Disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh was discovered responsible of killing his spouse and son after a multi-week double homicide trial culminated in just some hours of jury deliberations.
Prosecutors argued that Murdaugh, 54, killed his spouse Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22, on their rural Colleton County property again in June 2021 to distract from his monetary woes after he stole tens of millions from authorized shoppers.
He pleaded not responsible in 2022, and his protection countered that the investigation was poorly carried out and proof was misrepresented amid eagerness to convict him for the murders.
Discovered responsible of the 2 murders and two counts of possession of a weapon through the fee of a violent crime, Murdaugh now faces 30 years to life in jail for every of the homicide prices. He’s set to be sentenced Friday morning.
Right here’s what to know in regards to the trial forward of sentencing:
What occurred on the kennels
Murdaugh instructed authorities he returned to his Colleton County dwelling in June 2021 after a go to together with his ailing mom to search out his spouse and son useless outdoors canine kennels on the property.
Investigators mentioned Maggie Murdaugh was shot 4 or 5 instances with a rifle, and Paul Murdaugh was shot twice with a shotgun.
Murdaugh has persistently denied that he dedicated the murders, however admitted through the trial to mendacity initially to investigators about when he final noticed his household alive, conceding that he was together with his spouse and son on the kennels shortly earlier than he left to go to his mom.
He reportedly blamed the lie, which he saved up for almost two years, on opioid dependancy.
Jurors made a uncommon go to on Wednesday to the Murdaugh property the place the 2 murders passed off to get a three-dimensional image of the crime scene.
Murdaugh’s shifting tales are key
Murdaugh’s shifting narrative of the fateful June 2021 night time was central to the prosecution’s argument.
Within the wake of the killings, Murdaugh instructed investigators that he had not been close to the kennels previous to discovering the our bodies of his spouse and son that night time.
Nonetheless, a video recovered from Paul Murdaugh’s telephone appeared to position Alex Murdaugh on the kennels together with his spouse and son shortly earlier than 9 p.m. A number of minutes later, each victims’ telephones stopped getting used.
Whereas he admitted to mendacity to investigators about his whereabouts shortly after taking the stand final week, he has maintained that he didn’t kill his members of the family.
Prosecutors pointed to Murdaugh’s inconsistency in tales of their closing argument, claiming that they “corroborated that he’s a liar.”
“He corroborated the truth that he doesn’t inform the reality,” prosecutor John Meadors mentioned, per CNN. “You don’t lie and misremember being on the scene of a homicide if you mentioned you weren’t even there, or being on the scene the place your loved ones was brutally murdered. You don’t lie about that.”
“That’s not a mistake,” Meadors added.
Murdaugh testifies in his personal protection
Alex Murdaugh took the witness stand throughout trial to testify in his personal protection, a transfer authorized consultants noted as risky.
He admitted in court docket to mendacity to police and confessed to stealing funds from his authorized shoppers — however continued to say he had nothing to do with the deaths of his spouse and son.
On prime of the homicide and weapons prices within the present case, Alex Murdaugh faces some 100 prices of economic and different crimes, most of which have been introduced beforehand, together with tax evasion and cash laundering.
Lack of bodily proof
Bodily proof introduced forth within the Alex Murdaugh case and trial was missing. Notably, the shotgun and rifle allegedly used within the killings weren’t discovered.
Protection attorneys drew consideration to what they mentioned was a shoddy investigation, arguing that investigators didn’t correctly gather blood and fingerprint proof.
Prosecutors, alternatively, pieced collectively their case with witness testimony, phone calls and different proof.
Jurors changed; trial briefly interrupted
The choose overseeing the case, Clifton Newman, excused a juror from the 12-person panel simply earlier than closing arguments on Thursday over allegations that she’d talked in regards to the trial with individuals outdoors of the courtroom.
Requested if she’d left something behind within the jury room, the juror responded that she’d must retrieve a handbag, a bottle of water and a dozen eggs.
5 jurors had to get replaced all through the six-week trial.
NBC Information additionally reported that the trial was placed on pause briefly and the courtroom was evacuated after a bomb threat was referred to as into the Colleton County Courthouse early final month.
The jury started deliberations on Thursday and reached a responsible verdict on all counts simply hours later, by 8 p.m. that night.
Julia Shapero contributed reporting.
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