Former attorney Alex Murdaugh has been found guilty of murdering his wife and son in South Carolina in 2021.
The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning four guilty verdicts, including two counts of weapon possession during a crime. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison.
He had been a partner at a law firm founded by his great-grandfather, and he had been involved in his family’s legal business for generations. Most of his legal work was as a personal injury lawyer until he was forced out of the firm and disbarred in July 2021.
The prosecution argued that Murdaugh killed his wife and son to obtain sympathy and end investigations into his alleged financial crimes.
The state’s main evidence included a video taken by his son minutes before he died on which multiple witnesses testified to hearing Murdaugh’s voice, despite his claim that he was not at the scene.
The defense claimed that Murdaugh is a victim, and that law enforcement focused only on him as a possible suspect. The defence also challenged the timeline proposed by the prosecution and offered a counter-theory that two shooters fired the two guns.
Murdaugh has also been accused of other financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering, tax evasion, and forgery, but these accusations are not part of the murder trial. He admitted to many of these crimes on the stand in this trial. Murdaugh faces nearly 100 charges against him for various financial crimes.
The trial lasted 28 days, during which Murdaugh took the stand and denied hurting his wife and son but admitted to lying during the investigation and to financial impropriety. The jury, composed of five women and seven men, is under no obligation to rewatch police interviews, but they have access to all the evidence for review.
The court has not yet decided whether the jury will be sequestered during deliberations. Sentencing is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 3.
»Alex Murdaugh is found guilty of murdering his wife and son«
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