On the evening of March 2, 2023, the eyes of America turned to Walterboro, South Carolina as a Colleton County jury returned two guilty verdicts against disbarred, disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh of Hampton, S.C. following a six-week trial.

The following day, Murdaugh received two life sentences for his crimes.

The jury unanimously found Murdaugh guilty of the graphic murders of his wife, 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh, and younger son – 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh – on the family’s hunting property near Islandton, S.C. on the evening of June 7, 2021.

The verdicts were announced to a waiting world by Colleton County clerk of court Becky Hill, who earned plaudits from the public, the press and prosecutors for her office’s handling of this international spectacle, which as been referred to as the Palmetto State’s ‘Trial of the Century.’

Now, these verdicts are potentially in jeopardy as Hill has found herself at the center of a metastasizing scandal. On September 5, 2023 – six months after the verdicts were announced – Murdaugh attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin filed a motion publicly accusing Hill of tampering with the jury that found Murdaugh guilty.

According to Harpootlian and Griffin, this alleged tampering included conspiring to have a juror who was believed to be sympathetic to Murdaugh removed from the panel on the same day the verdicts were announced.

Hill also allegedly told jurors “not to believe Murdaugh’s testimony and other evidence presented by the defense,” and pushed them to reach “a quick guilty verdict.”

Her alleged motive? Selling copies of her book Behind the Doors of Justice, portions of which she has since admitted to plagiarizing.

“Hill betrayed her oath of office for money and fame,” Murdaugh’s attorneys have alleged.

Did she? And if so, does Murdaugh deserve a new trial as a result?

Those questions will be the focus of an evidentiary hearing scheduled for January 29-31, 2024 in Richland County, S.C. Former Palmetto State chief justice Jean Toal has been tapped to preside over this hearing, which will determine whether Murdaugh is entitled to a new trial.

Welcome to FITSNews’ coverage of Alex Murdaugh’s retrial bid. Our news team – including founding editor Will Folks, producer Dylan Nolan and research director Jenn Wood – is dedicated to providing our audience with the most accurate, in-depth and up-to-date information, just as we have at every step of this still-unfolding saga.