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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The South Carolina Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Alex Murdaugh's appeal February 11, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. in Columbia. This is the most significant development since his March 2023 conviction for murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul.

The appeal centers on two arguments. First, that former Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill tampered with the jury by making comments that could have influenced their verdict. Three jurors testified Hill told them to watch Murdaugh's body language and not be fooled by his testimony. Hill denied wrongdoing — but in December 2025, she pleaded guilty to perjury for lying under oath at the very hearing that evaluated those tampering claims.

The Supreme Court has added Hill's conviction to the appellate record. The justices will review jury tampering allegations knowing the court official at the center is a convicted perjurer who lied about her conduct during the trial.

The second argument challenges the admission of extensive financial crimes evidence. Prosecutors spent a week presenting testimony about the $8.5 million Murdaugh allegedly stole from clients and his law firm, arguing this created motive. The defense calls this "a trial within a trial" that prejudiced jurors before they considered the murder charges.

The state's response, filed before Hill's conviction, called the evidence "overwhelming" and dismissed Hill's conduct as "foolish and fleeting."

The court has three options: affirm, reverse for a new trial, or remand for further proceedings. No ruling from the bench. Decisions come later, in writing.

Regardless of outcome, Murdaugh remains incarcerated on separate sentences for his financial crimes. This appeal determines whether his murder convictions stand.

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughCase #MurdaughAppeal #BeckyHill #MaggieAndPaul #JuryTampering #SupremeCourt #MurdaughTrial #Moselle #TrueCrime

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February 11th, 2026. That's the date. The South Carolina Supreme Court will finally hear oral arguments in Alex Murdaugh's appeal of his double murder conviction.

Nearly three years after a Colleton County jury found him guilty of killing his wife Maggie and son Paul, Murdaugh is asking the state's highest court to throw out the verdict and grant him a new trial. His attorneys have two main arguments: that former Clerk of Court Becky Hill tampered with the jury, and that Judge Clifton Newman improperly allowed prejudicial financial crimes evidence that poisoned the jury against him.

Since the original trial, Becky Hill has pled guilty to perjury, obstruction of justice, and misconduct in office. She admitted to lying under oath at the January 2024 hearing where retired Chief Justice Jean Toal denied Murdaugh's motion for a new trial. The defense is now asking the Supreme Court to consider her criminal conviction when weighing whether Murdaugh's trial was fair.

In this comprehensive breakdown, we cover every aspect of the upcoming appeal: the jury tampering allegations, Hill's guilty plea and what it means, the defense's argument that the "gathering storm" motive theory was storytelling masquerading as evidence, and the state's position that the verdict should stand because Murdaugh was "obviously guilty."

We also break down the federal vs. state standard debate that could decide everything, and explain why Murdaugh's team is still fighting even though he'll never leave prison — he's already serving 27 years for stealing $12 million from clients.

The hearing starts at 9:30 AM, will be open to the public, and livestreamed statewide. This is the most significant moment in the Murdaugh legal saga since the verdict.

#AlexMurdaugh #MurdaughAppeal #BeckyHill #MurdaughCase #SupremeCourt #MaggieMurdaugh #PaulMurdaugh #MurdaughTrial #SouthCarolina #Moselle

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