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Former South Carolina attorney Richard “Alex” Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences Friday after being convicted of murder in the deaths of his wife and son.
Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were killed near dog kennels at the family’s home in June 2021. After listening to more than five weeks of testimony from over 75 witnesses — including Murdaugh himself — and visiting the crime scene, the jury took less than three hours Thursday to find Murdaugh, 54, guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commitment of a violent crime.
Prosecutor after verdict: ‘Justice was done’
Waters said in his closing argument Wednesday the state’s circumstantial evidence showed Murdaugh had the means, motive and opportunity to commit the crime and his lies after the killings confirmed his guilt. Waters said Murdaugh, a member of a prominent legal dynasty that ran a prosecutors office in Hampton County for more than 80 years, killed his family to prevent his alleged financial crimes from being exposed and ruining his family’s legacy and his successful law practice.
“Justice was done today,” Waters said a news conference after the verdict. “It doesn’t matter who your family is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have … If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina.”
Murdaugh repeatedly denied killing his family when he took the stand in his own defense last week, but admitted to lying to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the murders. Murdaugh initially told police he was not at the family’s dog kennels before finding the bodies there, but his voice was captured on a video taken on his son’s cellphone minutes before prosecutors believe the killings happened.
Murdaugh also admitted stealing millions from his clients and law firm as well as attempting to orchestrate his own death in what investigators called a botched life insurance fraud scheme.
Murdaugh’s attorneys criticize prosecution’s evidence
Murdaugh has been charged with more than 100 other counts related to alleged crimes including money laundering, tax evasion, and drug trafficking which could carry a penalty of more than seven centuries of prison time.
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Contributing: Michael DeWitt, Jr., Greenville News
Contact Breaking News Reporter N’dea Yancey-Bragg at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg
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