Former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill Pleads Guilty After Sharing Sealed Murdaugh Photos — Receives 3 Years' Probation

Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill, the former Colleton County clerk who assisted during the high-profile murder trial of attorney Alex Murdaugh, pleaded guilty Monday to multiple criminal charges after admitting she showed sealed crime-scene photographs to media and lied about it under oath.

What Hill Admitted

Hill, 58, pleaded guilty in Colleton County Circuit Court to four charges: obstruction of justice and perjury for showing sealed exhibits to a reporter and then denying she had done so, and two counts of misconduct in office related to taking bonus funds and using her official position to promote a book she wrote about the trial.

Sentence And Repayment

Judge Heath Taylor sentenced Hill to three years of probation, telling her the penalty would have been much harsher if investigators had proved she tampered with jurors during the six-week trial that ended in Alex Murdaugh’s conviction for the murders of his wife and son. Hill brought a check to court to repay nearly $12,000 — roughly $10,000 in federal bonus funds intended to improve child-support collection and about $2,000 taken from the Clerk of Court’s office.

“There is no excuse for the mistakes I made. I’m ashamed of them and will carry that shame the rest of my life,” Hill told the court in a brief statement asking for a chance to move forward.

Investigation Into Jury Tampering

Prosecutors investigated allegations that Hill tried to influence jurors. Three jurors or alternates reported remarks that might have been attempts to sway them, while eleven others interviewed by state agents said they observed no misconduct. Solicitor Rick Hubbard said that split in testimony would have made proving jury tampering impossible.

Hubbard also told the court that a journalist reported Hill had shown graphic crime-scene photos to multiple media members. The photographs were briefly posted online, and metadata matched a time when courthouse key-card records placed Hill inside the locked room where exhibits were stored.

Other Misconduct Allegations And Ethics Complaint

Hill faced a separate South Carolina Ethics Commission complaint alleging 76 violations, including allowing a photo of Murdaugh in a holding cell to be taken to promote her book, using county funds to buy dozens of lunches for staff and others, and striking a deal with a documentary maker to allow courtroom use in exchange for promotion of her book. She later acknowledged portions of the book contained plagiarized passages, according to the ethics filing.

Case Context

The Murdaugh trial captivated national attention for its mix of power, privilege and alleged corruption in a county long dominated by Murdaugh’s family. Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and son and sentenced to life without parole; he is also serving additional prison time for admitting to stealing millions from clients and his family’s law firm. An initial appeal of the murder convictions was denied, and at one point a judge questioned whether Hill had been influenced by the “siren call of celebrity.”

Resignation

Hill resigned in March 2024, in the final year of her four-year term, citing public scrutiny stemming from the trial and a desire to spend time with her grandchildren.