The 12-person jury declares Murdaugh, 54, guilty on two counts of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22.
jury on Thursday, March 2, found Richard “Alex” Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and son, convicting the once-influential attorney of murder in a case that has gripped the nation’s attention for nearly two years.
Murdaugh, the scion of an influential legal family in an area west of Charleston, had pleaded not guilty, though he admitted to lying about his alibi and to committing to an array of financial crimes in confessions that dented his credibility with the jury. Throughout the trial, prosecutors portrayed Murdaugh as a serial liar and argued that only he had the means and the opportunity to commit the murders. Prosecutors said hedown his wife and son to distract from his financial crimes, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients – money used to feed a years-long addiction to opioids and support an expensive lifestyle.
They floated alternative theories, with Murdaugh testifying that he believed someone angry over a deadly 2019 boating accident involving Paul likely sought revenge on his son.