Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced attorney from South Carolina, has just been found guilty of brutally murdering his wife and son. A jury announced their verdict on Thursday evening, after almost three hours of deliberating.
In June 2021, Margaret and Paul Murdaugh were found deceased near the dog kennels at the family estate. They had been shot multiple times, according to local authorities. The disgraced attorney reported their bodies to 911.
Murdaugh’s Trial
Prosecutors believe that Murdaugh killed his family to gain sympathy and to overshadow his financial wrongdoings. The disgraced lawyer comes from an American legal family in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. Three of his family members have consecutively served as district attorneys, in charge of prosecuting all criminal cases in the state’s 14th circuit district — from 1920 to 2006.
His lawyers painted him as a loving father and husband, saying that the police overlooked any other possible murder suspect. While giving his testimony, Murdaugh tried to claim the reason he lied to investigators was due to a painkiller addiction. One he claimed to cause “paranoid thinking.”
Prosecutor Creighton Waters stated that Murdaugh was the only individual “who had the motive, who had the means, who had the opportunity to commit these crimes” during his four-hour closing argument. Adding that the former attorney’s “guilty conduct after these crimes betrays him.”
Waters pointed out to the jury that the defendant was trained to anticipate how they would see things. Painted him as a person who was good at lying. “He’s been a prosecutor,” said Waters.
…trained to understand how to put together cases, complex cases. He’s given closing arguments to juries before.
He instructed the jury to remember the defendant’s employment history when they contemplated “whether or not this individual is constructing defenses and alibis.”
Defense’s Claims
In the defense’s closing arguments, Jim Griffin pointed out evidence that forensic investigators didn’t collect. Things like DNA, foot impressions, and fingerprints. Murdaugh’s attorney also replayed witness testimonies claiming the defendant loved his son and wife.
Griffin asked the jury why his client would do such a thing. Saying that ” he would not have killed the people he loved the most in the world.” Adding that there had been no evidence to suggest otherwise.
The day before concluding their deliberation the jury visited the family’s estate. Murdaugh now faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted. Additionally, he faces roughly 100 other charges ranging from staging his own death so his surviving son could collect his $10 million life insurance policy to money laundering. Murdaugh is also facing charges for allegedly misappropriating settlement funds in the death of his housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield. In February 2018, Satterfield reportedly died after a falling accident.
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
ABC News: Alex Murdaugh found guilty in murder of wife, son
Wikipedia: Murdaugh family
Top and Featured Image Don Sniegowski‘s Flickr – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of ep_jhu‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
