True Crime Today | Daily True Crime News & Interviews

Becky Hill pled guilty to misconduct in office, obstruction of justice, and perjury. The South Carolina Supreme Court said she engaged in shocking jury interference that forced them to overturn Alex Murdaugh’s double murder conviction unanimously. Her sentence was probation and community service. Let that math sit for a second.
The Murdaugh defense held a press conference to announce a federal lawsuit against Hill — because in their view, the state has failed to hold her accountable for what she did. And the facts make that argument hard to dismiss. A clerk of court who pled guilty to lying under oath, who the state’s highest court found corrupted a murder trial for personal financial gain, who allegedly told jurors not to believe the defense and to watch the defendant’s body language — and she walked away with community service. The lawsuit seeks damages and discovery. The defense wants to know if she acted alone. They want depositions. They want subpoenas. They want answers the state never pursued.
Meanwhile, the AG is now considering the death penalty for the man whose trial his own office failed to protect from a corrupt clerk. He called Hill’s conduct “ultimately harmless.” The Supreme Court disagreed so strongly they threw out the entire conviction. The defense says the AG is running for governor and making decisions accordingly. Whether that’s fair or strategic framing, the gap between calling jury interference harmless and seeking execution for the defendant it harmed is difficult to bridge.
Alex Murdaugh is not a sympathetic figure. He’s a convicted financial criminal who stole millions from vulnerable people. But the system that tried him for murder failed on multiple levels, and the people responsible for that failure have barely been held to account. This episode asks why.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughTrial #MurdaughRetrial #BeckyHill #TrueCrime #SouthCarolina #DeathPenalty #HiddenKillers #JuryTampering #MurdaughCase

One press conference. Three significant developments. The Murdaugh defense team filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, accused the Attorney General of vindictive prosecution, and revealed evidence the prosecution may wish had stayed buried.
The lawsuit against Becky Hill is a Section 1983 claim alleging she deprived Murdaugh of his right to a fair trial. The defense wants civil discovery to investigate what Hill did and whether she had accomplices. They highlighted the suspicious removal of juror Myra Crosby and sought over six hundred thousand dollars in damages — all directed to the receivership, not to Murdaugh personally.
Harpootlian aimed squarely at Attorney General Alan Wilson. He accused Wilson of seeking the death penalty as retaliation for Murdaugh winning his appeal — the legal definition of vindictive prosecution. He asked what new evidence justifies the escalation when nothing about the case has changed. He accused the AG of consulting political advisors instead of career prosecutors.
Then the retrial details. The defense does not expect a trial this year. Preparation includes reviewing eight thousand pages of transcript, retaining new experts, and scrubbing all discovery materials. They are pursuing a venue change constrained by demographic requirements that eliminate Richland and Charleston. Individual voir dire will make jury selection a long, difficult process.
The evidence revelation that may matter most: unknown male DNA under Maggie Murdaugh’s fingernails was collected and never run through the CODIS database. The defense intends to use it. They also catalogued SLED’s investigative failures — unprocessed tire tracks, overwritten GPS data, incomplete scene work.
Tony Brueski, criminal defense attorney Bob Motta of Defense Diaries, and retired FBI Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Program Robin Dreeke discuss every major development. No plea deal is on the table. The defense was unequivocal. They are going to trial.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#MurdaughTrial #BeckyHill #DeathPenalty #DNAEvidence #MurdaughRetrial #VindictiveProsecution #TrueCrimeToday #CODIS #FederalLawsuit #TrueCrime

One-third of cruise ship assault survivors were minors, according to a Congressional report. Maritime attorneys confirm a similar ratio across more than a thousand cases. And the access that makes it possible is built into how the ships operate. Master keycards open every cabin. Youth centers run without the licensing standards required of daycare centers on land. International crew are screened against whatever their home country provides — no international offender database exists. This is the structural vulnerability parents are not being told about: the access, the supervision gaps, the screening limitations, and the environment engineered to separate parents from children while encouraging adults to let their guard down. The documented cases show the threat exists in every part of the ship: cabins, youth centers, dining rooms, fitness areas, entertainment venues. The industry’s response every time: zero tolerance after the fact. Not prevention before it. Cruising with Predators, a Hidden Killers investigation.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/

Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod

X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod

This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#CruiseShipSafety #KidsClub #MasterKey #CruisingWithPredators #CruiseIndustry #HiddenKillers #FamilyCruise #ChildProtection #TrueCrime #ParentWarning

Maggie Murdaugh had unknown male DNA beneath her fingernails. Investigators collected it. And then, according to the defense, nobody ever ran it through CODIS — the federal database that exists to match exactly this kind of forensic evidence.
Jim Griffin disclosed this at the press conference and made clear the defense plans to use it at the retrial. It joins a list of investigative shortcomings that SLED will have to answer for in court — including tire tracks that were never processed and GPS data that was overwritten before anyone could examine it.
The retrial timeline is coming into focus, and it is not fast. The defense does not expect to be in a courtroom this year. The preparation alone is staggering: eight thousand pages of transcript to review, a full discovery scrub, new experts to retain and prepare. They are building a defense from the ground up — except this time they know what the prosecution’s case looks like.
Finding a courtroom is its own challenge. A change-of-venue motion is under consideration, but the defense needs a county that demographically matches Colleton. They ruled out Richland and Charleston as likely options. And seating a jury anywhere in South Carolina requires individual voir dire — questioning each potential juror separately to find people who have not already decided this case.
Alex Murdaugh, according to Griffin, has read the Supreme Court opinion himself and reacted with disbelief and emotion. The attorneys noted they have no additional funding and are continuing the representation while operating at a financial loss.
Tony Brueski, criminal defense attorney Bob Motta of Defense Diaries, and retired FBI Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Program Robin Dreeke discuss the untested DNA, the retrial timeline, and why the defense made clear there will never be a plea deal.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.
#MurdaughTrial #MaggieMurdaugh #DNAEvidence #CODIS #MurdaughRetrial #SLEDInvestigation #TrueCrimeToday #PleaDeal #VenueChange #TrueCrime

Alex Murdaugh’s defense team didn’t just get a second chance — they got a court-issued roadmap showing exactly where the prosecution went wrong and how far the next trial judge should limit the state’s evidence. True Crime Today examines how Harpootlian and Griffin turn the Supreme Court’s ruling into a defense strategy that could produce an acquittal.
The financial evidence firewall is built directly from the court’s language. Every financial witness the prosecution calls faces a defense objection citing the Supreme Court’s explicit finding that the state went too deep into Murdaugh’s financial history. The defense doesn’t need to exclude everything. They need to exclude enough to prevent the emotional buildup that turned the first jury against Murdaugh before they ever weighed the murder evidence.
Whether Murdaugh takes the stand is the strategic decision both sides are already gaming. A recording captured his voice at the scene minutes before the alleged killings, contradicting everything he’d told investigators. He’ll likely have to explain that lie again. But this time the jury hasn’t spent weeks absorbing his financial crimes before he sits in the witness chair. His credibility starts from a different baseline.
The defense’s strongest argument may be the simplest: reasonable doubt. No DNA on Murdaugh despite two close-range shootings. No blood. Both weapons still missing after years. No eyewitnesses. A crime scene contaminated within hours. These gaps were present in Trial 1 but got overshadowed by the financial narrative. In Trial 2, with that narrative constrained by the Supreme Court, the physical evidence gaps become the defense’s centerpiece. The bar isn’t innocence. It’s uncertainty. And the defense has three years of preparation aimed at creating exactly that.
Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-vxmbhTxxG10sO1izODJg?sub_confirmation=1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/TrueCrimePod
This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.

HASHTAGS

#AlexMurdaugh #DickHarpootlian #MurdaughDefense #MurdaughRetrial #SCSupremeCourt #TrueCrime #ReasonableDoubt #MurderTrial #SouthCarolina #HiddenKillers