Alex Murdaugh, a discredited former South Carolina attorney, was convicted guilty of murdering his wife and son after a jury deliberated for less than three hours on Thursday.
Murdaugh, the 54-year-old scion of a powerful local family of lawyers and solicitors, was found guilty of murdering Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021 and of two counts of possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent felony.
Instead of the death penalty, prosecutors have said they will seek a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release. The sentencing hearing before Judge Clifton Newman has been scheduled for 9:30 AM on Friday.
Murdaugh sat impassively through the reading of the verdicts. Buster Murdaugh, the last surviving son, was observed wiping tears from his eyes. As Buster was being handcuffed, it looked like Murdaugh was saying “I love you” to him.
No one on the jury looked at Murdaugh once. Legal experts were shocked by how quickly the jury made its conclusion.
The verdict followed a six-week trial that was filled with graphic violence, phone forensics, a mystery blue tarp, massive financial misconduct, and the defendant’s own lies.
Murdaugh’s lawyers made their closing statements on 2 Feb, arguing that he was wrongly identified as the prime suspect in the killings near the family’s dog kennels.
To prove that Murdaugh was the only person who could have killed his wife and son on the night of June 7, 2021, on their farm known as Moselle in Islandton, South Carolina, the prosecution called 61 witnesses and held three weeks of testimony.
Prosecutors relied heavily on crucial video evidence to link Murdaugh to the crime scene that night, despite his denials and the lack of other direct evidence like bloody clothing or eyewitnesses.
You canalso check out more details we have covered on our site about Alex Mudaugh’s wife and son murder case:
- What Was Alex Murdaugh Motive for Killing His Own Family?
- Alex Murdaugh Testifies Exactly Four Years After his Son Paul Murdaugh Terrible Boating Incident
- Alex Murdaughs Lawyer Partner Ronnie Crosby Exposes Emotional Behavior in Court
What were the Closing Statements in the Case?
Over the course of his closing statements, defense counsel Jim Griffin attempted to undermine the prosecution and introduce plausible doubt.
He claimed the agency had ignored other potential lines of inquiry, such as the hair found in Murdaugh’s wife’s palm, fingerprints, tyre and shoe impressions, and DNA testing of the victim’s clothing.
They had already determined that Alex would be the one to do the job “until we find somebody else,” he explained.
The prosecution contended that Murdaugh was killed in order to obstruct justice for his financial misconduct. Griffin dismissed this hypothesis as absurd, pointing out that Murdaugh attempted suicide in September 2021 as a “normal” reaction to his exposure.
Griffin admitted Murdaugh had fabricated his story about not being in the dog kennels on the night of the murders, where his wife and son were found dead. He said that he was lying about the murders to cover up his drug usage and money woes.
For the simple reason that addicts are predisposed to act in such a way. Griffin said, “Addicts always lie. To avoid further inquiry, “He lied since his closet was filled with skeletons.”
The prosecution claims Murdaugh did it to divert attention away from his mounting financial woes and to stall any subsequent investigations into the matter.
Prosecutors claimed the two weapons used were those of a single household. And the chance was Murdaugh’s presence at the crime site, minutes before the killings, as seen on a crucial video and verified by his own testimony.
“Our criminal justice system worked tonight,” Wilson said. “It gave a voice to Maggie and Paul Murdaugh who were brutally mowed down and murdered on the night of June 7, 2021 by someone that they loved and someone that they trusted, and they couldn’t be here to testify for themselves tonight.”
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