[UPDATE] Alex Murdaugh Murder Case: South Carolina Judge Rejects Request for New Trial

A judge rejected disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh's request for a new murder trial in the killings of his wife and son.

The development comes after the defendant was convicted last year for the murder of the two victims. His attorneys had asked the judge handling the case for a new trial, alleging that the court clerk tampered with the jury that found him guilty nearly a year ago.

The decision was made by Judge Jean Toal who spoke as Murdaugh could be seen wearing orange prison clothes. The judge held that the clerk of the court made improper comments to the jury but ruled that the remarks did not influence the jury's verdict.

The judge added that she was not convinced that the clerk in question, Rebecca "Becky" Hill, was a completely credible witness. She believed that she had been affected by the "siren call" to be a celebrity and later wrote a book regarding the trial.

Before Toal left the bench and adjourned for the day, she said that now that she had read the record, she believed that the evidence was overwhelming, adding that the jury's verdict was not surprising, as per CNN.

In a statement following the latest ruling, Murdaugh attorney Dick Harpootlian said that their next step is the Court of Appeals and then the South Carolina Supreme Court. Another of the defendant's attorneys, Jim Griffin, said that the matter would either be decided in their favor in the appellate court or five years down the road in federal court.

The remarks come as Hill's attorneys, Justin Bamberg and Will Lewis, said that they respect the judge's decision. They noted that they agreed with Justice Toal's ruling that the Colleton County jurors operated within the instructions of the court.

On Monday, one of the jurors who found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and 22-year-old son testified. She said that the comments made by the Colleton County, South Carolina, clerk of court influenced her verdict.

Influencing the Jurors

That particular juror said that she also had questions about the defendant's guilt, but felt pressured by the other jurors in the case. Another juror told others to watch Murdaugh's body language before he took the stand in his own defense, according to USA Today.

Hill's testimony noted that she did not talk to any juror about anything like that, denying the allegations levied against her. When she was asked why she told people that she expected deliberations to be short, she said she had a gut feeling based on years of working in courtrooms.

Despite the conviction, Murdaugh has always maintained his innocence in the murder of his wife and son. However, a key video that was shown at his trial revealed that he was at the family's dog kennels with his wife and son shortly before they were killed.

This contradicted his claim that he had not been with them at the time of the horrific crime. Prior to this, Murdaugh had been stealing millions of dollars from clients and law partners for years and was convicted of the crimes in a separate trial, said the New York Times.

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South carolina, Murder trial