SLED Asleep
AG’s Office Collapsing Under Pressure as Murdaugh Legal Team Forces Second Major Delay
By James Seidel | Crime and Cask News Network
COLUMBIA, SC — The Murdaugh legal team has finally done it. The State of South Carolina now stands fully exposed—not just for jury tampering, but for its institutional inability, or refusal, to defend the rule of law.
The South Carolina Supreme Court has granted a second 120-day extension to the Attorney General’s Office in the appeal of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, giving the State a full 365 days—one calendar year—to file a response brief to a legal filing that’s been sitting untouched since August 2024.
That decision alone would be alarming. But paired with the revelations in the Initial Brief of Appellant, filed by Murdaugh’s legal team, it becomes an outright scandal.
Tampering Proven, Yet Justice Denied
At the heart of the Murdaugh legal team’ appeal lies a devastating, undisputed fact: jury tampering happened during Murdaugh’s murder trial. The Colleton County Clerk of Court, Rebecca “Becky” Hill, communicated directly with jurors, made prejudicial remarks about Murdaugh’s guilt, and openly discussed her book and media ambitions during trial.
Hill, an elected official, told a fellow Clerk she wanted a guilty verdict because it would “sell more books”—even adding that she “needed a lake house.”
This isn’t conjecture. It’s in the record.
Chief Justice Jean Toal, in denying a new trial, admitted that Hill was “not completely credible” and that she made inappropriate statements to the jury. Juror Z, in sworn testimony, stated Hill’s comments “made it seem like he was already guilty”—and confirmed that those comments influenced her decision to convict. The State is avoiding talking to juror 785, Myra Crosby at all costs, because her testimony will blow their arguments out of the water.
But the Attorney General’s Position? “No Big Deal.”
Despite these findings, Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office has spent the past year trying to minimize, delay, and deflect.
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They offered no rebuttal evidence to juror testimony.
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They waited until the final day of their first 90-day extension to request trial transcripts—an intentional stall tactic.
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And now, with the Court’s blessing, they’ve secured another four months to figure out what to say.
This isn’t just bad lawyering—it’s malpractice disguised as process.
The Legal Standard They’re Ignoring
According to binding U.S. Supreme Court precedent—including Remmer v. United States (1954) and Parker v. Gladden (1966)—any form of unauthorized contact with a juror by a court official during a criminal trial creates an automatic presumption of prejudice. The burden shifts to the State to prove the verdict was not tainted.
In Murdaugh’s case, there was direct contact, prejudice, and admitted motive. Yet the trial court flipped the burden, forcing the defense to prove that the misconduct changed the outcome. That’s not just wrong—it’s unconstitutional.
⏳ One Year, 90 Lawyers, Zero Accountability
The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office employs nearly 90 attorneys, many of whom helped prosecute Murdaugh’s financial crimes. And yet we are to believe that the State, armed with massive resources, cannot respond to a brief in a timely or constitutionally appropriate manner.
This is not an issue of bandwidth. It’s a matter of control.
South Carolina’s legal institutions have circled the wagons—not around justice, but around each other.
⚖️ Justice for Whom?
Let’s not forget: Becky Hill remains uncharged. Her son, Jeffrey “Colt” Hill, was arrested for wiretapping and is under criminal investigation. Her actions derailed the most high-profile murder trial in South Carolina history.
Still: no charges. No subpoenas. No movement. No comment from the AG. ( o + 0 = 0 )
Whistleblower Juror 785, known publicly as Myra Crosby, wrote a memoir, Because Enough is Enough, detailing the manipulation she and other jurors endured. She named names. She offered to testify.
- Crosby has never been contacted since the trial.
- Timothy Stone of Georgia hasn’t been contacted.
- Christine Avery and her associates haven’t been contacted.
- Bailiff Mr. Bill hasn’t been contacted.
Enough Excuses. Enough Silence. Enough Delay.
It is now clear: the delay is the defense. The strategy is stall until the public forgets. Until Murdaugh rots in prison regardless of whether his trial was corrupted. Until Becky Hill gets away clean. Until the Supreme Court can say: We followed the process—even if the outcome was rotten.
Why Doesn’t the State Just Do the Right Thing?
The “right thing” here would be:
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Admit the jury was tampered with, because it was.
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Prosecute Becky Hill, Colt Hill, and any co-conspirators (don’t forget to look into Christine Avery or anyone involved in scripting that juror email).
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Vacate Murdaugh’s murder conviction based on binding legal precedent.
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Grant a new trial—and if they believe the evidence holds, convict him again cleanly.
But they’re not doing that. Why? I’ll tell you why:
In a relentless pursuit of truth, Crime and Cask News has now proven beyond any reasonable doubt that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the State Attorney General’s Office built their murder case against Alex Murdaugh on a foundation riddled with errors, omissions, and outright falsehoods. The case—once hailed as airtight—is now leaking at every seam.
We outline below eight key failures in the State’s prosecution that expose a staggering collapse of integrity, science, and basic logic:
1. Step Data: SLED’s Math Was Dead Wrong
SLED’s presentation of Alex Murdaugh’s step count data was riddled with numerous math errors, miscalculations, and speculative interpretations. Crime and Cask’s forensic analysis reveals that SLED not only exaggerated movement but falsely constructed a timeline using data they either misread or misrepresented.
2. Ballistics: AFTE Methodology Is 35% Wrong
The State’s so-called match between .300 Blackout shell casings and those found around Maggie Murdaugh’s body was made using the AFTE-comparative method—a practice the Department of Justice now warns carries a 35% error rate in blind studies. Yet SLED agents still swore under oath that these matches were “conclusive.” That is junk science masquerading as forensic certainty.
3. Maggie’s Phone: State’s Theory Defies Tech Reality
The State claimed Alex carried Maggie’s phone from 9:06:20 PM on June 7, 2021. But the digital forensics show her phone did not move once for 2 minutes and 24 seconds—while his phone registered multiple steps. This makes the theory not just unlikely, but scientifically impossible.
♂️ 4. Timeline Collapse: Two Guns, One Man, No Time
The State’s timeline gives Alex Murdaugh mere seconds to:
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Shoot Paul with a shotgun,
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Drop that weapon,
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Pick up a .300 Blackout rifle,
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Then run to the spot where Maggie was shot.
That’s action-movie fantasy, not reality. Not even a Navy SEAL could execute that switch in the window SLED insists on.
️ 5. The Text That Broke Their Case
SLED alleged Alex texted Maggie at 9:08 PM, then threw her phone out the window. But forensic data shows her phone never moved at all—no screen orientation, accelerometer spike, or displacement. That means it could not have been thrown when SLED claims—unless Murdaugh somehow violated the laws of physics.
6. Where’s the Google Geofence Warrant?
Despite FOIA requests and court transparency requirements, SLED refuses to produce any geofence warrant from Google to show who was near the kennels that night. If they have it and it helps their case—why hide it? If they never requested it—that’s dereliction of duty.
7. FOIA Stonewall: No Emails, No Blood
Crime and Cask News has submitted multiple Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain emails between Sara Zapata and Agent David Owen concerning the absence of blood evidence on Murdaugh’s shirt. SLED has refused to provide this simple data, possibly violating transparency laws. What are they hiding?
8. Agent David Owen Misled a Grand Jury?
Owen falsely told the Colleton County Grand Jury there was high-velocity blood spatter on Alex’s white shirt—a claim that was scientifically debunked at trial. Yet that misinformation helped secure an indictment, revealing a deliberate deception of jurors.
Crime and Cask Verdict:
The prosecution of Alex Murdaugh was not only built on flawed science and speculative timelines—it was actively propped up by deception, suppression, and stonewalling.
From hiding email records, to fabricating blood evidence, to refusing to release digital geolocation data, the South Carolina justice system is now exposed as more concerned with preserving a conviction than pursuing the truth.
They’re Scared of Losing Control
Giving Murdaugh a new trial means:
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Opening up the state’s entire original investigation to new scrutiny.
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Allowing the defense to reintroduce SLED misconduct, evidence chain of custody issues, and timeline contradictions.
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Potentially exposing how deeply flawed the original case really was—far beyond Becky Hill’s jury tampering.
They may fear they can’t win again—at least, not cleanly.
The AG’s Office Has Overcommitted Its Narrative
AG Alan Wilson and his team made the Murdaugh conviction the centerpiece of their credibility.
If they admit that Hill tainted the jury, it doesn’t just reflect poorly on her—it implicates SLED, state prosecutors, and the entire trial process. They may believe a retrial would make them look weak, incompetent, or dishonest.
Their motto now is “protect the conviction at all costs.” Even at the cost of the Constitution.
Becky Hill Is Politically Radioactive
Charging Hill would require:
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Confronting the fact that a popular, elected official committed crimes during the most high-profile trial in South Carolina history.
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Publicly admitting that a conviction may be invalid.
It’s easier for them to stall, delay, and pretend it’s all noise than to step up and do what the law demands.
They’re Betting on Public Fatigue
They believe that time is their ally:
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The longer they delay, the less the public will care.
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They think people will move on, Netflix will stop airing specials, and jurors will go silent.
They are banking on you—the media, the citizen, the voter—to forget.
⚖️ A New Trial Risks Total Exposure
If a new trial happens:
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Every suppressed email.
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Every juror comment.
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Every instance of misconduct.
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Every backroom deal made to protect Becky Hill…
…could come to light. And that might not just taint this trial—it could rock the whole Lowcountry legal power structure.
So Yes, They Are Scared.
But they’re not scared of Murdaugh.
They’re scared of us—
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Of the truth coming out,
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Of the political fallout,
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Of accountability.
Because if the AG does the right thing here, he may have to answer for not doing it sooner, and God forbid if Nancy Mace gets involved in this.
Final Thought: If This Wasn’t Murdaugh…
If this were anyone else—any defendant without national attention, a Netflix documentary, and a notorious last name—charges would have already been filed.
But this isn’t about Alex Murdaugh anymore. It’s about what South Carolina is willing to tolerate from the very people entrusted to protect its justice system.
If jury tampering doesn’t matter here—what ever will?
Follow Crime and Cask News for real-time updates: True Crime in the Lowcountry on 97.7FM WVFF
Tips? Email us at crimeandcask@gmail.com
James Seidel is the founder of Crime and Cask News and one of the first reporters to publicly challenge the official Murdaugh trial narrative. He is a published author, radio host, and leading voice on prosecutorial integrity in the South.
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