Becky Hill, the Colleton County clerk of court accused of jury tampering in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial, has a new controversy on her hands: She’s facing allegations of stealing from a draft of a BBC news article for her book.
The allegations of plagiarism against Hill were made in an early Tuesday morning news release by Neil Gordon, a Georgia journalist who co-authored with Hill a book called “Behind the Doors of Justice,” which purported to be Hill’s insider account of behind-the-scenes actions in the six-week Murdaugh murder trial last winter. As clerk of court, Hill oversaw various aspects of the trial and had access to information the public didn’t.
Gordon said he — together with Hill — have decided to “cease sales” of the book immediately. The book was published by Wind River Media LLC, according to Hill’s and Gordon’s book. Wind River Media is a Georgia domestic limited liability company whose registered agent is Gordon.
“This has blindsided me,” Gordon said in a news release. “Journalism has been my life’s work; my credibility and integrity are paramount to everything I do. I can’t be associated with anything like plagiarism and will no longer partner with Becky Hill on any projects. I’d like to apologize to our readers, and publicly to the BBC and the reporter.”