Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office.
A former South Carolina court clerk who served during the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh pleaded guilty on Monday to criminal charges stemming from the case — including for releasing sealed court exhibits to the press and then lying about it, and over the promotion of her book about the high-profile trial.
Former Colleton County Clerk of Court Mary Rebecca “Becky” Hill pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, perjury and misconduct in office.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, and I know I have let down this Court, my community, and the people who placed their trust in me”, Hill said in court. “There is no excuse for my mistakes. I am ashamed of them, and I will carry that shame with me for the rest of my life.”
Judge Heath Taylor said he doesn’t believe Hill deserved incarceration and sentenced her to three years’ probation and 100 hours of community service.
Taylor said Hill has been “humiliated throughout this whole ordeal.”
“A lot of folks got swept up in the hoopla that was that trial”, Taylor said while handing down the sentence. “A lot of folks probably made a lot of money, but you didn’t.”
Hill was arrested in May, more than two years after Murdaugh was found guilty of brutally murdering his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, 52, and younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, who were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family’s hunting estate in 2021.
