Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murders of wife and son
A jury in South Carolina reached a verdict of guilty on all counts after just three hours of deliberations in the case of disgraced former attorney Alex Murdaugh, who was accused of killing his wife and son in 2021.
Murdaugh was charged with four counts: the murder of Maggie Murdaugh, the murder of Paul Murdaugh, and two counts of possession of a weapon during a crime. Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole for each murder charge.
Sentencing is expected to take place on Friday. Murdaugh still faces another trial in the future over numerous financial crimes.
Jurors started deliberations Thursday afternoon following weeks of testimony from dozens of witnesses in a sprawling case that culminated in a visit to the crime scene, the family's rural hunting estate Moselle, ahead of closing arguments.
Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense and denied that he killed his wife and son. But he admitted under questioning that he had lied to investigators when he denied being at the estate that night — blaming his lies on his addiction to opioids.
"I'm not quite sure how I let myself get where I got. I battled that addiction for so many years. I was spending so much money on pills," Murdaugh said.
Prosecutors argued that Murdaugh killed his wife and son in a desperate effort to distract attention from his financial crimes and gain sympathy from the community.
The defense in turn argued that the authorities conducted a shoddy investigation — failing to collect evidence like fingerprints or possible DNA on Maggie or Paul Murdaugh's clothing that could have pointed to someone else — because they were so determined to get him convicted.
Over the course of the trial, the number of alternate jurors dwindled to one, following dismissals for medical reasons and, in one case, speaking about the case. That juror was removed during closing arguments.
Murdaugh also faces nearly 100 charges against him for various financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and forgery, and is accused of stealing more than $8 million and trying to get a man to kill him in a $10 million life insurance scheme. While he admitted to some of these crimes on the stand during this trial, legal proceedings in those cases are still ahead.
This is a developing story and will be updated. The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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