they let him go so how does her having a book deal somehow equate to them finding murdog guilty under duress so testimony from Ronda mckline who is the clerk of court in Barnwell County South Carolina was in catton helping Becky out during the trial was that Becky had told her that a guilty ver verdict would be better for her book sales so that is the defense's argument that she was motivated to sell more books and was pushing the jury towards a guilty guilty verdict okay so because she made the comment wow my book was a lot better if they found him guilty that has been used to claim her comments to the jury I don't care if they were financially motivated I don't like it but what matters is under the law and correct me if I'm wrong Mark pepper what matters under the law is did her comments whatever the motivation be did they affect the outcome of the trial and but for those comments would there have been a different verdict isn't that what matters I I mean it doesn't matter her motivation as to the comments what matters is did it affect the verdict right Mark that's a that's a great point doesn't necessarily matter what she said what matters is whether it prejudiced Mr Murdoch the defendant in this case how do we show Prejudice well we have one juror saying that but for the comments made to me by Becky Hill and let's keep in mind it wasn't just that one comment that's not what she said Mark pepper that is not what she said uhuh she did not say but for well I was gonna say it's not a but for test it's simply did it have an outcome on the verdict in other words was it a fair and impartial uh verdict and what this one particular juror is saying is that she influenced my vote she doesn't have to go as the law doesn't require you to say I would have voted not guilty it simply says she influenced my vote she is an outside for she works for Colton County she's the clerk of court she had 247 access to these jurors she also mentioned to them as testimony revealed at the hearing that as he approached the witness stand that morning to testy his no defense she told the jurors don't let him fool you don't let him fool you that juror has said those comments affected her and therefore violated his sixth amendment right the Prejudice is the only test that's going to be before The Supreme Court I I don't know that it gets more blatant than that when you have an elected official influencing the jury verdict or at least one of the jurors and it takes all 12 a unanimous verdict uh in the state of South Carolina to convict one of those was influenced by Becky Hills [Music] comments her name is Maggie Murdoch okay and what's your son's first name Paul Harry Murdoch they are dead aren't turn all yes sir that's what that's what it looks like H deja vu all over again joining me in All-Star panel including Jennifer Wood from Fitz news to Dr Michelle Dupri joining us renowned forensic pathologist medical examiner former detective with Lexington County Sheriff's an author of a brand new book money mischief and murder The murdog Saga the rest of the story and she like me endured every day of the trial and it was painful knowing what the evidence was to unfold and then seeing murog on that body cam where he's like crying and all upset he just shot his wife and his son as his son was trying to get away way and we believe Maggie murog tried to stop him and she's dead too and there he is crying and carrying on in front of the police when they get there when they respond to that 911 call Dr Michelle dpri we're talking about Becky Hill and her book deal and oh she's so awful okay granted she should not have said a word to the jury period but good morning there's lunch and goodbye that's it according to jurors she did speak and at least one of them says it affected the verdict is that true I find it hard to believe but if the juror says that that's all the court has to go on can we have a little reality check about what happened to Maggie and Paul and this is why I'm so upset what was done to Maggie and Paul when NY first of all I actually attended that hearing and I saw that juror who said that and I have to tell you I don't think she was that credible there was some questions in fact one of the other attorneys actually wanted to bring her back and judge uh told denied that he wanted to bring her back so she could further explain her answer so I mean this is crazy I think it's absolutely crazy but what happened to Maggie and Paul is horrific they were shot by someone that they loved that supposedly loved them and not just shot but shot in a horrible way Maggie was shot at least four times maybe five rifle was shot twice with a shot gun that is a devastating injury and I think many people cannot get their head around how a father could do that to their son or as he said his child you know you stated that a shotgun was used as a murder weapon explain why that is is so barbaric Nancy that is so barbaric because the shot that comes out of that is widespread it for lack of a better word it literally can blow someone's head off and that is approximately what it did to Paul you see in in the photographs you're showing this is brain matter skull tissue there's no coming back from that and to do this to someone that you love I mean that is a horrific way to die and he was shot twice Paul knew who was shooting him Maggie knew who her as salent was this is unbelievable and to have a new trial based on something like this is absolutely unbelievable brain matter skull blood Paul's head was blown off his body Maggie chased down and shot now the Spectre has raised he is set for a new trial I'm just you know to Chris mcdna joining me director of the co Case Foundation I found him on his Hit YouTube channel the interview room but important to me former homicide detective with over 300 death inquiries under his belt Chris do you see that photo blood was literally just absorbed by dirt they were gunned down outside there at the dog kennel the digital evidence places murog there his own navigation system and his vehicle places him there we can even see when he rolls his window down to throw Maggie's cell phone out of his car to go Alibi himself in route to his mother's home where he stayed just long enough to then go back to the dog kennel and quote find end quote the bodies and call 911 Chris McDonna when you think about the barbaric nature of these two murders on the mother of your two children and your child your child it's just gut-wrenching to thank Chris MCD this is going to be reversed over some offhand comments by the clerk yeah Nancy I mean if we take this right in in its totality this is a very barbaric act uh the fact that you have uh the mother of now her deceased child is slaughtered in uh the same manner as the the child herself himself and now you have the father who is that individual who's been convicted of this crime now think about this the father chooses a shotgun to blow the head off of his child but he's he's not satisfied with that he does it again he fires that shotgun again that's the Cuda gr just to make sure that that child is gone and then that blood in the dirt that's Mom bleeding out from multiple gunshot or multiple gunshot wounds she's laying there she may have witnessed her son being murdered by her ex by her husband and that child's father this is barbaric and now we measure that against two affidavits that were taken by the defense with these jurors and one of the jurors says well you know my we didn't know we were going to spend the whole night and some of us smoke and we didn't know we couldn't take smoking breaks during the deliberation process this is ludicrous it really is you know Dr Bethany Marshall joining me psychoanalyst and author you can see you're on peacock now Dr Bethany just the way that Chris mcdna said that and I'm going to circle back to Jennifer and Dr Michelle about the wounds to the victims but what he just said I don't think I can't think of anything worse in this world than to see harm come to one of my two children much less what Maggie witnessed it's just when I think about it shooting not only your spouse but your spouse and your son decimating your entire family and Nancy as Chris mcdna was talking the thought crossed my mind when was there a dawning of Consciousness for Maggie was that Split Second where she saw her son's head get blown off did she realize what was happening did it just hit her from out of the blue you know Alex Murdoch is not attached to anybody just just himself and when you think about it why did he kill them because he had this elaborate Ponzi scheme going he would spend money out of client's trust accounts and once he Blan that money then he had to procure more money from another client's trust account and we know the story it went on and on and now the um there was a trial coming up in which he was potentially going to have to pay more money because of his son the mallerie beach situation with the um the boat being driven into the pier and the girl that was ejected and killed so like the Ponzi scheme he had to figure out a way to either snuff people out or get more money and I think this was part of his Mo in terms of killing Magie and his son and just back to the juror for a second I don't think we can have it both ways in our justice justice system we can't say I trust you the juror to make the appropriate decision about whether or not this man is guilty but no I don't trust you Jor to be easily SED by somebody's comment so is the juror trusted or is the juror not trusted which way is it so I think this whole whole thing is fous this argument about Becky Hill and you know Mark pepper joining me high-profile criminal defense attorney and Mark you can't even argue that this was spur of the moment heat of passion where he got into an argument and just went crazy and shot them or shot one in anger and then shot the other one because he didn't want to witness because he lured Maggie to that location their hunting lodge out Al Melle he lured her there so this was planned in advance I mean they had plenty of guns and ammunition there but he planned it this was coldblooded to murder his wife and son in Cold Blood we watched the same trial Nancy and respectfully I don't recall evidence to that effect I recall that there were some cell phone data that put him at the scene within a seven minute window or so but I don't recall any guns being found being there Jennifer Wood let's correct Mark pepper that's why he wins all of his cases because his revisionist history revi his version of The Facts isn't it true Jennifer from Fitz news that Maggie told her friends I don't know why he wants me to go all the way out to Moselle he wants me to come out to the hunting LOD and she was worried on her way out there she didn't want to go isn't that true Jennifer Wood she did um he did want her to come out there but it was because his father had been admitted to the hospital um so why not go to the hospital Jennifer that's a good question why not meet at the hospital hospital I believe he was in uh Savannah rather than have her drive all the way to Hampton from you know edist Island where their second homeless please join us on our mission to find missing people especially children to solve unsolved homicides if you're on the go catch us on your favorite podcast app where you can get all of our content where we in our own way seek Justice Alex murdog on path to get a new trial will he walk free I've got to decide am I believing him and his lawyers or am I believing Becky Hill the clerk now let's take a look at Murdoch's credibility remember this Hampton County 911 where's your emergency on um sha Hatchy Road okay what's going on I sto I got a flat tire and I stopped and somebody stopped to help me and when I turned my back they tried to shoot me oh okay will you shot yes but I mean I'm okay I'm shot in the head but I'm a okay this elaborate Roose for what insurance money his lawyers then claimed he had traumatic brain injury but he shows up in court a few days later with a Band-Aid on his head and here he is lying to 911 and then later through his lawyers lying to the court about his attack on the side of the road listen you shot where where were you shot at huh did they actually shoot you or they tried to shoot you they shot me but okay wait you need EMS uh well I mean yes I I can't drive okay and I'm bleeding a lot where where part of your body uh I'm not sure somewhere on my head you're not bleeding a lot you're lying you're actually fine this was all a setup arranged by Alex murdog to get what else money money it's all about money you know I I'm trying to understand Jennifer wood as you recall murog set up this whole scheme where he would be shot on the side of the road for money and there he is lying about it to 911 and all of this came out at Trum it sure did I mean when it happened shortly after we realized that the vehicle he was driving actually had run flat tires so he claimed that he stopped a change a flat tire um and quickly we realized that he didn't even need to that car would have kept driving um so it really fell apart and then during the trial uh the prosecution managed to get evidence about that roadside shooting admitted in testimony yet now murdog is on the precipice the verge of a new trial to you pepper what would that mean if he got a new trial we start all a new it is never happened none of the testimony that has been placed under oath can never be read into the record again we start as if we were way back in January of last year picking a brand new jury sending new summons out the question will become can he get a fair and impartial trial in Hampton County can he get it anywhere in the state of South Carolina at this point if we get a new trial by the Supreme Court uh we've got a lot of homework to do where is the venue going to be who are the how big is the jury pool going to be but they're going to have to put up the same exact Witnesses and now Murdoch's lawyers are going to have the prosecution's Playbook they're going to have seen all of their cards uh this is a very interesting twist that could very well not only Grant him a new trial but render the opposite verdict this time now there is the issue of an unauthorized photo taken of murog in the holding Cale listen currently facing of Ethics violations during her time as the clerk of court Hill has even been accused of arranging a photo to be taken of Alex Murda when he was being held in a holding cell the state ethics commission filed two complaints against Becky for a total of 76 ethics violations the complaint against has two counts one that she provided an individual with confidential information the photo of an inmate in the colon County Courthouse holding cell to promote the sale of a book count two states Hill filmed a promotional segment with the Walterboro Chamber of Commerce president for her book in her office at the colon County Courthouse Jennifer Hill Fitz news how does a photo of Alex MOG in a holding cell um and a promo she shoots with the Chamber of Commerce what does that have to do with Murdoch getting a new trial I don't care about that it goes straight to Becky Hill's credibility so we keep talking about how Murdoch isn't credible because he lies over and over again but now we're looking at a 76c count ethics Indi ethics complaint that is being heard by the ethics Commission in December and a lot of those those ethics complaints have been referred to for criminal investigation so it you know it is it's going to be very interesting to see how that plays out you know Becky Hill used that photo to promote her book the photo of Alex in his holding cell um and that came up in the ethic complaint Hill says that Gary hail one of her employees actually took the photo so it is it's um they're all interesting and they all go to Becky Hills credibility did you steal part of the book I did plagiarize Mr Ste is it is and for that I'm very sorry and I have apologized okay and that makes it okay what I did I did and I apologized for that and part of the book is you say literary license exaggeration I wouldn't call it exaggeration okay you're hearing Court Clerk Becky Hill under cross-examination by Murdoch's defense so we've got her admitting that she plagiarized in part of her book the book was immediately taken off the stand but how does that equal a new trial and by the way that sound was from our friends at WLTX so let's compare that to testimony from Alex murdog listen you lie to Danny Henderson I did lie to Danny did you lie to Jeanie singer yes I did did you lie to Anette Griswald I did did you lie to Michael gun I'm sure I did at some point but I mean Michael wasn't involved in any of this so I don't know that any of this ever came up with Michael did you lie to your clients did you lie to Pamela Pinkney I did Natasha Thomas I don't know that I dealt with Natasia but I certainly lied about that a lot of the people he lied to or his clients some of them even disabled getting big money settlements for them and stealing it you're hearing sound from The Trial from our friends at WLTX but this pattern uh and you will recall this Dr Michelle dpri seemingly goes back at least to the death of teen girl mallerie beach in that case his son was on his muro's boat drinking to excess photos have emerged of that evening on the boat I went out on the water and saw where mallerie Beach's body was flown through the air with Murdoch's son speeding drunk at the helm and this is what we know we know Dr dpri that Witnesses state that immediately after the boat crashed caused by Murdoch's son murdog goes to the hospital and tries to tries to get the teens to change their their story and not speak to police so that starts at the time of the maler beach death the pattern of lying and subterfuge to get what you want do you remember the death of mallerie beach Dr Dupri absolutely Nancy another tragic accident that should not have happened and then not to whoa whoa did you call that an accident where you're drunk out of your skull and everybody's begging you to get from behind the wheel but you laugh maniacally and keep driving until you hit cement pilings under an overpass and mallerie goes flying through the air to her death She's fished out of the water about three days later bloating bloated in purple that that's that's not an accident with every drink that was intentional that's a crash you're absolutely right I think that should be classified as a homicide unfortunately it usually isn't but no you're right I mean you know Alex did everything he could no matter what it cost no matter what it took he would lie his way out of things and he has a pattern of doing that since basically the beginning of time that is how he has lived his life and it just came to to fruition it came to light with the mallerie beach crash and then it went downhill from there now another person is probably doing a backflip over the possibility the very strong possibility of a new trial for murdog is prosecutor kraton Waters now here he is trying to rehabilitate Becky Hill on the stand at any time did you interact with any juror in an attempt to influence their view of the facts in the state V Murdoch case no all right now I want to ask you some specific about that um and some allegations that have been raised um at any time did you tell the jury not to be fooled by evidence presented by Mr Murdoch's attorneys I did not at any time did you instruct the jury to watch him closely and look at his actions I did not at any time did you instruct the jury or tell the jury to look at his movements no at any time as the jury moved to deliberate did you uh tell the jury uh this shouldn't take long no that from our friends at WLTX the problem is this Mark pepper a high-profile lawyer with the pepper firm I may not well I don't believe anything Alex Murdoch says and I did not observe any inappropriate behavior on the part of Becky Hill when I was there every day at the trial but the law is that if there the appell at court is not a try or a fact they've got to make their decision based on the transcripts and the evidence given to them and if it looks like to them that Becky Hill had any impact on even one jurar then we're looking at a new trial that's correct that that's the test we can talk about who's a liar and who's not all we want at the end of the day uh either Becky Hill is lying to her answers of Craton Waters or these jurors whom he was reading their written affidavits to Becky then they're lying and our law is clear if there's an outside force especially an elected official who you spend hours and hours with that has influenced your vote then as a matter of law you did not get a fair and impartial verdict rendered against you and you are entitled to a new trial that is the law of our state that is the law of the United States let me give you an example you indicate riding back from Moselle that you and three other people were in a car and you all decided adamantly I think was the word you used um that he was guilty that he had killed his wife and son is that what you put in the book I can't remember if I put that in the book but if you say I did then I will agree with you we did have a conversation about what each of us thought and Y all four agreed that he was guilty correct and none of us were jurors no no trust me I know that um but you had an abiding conviction um at least by the time of Mosel visit that he was guilty that's from our friends at WLTX thank you LTX it doesn't matter what Becky Hill thought or believed what matters is what the jury believed and did she affect their decision for the appell court what matters is is there an appearance of impropriety does it look like she may have affected their decision and if so Alex murdog could be headed to a new trial and it wouldn't be the first time there had been jury tampering whether wittingly or unwittingly thank John Gotti the mob boss remember Gotti jury tampering haa Jimmy hofa same thing Jerry tampering we're still looking for his body by the way you know Chris MCD joining me director Cold Case Foundation former homicide detective how sick does it make you to think of Paul and Maggie dead shot the way they were no mercy all the hard work put into that case you remember that trial we lived through it together and now a reversal yeah I mean again I I go back to you know there's a huge difference of just you know allegations of State funds and using facilities as you know ethics violations etc for you know the the the clerk of the court but from an investigative aspect I mean just that one 911 call from the shot earlier you know just that alone uh was gold for an investigator I mean first of all he he says they shot me well who's they you know and I think those are the kind of smoking mirrors that are taking place by the defense and you got to give them credit they're doing their job but at the same time it is very frustrating uh to see that they skip the appell at process and the Supreme Court and South Carolina picks it up right away but why did they do that because they shifted the law uh on a federal case and they applied that you know to the to the motion so yeah it is frustrating Nancy and you know I hope the victims get Justice here but wouldn't you agree Chris McDonna wouldn't you agree even knowing the Blood Sweat and Tears that Ellie law enforcement put into making this case that no matter what we think of Alex murdog and no matter what he did the law is the law and the law must Prevail whether you and I like it or not we serve ve the law do you agree with that 100% Nancy and that's that's why we always investigate information and not the person and you know let's hope that uh the right information goes to that Court as it stands right now I don't see a way around it um we'll see as Justice unfolds we stop and remember an American hero deputy sheriff Paul Martin Mercer County Sheriff's North Dakota deputy sheriff Martin struck and killed by a vehicle in the line of duty he served with Mercer County Sheriffs over 18 years survived by grieving wife Melinda children Sarah Jason Amanda American hero deputy sheriff Paul Martin thanks to our guest for being with us as we watch Justice unfold but especially thank you to you for joining us tonight and every night here with our MSM family Nancy Grace signing off I'll see you tomorrow night 600 and 9 o'clock sharp Eastern and until then good night [Music] friend please join us on our mission to find missing people especially children to solve unsolved homicides if you're on the go catch us on your favorite podcast app where you can get all of our content where we in our own way seek Justice