A distinguished lawyer has been found guilty of murdering his wife and son in a trial that has gripped America for weeks.
Alex Murdaugh, 54, the scion of an elite authorized household in South Carolina, confirmed no emotion as a jury found him guilty of two costs of homicide.
The 12-person jury in Walterboro, South Carolina deliberated for lower than three hours after a trial that had lasted six weeks and was broadcast reside throughout the US.
Murdaugh murdered his son Paul, 22, with a shotgun and his wife Maggie, 52, with an assault rifle Paul used for searching wild pigs on the household’s sprawling property.
The 2 victims have been executed at shut vary close to the canine kennels on the property on June 7, 2021.
After the decision was delivered, Murdaugh’s legal professionals tried to make a movement for a mistrial, which was denied by the choose.
Choose Clifton Newman mentioned: “The proof of guilt is overwhelming.”
Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in jail when he’s sentenced on Friday.
He had pleaded not guilty, telling the jury: “I didn’t kill Maggie, and I didn’t kill Paul. I’d by no means harm Maggie, and I’d by no means harm Paul, ever, beneath any circumstances.”
However, giving proof through the trial, he admitted having lied about his alibi, and to an array of monetary crimes.
All through the case prosecutors portrayed him as a serial liar.
They mentioned he gunned down his wife and son to distract from the financial crimes, which included the theft of thousands and thousands of {dollars} from his regulation companions and shoppers.
He had used that cash to fund an dependancy to opioids and to help an costly life-style, the courtroom heard.
Murdaugh lied about his whereabouts
Murdaugh admitted on the witness stand that he had lied about his whereabouts on the night time of the killings.
He initially instructed police he was not on the canine kennels earlier than his wife and son have been killed.
Nevertheless, he modified his account after a video was found on Paul Murdaugh’s cell phone, which had taken investigators over a yr to unlock.
It captured the voices of all three Murdaughs minutes earlier than the crime.
Murdaugh instructed the jury he had, actually, joined Maggie and Paul on the kennels, the place he took a hen away from a Labrador named Bubba.
He might be heard on the cellphone video saying the canine’s title.
He claimed that he had then headed again to the home shortly earlier than the deadly shootings.
Declare to police that opioids had made him paranoid
Murdaugh claimed he had lied to the police firstly as a result of opioids had made him paranoid.
Amid the 75 witnesses and greater than 800 paperwork jurors additionally heard how Murdaugh had failed in an try and stage his personal demise in an insurance coverage fraud scheme.
In addition they heard a few housekeeper who died in a fall within the Murdaugh residence, and a deadly boat crash wherein his son was implicated.
The weapons used to kill his wife and son have been by no means found, and there was no direct proof, like blood spatter or DNA, linking Murdaugh to the killings.
However, along with the cellphone video, the jury additionally heard that spent cartridges found close to Maggie Murdaugh’s physique matched these used at a taking pictures vary elsewhere on the household property.
Murdaugh ‘killed to cowl his tracks’
Prosecutors instructed the courtroom Murdaugh was afraid all of his monetary misdeeds have been about to be found, so he killed his wife and son to realize sympathy to purchase time to cowl his tracks.
Earlier than he was charged with homicide he was in jail awaiting trial on about 100 different costs starting from insurance coverage fraud to tax evasion.
Murdaugh’s lawyers have been anticipated to enchantment the homicide convictions primarily based on the choose having allowed proof of the monetary crimes for use within the trial.
They argued these have been unrelated to the killings and have been utilized by prosecutors to smear Murdaugh’s status.
