Alex Murdaugh’s ‘Egg Juror’ Challenges S.C. Supreme Court

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The attorney representing Myra Crosby – who was controversially booted from convicted killer Alex Murdaugh’s jury mere hours before he was found guilty of murdering his wife and younger son – has filed a new petition with the South Carolina supreme court. In that filing, she seeks the release of still-hidden records related to her dismissal. Despite a recent rejection from the high court, Crosby has clearly not given up on her quest for transparency related to the circumstances which led to her decisive dismissal from the Palmetto State’s ‘Trial of the Century’ last year.

According to Crosby’s pleading, filed on Friday (November 15, 2024) by attorney Joe McCulloch of Columbia, S.C., she is asking the court’s five justices to either release her files or furnish her with a valid reason as to why they are refusing to do so.

Anything short of that would be a violation of her constitutional rights, she insists…

Crosby’s motion (.pdf) was filed two weeks after the court unanimously – and without comment – denied a motion from McCulloch to unseal hidden files related to her last-minute dismissal from Murdaugh’s jury on March 2, 2023.

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According to presiding S.C. circuit court judge Clifton Newman, Crosby was dismissed from the jury because she allegedly discussed the merits of Murdaugh’s case with two of her tenants. Crosby has denied those allegations – and stated her removal was the result of a conspiracy involving disgraced former Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill and others aimed at ensuring a guilty verdict against Murdaugh.

Her latest court filing references multiple “highly improper contacts with juror Crosby before the case was submitted to the jury by disgraced former clerk of court Rebecca Hill.”

Hill is currently facing a host of ethical and criminal allegations – including tampering with the jury that convicted Murdaugh. Hill’s tampering was first detailed in a bombshell motion submitted on September 5, 2023 by Murdaugh’s attorneys, Dick Harpootlian, Jim Griffin, Phillip Barber and Maggie Fox. It was subsequently documented during an evidentiary hearing held on January 29, 2024 in Columbia, S.C.

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As FITSNews founding editor Will Folks noted at the time, Crosby’s removal from the jury paved the way for the guilty verdicts against Murdaugh.

“Prior to the removal of (Crosby) earlier in the day, sources familiar with the deliberations indicated Murdaugh’s trial would have likely ended in a hung jury,” Folks wrote.

Instead, Murdaugh was unanimously found guilty of the savage murders of his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and younger son, 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh, on June 7, 2021 at Moselle – the family’s 1,700-acre hunting property straddling the Salkehatchie River in the picturesque Palmetto Lowcountry. The following day, Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Newman.

The fallen scion of one of the Palmetto State’s most influential legal dynasties, Murdaugh thereafter pleaded guilty to multiple state and federal charges related to millions of dollars fleeced from former clients, law partners, family members and friends – a bizarre web of crime and corruption which remains gnawingly unresolved.

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RELATED | SUPREME COURT BLOCKS RELEASE OF ‘EGG JUROR’ FILES

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According to McCulloch’s filing, the court’s terse denial (.pdf) of Crosby’s initial motion – which failed to provide a legal basis for its ruling – denied his client her First Amendment rights.

“The burden to overcome a First Amendment right of access rests on the party seeking to restrict access, and that party must present specific reasons in support of its position,” McCulloch wrote.

According to McCulloch, the supreme court’s denial of his motion “without stated legal basis” violated a “constitutional requirement to identify a compelling government interest and to explain how keeping a trial transcript under seal years after the verdict is narrowly tailored to serve that interest.”

“Transcripts of criminal trials historically are open to the press and public after a verdict is rendered,” McCulloch added.

The files sought by McCulloch could shed light on the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED)’s “investigation” into allegations made against Crosby by her tenants – including the original source of those claims. SLED was the agency which investigated Murdaugh for the murders of his wife and younger son (controversially, at that).

Our audience will recall our founding editor has previously questioned the impartiality of SLED leading any jury tampering probe – as well as the impartiality of those currently tasked with prosecuting Hill on the jury tampering allegations. Murdaugh’s attorneys have increasingly focused on these conflicts in recent weeks as the deadline for Murdaugh to submit his appeal to the supreme court approaches.

Count on FITSNews to keep our audience in the loop in the event there are any new developments related to this ongoing saga…

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THE FILING…

(S.C. Supreme Court)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Jenn Wood is FITSNews’ incomparable research director. She’s also the producer of the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts and leading expert on all things Murdaugh/ South Carolina justice. A former private investigator with a criminal justice degree, evildoers beware, Jenn Wood is far from your average journalist! A deep dive researcher with a passion for truth and a heart for victims, this mom of two is pretty much a superhero in FITSNews country. Did we mention she’s married to a rocket scientist? (Lucky guy!) Got a story idea or a tip for Jenn? Email her at jenn@fitsnews.com.

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