Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh was denied a new trial by a South Carolina judge on Monday after his defense team accused a court clerk of tampering with the jury.

Murdaugh’s lawyers claimed Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill swayed the jury by suggesting they watch Murdaugh’s actions and body language while he testified. But Judge Jean Toal ruled that the disgraced legal scion’s lawyers didn’t prove that the comments influenced whether they found him guilty of killing his wife and one of his sons.

Toal said after combing through the entire transcript of the six-week trial, she couldn’t overturn the verdict “on the strength of some fleeting and foolish comments by a publicity-seeking clerk of court” because they didn’t persuade the jurors’ minds.

The decision comes after a juror on the panel said under oath Monday that the clerk’s recommendations made him seem guilty and those comments contributed to her convicting Murdaugh.

“She made it seem like he was already guilty,” said the unnamed woman, who then replied in the affirmative when asked if Hill’s instructions had affected her guilty vote.

Hill is under investigation for allegedly trying to convince jurors to convict Murdaugh.

She is also facing allegations that she used her position to benefit financially from sales of her book about the case.

“Juror Z,” the first juror questioned in the hearing, said Hill told jurors to observe Murdaugh’s actions and “watch him closely.”

“Juror Z” then said that she stood by a former sworn statement that indicated she was influenced more by her fellow jurors than Hill in the deliberation room.

Other jurors called to testify during the hearing said they drew solely upon trial evidence and testimony to convict Murdaugh last year of killing his 52-year-old wife Maggie and his 22-year-old son Paul at the family’s hunting property in 2021.

One juror said he heard Hill advise the panel to “watch his body language” before Murdaugh, 55, took the stand, but said he was not influenced by the guidance.

Hill denied she ever spoke about the case or Murdaugh with any of the jurors.

“I never talked to any jurors about anything like that,” Hill said.

Toal said she wasn’t sure if Hill was truthful about keeping quiet, stating she was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity.”

In another development, the hearing was interrupted by a bailiff who said the jurors were watching a Court TV live feed of “Juror Z’s” testimony because authorities failed to confiscate their cellphones when they entered the courthouse.

Toal, a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of South Carolina, then took a brief recess before allowing the hearing to proceed.

“We are going to get through this,” Toal said.

Toal had ruled lawyers must prove that Hill’s comments directly influenced the guilty verdict, even as they argued that any tampering should be grounds for a new trial.

“According to the State, if Ms. Hill had the jury room decorated like a grade-school classroom with colorful signs saying ‘Murdaugh is guilty’ that would not violate Mr. Murdaugh’s right to a fair trial … so long as jurors did not testify that they voted guilty because of the decor,” the defense wrote in a brief.

Even if Murdaugh were somehow exonerated in a new trial, he would still serve a 27-year bid for stealing $12 million from his family law firm and lawsuit settlement victims.

He has admitted to the financial crimes but maintained he was not the trigger man in the double homicide of his wife and son.

If the jury tampering appeal fails, defense lawyers are expected to contest his two consecutive life sentences by arguing that his murder trial was unfair for several reasons — including the judge allowing testimony about his financial fraud.

With Post wires