Alex Murdaugh – a prominent South Carolina personal injury attorney who comes from one of the region’s wealthiest families – was found guilty of murder on Thursday.
Murdaugh, who pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, was convicted at the conclusion of the trial. entire four in number.
The jury deliberated for only three hours after the conclusion of the trial.
Murdaugh will be sentenced Friday morning; he faces 30 years to life in prison without parole.
And the worst crime?
On June 7, 2021, the bodies of Murdaugh’s 52-year-old wife Maggie and 22-year-old son Paul were found dead on the 1,770-acre property in Islandton, South Carolina, where the family hunted.
The couple died near the dog kennel at the cottage as a result of multiple injuries, a State Law Enforcement Division press release said at the time.
Murdaugh was the one who called 9-1-1 and reported the death.
For decades until 2006, members of the Murdaugh family were the top prosecutors in and around Colleton County.
During his six-week trial, Murdaugh said he killed his wife and son to distract him from his financial crimes, including stealing millions of dollars from law partners and clients … supporting a lavish lifestyle.
While testifying in his own defense, Murdaugh admitted to lying about his whereabouts on the night of the murders, although he also denied taking the lives of his wife and son.
“I could not intentionally do anything to hurt one of them,” he said on the stand. “Never.”
Unfortunately, the jury of his peers did not believe his claim in the end.
“It doesn’t matter who the family is, it doesn’t matter how much money they have,” Creighton Waters, the lead prosecutor, said after the verdict.
“If you’re wrong, if you break the law, if you kill, then justice will be done in South Carolina.”
After the verdict was read aloud on Thursday, Murdaugh’s attorney immediately moved for an indictment — which the judge quickly rejected.
“The evidence of guilt is overwhelming,” South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman said in response.
The murder is the subject of Netflix’s Murder Murder: Southern Scandal, which premiered on February 22, which provides background on the Murdaugh family’s influence in the local South Carolina community.
Murdaugh’s grandfather founded the Hampton law firm in 1910, while members of this family have occupied the 14th Circuit attorney’s seat for three generations.
The series also covers how the deaths of Paul and Maggie shed light on “corruption, power, and a century of cover-up in the Low Countries,” featuring interviews with those closest to the Murdaugh family in the process.
“The circumstantial evidence, the direct evidence – all the evidence points to one conclusion, and that’s the conclusion you all reached,” Judge Newman told the jury Friday.