Murdaugh juror needed to retrieve ‘a dozen eggs’ from court

A juror was dismissed from the Alex Murdaugh trial Thursday just as it is set to go to deliberations — and she bizarrely told the judge she needed to collect 12 eggs she has in the courthouse. 

The unnamed juror was apparently caught discussing the case outside the courtroom, which is prohibited during a trial. 

When Colleton County Court Judge Clifton Newman asked her if she needed to collect any personal items, she replied by saying, “a dozen eggs.”

The bizarre answer gave everybody a laugh in the South Carolina courtroom, including the judge and Murdaugh himself. 

Judge Newman explained the dismissal to the courtroom before bringing the juror in. 

“A few days ago I received a complaint from a member of the public indicating that a juror had engaged in improper conversations with parties not associated with the case,” he said.  

“I provided a copy of the communications to the defense counsel. After court we then met with the juror on the record and the juror denied discussing the case with anyone not on the jury or with anyone on the jury.”

Newman said the woman, who was designated Juror #785, gave him the names of people who she allegedly spoke to. The court interviewed the individuals, and had them provide sworn affidavits. 

“Both of those individuals waffled on the nature and extent of the contact,” he said, adding the state also provided a “recorded interview with the juror.”

Newman determined the juror had discussed the case with at least three individuals, and said while the conversations weren’t extensive, they did “involve the juror offering her opinion regarding evidence received up to that point in the trial.”

“In order to preserve the integrity of the process and the interests of both the state and the defense…that juror will be removed and replaced by another juror,” the judge said. 

Murdaugh’s defense lawyer Dick Harpootlian criticized the ruling, saying one of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) agents who interviewed the people who spoke to the juror was a witness in the case for the prosecution.

“Again, SLED had made another bad judgment in this case,” Harpootlian told the judge, saying he wasn’t opposing the the decision but wanted to point out the errors. 

After calling in Juror #785, Newman told her to stand and said he “concluded that despite my order to not discuss the case with anyone, that — intentionally or unintentionally — you’ve had some discussions with some folks not on the jury, which is gonna require me to remove me from the jury.

“You have been, by all accounts, a great juror and smiled consistently, and seemingly been attentive to the case and performed well, and I’m sure with all the time you’ve invested in it that you probably hate not to continue — or maybe you are ready to go, I don’t know — but I certainly want to thank you for the service,” Newman said.

The judge then asked her if she needed to collect ant items from the courthouse, and the juror indicated she did.

“What do you have in there?” Newman asked.

“A dozen eggs and—” the juror said in a deep Southern accent.

Newman interrupted, leaning forward in his chair and asking, “Say again?”

“A dozen eggs,” the juror repeated.

“A dozen eggs?” the incredulous judged asked, illiciting laughter from just about everybody in the courtroom.

“One of the other jurors brought in eggs for everybody from the farm,” the juror explained, adding she also needed to grab her purse and a bottle of water.

“Do you wanna leave the eggs or take the eggs?” Newman asked. After saying she wanted to take them, Newman asked a member of the court staff to retrieve “her dozen eggs, her purse…and a bottle of water.”

The interaction was one of the only moments of levity in an otherwise lengthy and somber trial.

Murdaugh, 54, stands accused of killing his son Buster, 22, and wife Maggie, 52 on June 7, 2021 at the family’s Islandton, South Carolina hunting lodge. On Wednesday jurors toured the Murdaugh property on which the two were found dead, getting an up-close look at the crime scene.

Jurors are currently hearing closing arguments in the sixth week of the trial, and will soon be tasked with deliberating.