Criminal defense attorney Bob Motta joins Hidden Killers for a two-case episode that starts with the Murdaugh appeal heading to oral arguments Wednesday and extends into a full breakdown of the Nancy Guthrie investigation — reading both cases through the lens of a defense attorney who sees problems the public does not.

On Murdaugh, Becky Hill's perjury conviction is now in the appellate record. Three jurors corroborated the tampering allegations. The state chose not to charge tampering. The defense argues Toal applied the wrong legal standard. If the conviction is reversed, the retrial landscape is treacherous for the prosecution — the defense has the full transcript, the financial crimes motive evidence may be excluded, and the forensic case has significant gaps. No DNA, no fingerprints, no blood linking Murdaugh to the killings. The prosecution retains Maggie's DNA on a shotgun receiver and the kennel video. Motta explains how three years of preparation changes the defense approach to both. And with 67 combined years on financial crimes already locked in, Motta walks through whether the AG's office has the appetite to go again.

On Guthrie, Motta breaks down a crime scene that was released and re-entered four times, digital evidence with no video support, a ransom situation contaminated by confirmed imposters, a family posting desperate pleas with no response, and a president previewing an arrest from Air Force One. Two cases that expose what happens when the official story does not match the evidence.

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughAppeal #BobMotta #NancyGuthrie #BeckyHill #MurdaughRetrial #DefenseDiaries #KennelVideo #GuthrieCase #HiddenKillers

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Wednesday is the day. The South Carolina Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Alex Murdaugh's appeal and criminal defense attorney Bob Motta says what comes after a potential reversal is where the real story begins. On this episode, Motta breaks down the retrial scenario from the inside — what both sides are facing, what evidence survives, and whether the state even has the appetite to go again.

Becky Hill's perjury conviction is formally in the appellate record. Three jurors corroborated jury tampering allegations. The state investigated and chose not to charge Hill with tampering — only perjury, obstruction, and misconduct. Motta explains why that decision is one of the most telling details in the entire case and what it signals about the state's confidence in the verdict.

The legal standard is at the center of the appeal. The defense invokes Remmer v. United States, which presumes prejudice once improper state-actor contact with jurors is shown. Justice Toal appeared to require the defense to prove a juror actually changed their vote. Motta walks through how appellate courts handle the wrong standard — and whether it matters that the evidence of guilt was strong.

If reversal comes, the landscape shifts dramatically. The defense has the complete first trial transcript. They know every witness, every exhibit, every prosecutorial move. The biggest question is whether a new judge excludes the weeks of financial crimes testimony the prosecution used to build motive. Without the "gathering storm" theory, this is a circumstantial murder case with significant forensic gaps — no DNA, no fingerprints, no blood on vehicles, clothes, or in the house linking Murdaugh to the murders. The prosecution retains Maggie's DNA on a shotgun receiver and the kennel video. Motta explains how three years of preparation changes the defense's approach to both.

The elephant in the room: 27 years state, 40 federal, already locked in. Even reversal does not mean freedom. Does the AG retry?

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughAppeal #BobMotta #BeckyHillPerjury #MurdaughRetrial #DefenseDiaries #KennelVideo #SouthCarolina #RemmerVUS #MurdaughTrial

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The South Carolina Supreme Court hears oral arguments Wednesday in Alex Murdaugh's appeal of his double murder conviction. The legal community is focused on whether the court will reverse. But the question that should dominate this conversation is far more unsettling — what does a Murdaugh retrial actually look like, and would the state even pursue one? Alex Murdaugh is already serving 27 years state and 40 years federal for financial crimes. Those sentences survive regardless of what happens with the murder convictions. His federal appeal was dismissed. He pleaded guilty. He's not getting out. A reversal doesn't mean freedom — it means the state decides whether to spend millions retrying the most complex murder case in South Carolina history for a man already locked up. A retrial would move to a different county with a new judge. The defense argues the financial crimes evidence was improperly admitted — if the court agrees, the prosecution loses its motive narrative.

The state's case was always circumstantial. No DNA. No fingerprints. No murder weapon. The kennel video is strong, but the defense has had three years to prepare. The political calculus is brutal. Retry and risk losing. Don't retry and the murders of Maggie and Paul become functionally unsolved. Eric Bland called the financial sentences "the backstop." Creighton Waters designed them to keep Murdaugh imprisoned for the remainder of his life. Wednesday is about whether South Carolina needs the murder conviction badly enough to do it all over again.

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughRetrial #MurdaughAppeal #SupremeCourt #MurdaughCase #BeckyHill #MaggieMurdaugh #PaulMurdaugh #SouthCarolina #TrueCrime

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