Why Alex Murdaugh is Getting a Do-Over
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
If you sit in the sun, you may just get burned. But some people are willing to take that chance. There is this certain degree of nihilism of like, oh, well, the world is bad anyway. Why wouldn't I just also get a tan? Tan maxing. That's this week on Explain It To Me. Find new episodes wherever you get your podcasts.
It doesn't matter if you're talking about the Ming dynasty, if you're talking about some family in the Old Testament, the royal family, the Ford family, dynasties inevitably fail.
Today I'm joined by Wall Street Journal reporter Valerie Borlein. She's also the author of a book called The Devil at His Elbow about Alec Murdoch and his family. Alec Murdoch was convicted of murdering his wife and son in 2023. But earlier this year, that conviction was overturned by the South Carolina Supreme Court, who cited, quote, shocking jury interference. I started by asking Valerie about the person accused of interfering with the jury, Becky Hill.
Becky Hill is the elected or was the elected clerk of court in Colleton County, South Carolina. That's a town of about, you know, it's a county of about 20,000 people. Walterboro, the county seat's about 5,000 people. So she was the clerk of court in this predominantly rural area where the trial was held. those six weeks back in 2023. And Becky was kind of the mayor of the courthouse. She ran the jury. She ordered lunch for all the personnel. She told the bailiffs where to be and when. And she kind of also wrangled the media. So she's a person that anyone who was in the courtroom all six weeks, and there are many of us who were, knew well. But the allegations in the Supreme Court of South Carolina found that they were true, was that Becky was just overly familiar with some members of the jury.
And especially so, you remember those bombshell days when Alec Murdoch took the stand, and we were all just like... Alec Murdoch is taking the stand. It was shocking to hear from a defendant in a high-profile murder case in that way. And a couple of the jurors said that morning, Becky said things like, watch his body language. Don't listen to what he says, but watch how he acts. Or, you know, today's a big day, but, you know, be prepared. Things that were just, in the end... Previous judges who'd looked at it said, yeah, this was wrong. It's kind of foolhardy to say words to that effect, but it didn't affect the outcome of the trial. But the Supreme Court said, no, any interference with the jury in any way whatsoever is an error that can't be remedied.
And he got a do-over.
How did her involvement come to light? I mean, was it after the fact that jurors were saying, how did this all surface?
Well, you know, it's a funny thing as a person who's written a book about this case to say this, but, you know, it's because Becky Hill wrote a book about the case. It was called Behind the Doors of Justice. And so the trial ended in March of 23, and she wanted to put her book—she wanted to write a memoir about being, you know, the life of a clerk of court, particularly in that high-profile proceeding. And she put it out pretty quickly in August of 2023. And the defense— attorneys, Alex defense attorneys, namely Dick Arputlian and Jim Griffin, got wind of it and drove back down to Walterborough and started going door to door to talk to jurors and sit because they were hearing these rumors that jurors weren't happy.
And in the end, It really was her undoing. One of the former chief justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court said that Becky Hill was lured by the siren call of celebrity to write this book. And in the end, she was pushing too hard for a guilty verdict. So it's stunning to be having this conversation because of the actions really of one person, and it's not Alec Murdoch.
I have a hard time believing that Alec Murdoch did not shoot his wife and son. I mean, it feels to me a little shocking that the justice system, I guess we want it to work this way, but the actions of one person could completely throw out a conviction which seems in some ways very deserved.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:04–7:04
2
Who is Becky Hill and how did her actions trigger Alex Murdaugh’s overturned conviction?
7:04–16:36
3
How did Becky Hill’s memoir lead to juror interviews and a new appeal?
16:36–30:22
4
What is the history of the Murdaugh dynasty’s power in coastal South Carolina?
30:22–36:01