UPDATE: Friday morning Alex Murdaugh received two consecutive life sentences for the murders of his wife Maggie Murdaugh and his son Paul Murdaugh.
The Murdaugh trial had people all over the world transfixed. The trial resulted in documentaries on Netflix, Discovery+, and more platforms.
The show unraveled tales of privilege, greed, and addiction. And the final conclusion has finally been reached by a jury that issued a verdict…
54-year-old Alex Murdaugh is set to receive 30 years without parole for each murder he has been convicted guilty of when the court reconvenes for his sentencing on Friday at 9:30 a.m.
When Judge Clifton Newman finally announced the verdict, he also denied the defense a motion to declare a mistrial because according to the judge, “the evidence of guilt is overwhelming.”
Murdaugh who wore a dress shirt and jacket looked stoic with a slight grimace on his face as the verdict was read out loud. After the verdict had been read, he was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom by two sheriff’s deputies.
He was found guilty by the jury for murdering his 52-year-old wife Maggie and his 22-year-old son Paul. Maggie was found shot four or five times with a rifle while Paul was shot twice with a shotgun at the kennels which were located near their rural Colleton County home on June 7, 2021.
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Prosecutors lacked solid evidence like the weapons used for the murders, blood spatters or any confessions. But they had a mountain of circumstantial evidence that ended up helping with the conviction.
One of the key pieces of evidence was a video on the murdered son Paul’s phone. The video was shot minutes before his murder and in the video voices of the three Murdaughs can be heard; Paul, Maggie, and Alex. Since Alex said he had not been near the kennels on the night of the murders, this served as key evidence.
Defense attorney Jim Griffin said they were disappointed at the verdict.
While South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson thanked the prosecution for their tireless work with the case. He said, “It was all worth it. Because we got to bring justice and be a voice for Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.” Adding, “Today’s verdict proved that no one — no matter who you are in society — is above the law,” he added, a line met with applause from spectators.
The case had 75 witnesses and nearly 800 pieces of evidence that the jurors had to consider before reaching their verdict. Testimonies from betrayed friends and clients were included. Details of Murdaugh’s failed attempt to stage his own death in an effort to benefit from insurance, a fatal boat crash in which his son was implicated, the details of a housekeeper who had died in a fall at the Murdaugh home, as well as the grisly details of the killings and Bubba, the chicken-snatching dog.
The piece of evidence that was crucial was indeed the video on Paul’s phone. Murdaugh himself gave testimony on the witness stand where he confessed to stealing millions from people and lying about being at the kennels but he maintained his innocence in the killings of his wife and son.
“I did not kill Maggie, and I did not kill Paul. I would never hurt Maggie, and I would never hurt Paul — ever — under any circumstances,” Murdaugh said.
As for why he lied about being at the kennels the night of the murders, Murdaugh said it was because of his decades-long opioid abuse which made him wary and distrusting of the police. He maintained the lie for 20 months before evidence showed otherwise, he said once he had told the lie he found it difficult to get out of it.
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie — I told my family — I had to keep lying,” he testified.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters ‘grilled’ Murdaugh about the time at the kennels shortly before the murder of his son and wife. He painstakingly had the disgraced lawyer recount every detail he could remember.
The Murdaugh family is a prominent one in the area. Murdaugh’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all the area’s elected prosecutors and had maintained this position for more than 80 years. His family’s law firm grew to dozens of lawyers. They grew with cases suing railroads, corporations, and other big businesses.
The disbarred attorney said he stole millions to fund his opioid addiction. Before he was charged with murder, he was already in jail awaiting trial for almost 100 other charges which included everything ranging from insurance fraud to tax evasion.
Prosecutors told the jury that Murdaugh was afraid of being caught for all his other misdeeds which lead him to kill his wife and son in order to gain sympathy and perhaps more time to cover his tracks.
“We had no doubt that when we had a chance to present our case in the court of law that they would see through the one last con that Alex Murdaugh was trying to pull. And they did,” Waters said following the verdict.
Murdaugh’s lawyers are expected to appeal the decision based on the evidence of the financial crimes used in the trial which they contend was used to smear their client’s name and did not have anything to do with the trial in question.
This is honestly such a terrifying tale. The case has been concluded but there is definitely going to be an appeal by the defendant.
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