In a surprising turn of events, a member of the jury that convicted Alex Murdaugh of murdering his wife and son has testified that remarks made by a court clerk influenced her decision to find him guilty. The juror, identified as Juror Z, stated that the clerk urged them to closely observe Murdaugh's actions and body language during the trial, which created an impression of guilt. However, the 11 other jurors maintained that their guilty verdicts were solely based on the presented testimony, evidence, and the law.

As all twelve jurors took the stand, testifying for about three minutes each, it became evident that there were discrepancies in the accounts. Murdaugh, a disbarred attorney and admitted thief serving a life sentence, donned an orange prison jumpsuit as he watched with his legal team.

The court clerk, Becky Hill, also took the stand and vehemently denied ever discussing the case or Murdaugh with the jurors. However, Judge Jean Toal questioned Hill's truthfulness, especially considering her admission of using "literary license" in her book on the trial. Toal pressed Hill on whether she feared a potential not guilty verdict while reading out the verdict, to which Hill acknowledged having certain feelings.

Further questioning revolved around Hill's prior comment to others about expecting brief deliberations, hours before the jury received the case. Hill justified it as a gut feeling after spending many years in the courtroom.

The hearing was triggered by a sworn statement from Juror Z, who maintained that Hill instructed the jurors to closely observe Murdaugh's actions and even made him appear guilty. Juror Z admitted that while initially having doubts about Murdaugh's guilt, the influence of other jurors ultimately swayed her decision. However, the other jurors stated that their verdicts were not influenced by anything outside of the trial. One juror did mention hearing Hill's comment to "watch his body language" before Murdaugh testified but insisted it did not affect their decision.

Alex Murdaugh's fall from a prominent attorney to being sentenced to life without parole has garnered significant attention from true crime shows, podcasts, and bloggers. His defense is built on the claim of jury tampering, but the burden of proof lies on demonstrating that Hill's actions directly led to a change in the jurors' guilty verdicts.

The defense argued that even subtle influence could have deprived Murdaugh of a fair trial, regardless of whether a juror openly expressed a change in their verdict. However, Judge Toal, who was appointed by the South Carolina Supreme Court justices to address the juror misconduct allegations, set a high standard for the defense. She ruled out calling the trial judge, Clifton Newman, as a witness, and limited the scope of questions for Hill.

Despite the possibility of a new murder trial, Alex Murdaugh is already serving a 27-year sentence for embezzling $12 million from his law firm and settlements. He has consistently maintained his innocence in the murders of his wife and son. If this effort fails, Murdaugh's legal team plans to file regular appeals, arguing that his murder trial was unfair due to the inclusion of extensive testimony on his financial crimes, which painted him in a negative light unrelated to the killings.

The courtroom drama surrounding the conviction of Alex Murdaugh continues to unfold, leaving many unanswered questions about the fairness of the trial and potential jury bias.