After a legal marathon that captivated America, the jury reached a unanimous verdict in just three hours. On Thursday, American attorney Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of the murder of his wife and son, who were shot dead on June 7, 2021. On Friday he will receive his sentence: it will range from 30 years in prison to life imprisonment, after prosecutors refused to call for the death penalty.
When the verdict was announced, the imposing lawyer, who had cried hot tears at the bar and assured that he “could never do anything to harm” his wife and son, remained unmoved, nodding and blinking. The guards then handcuffed him before escorting him to his cell in the sheriff’s office.
“The evidence of guilt is overwhelming,” Judge Clifton Newman said after the verdict was read in a court in Walterboro, South Carolina. Prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh was a broke and broke man. Who killed his wife and son to gain sympathy when the family’s reputation was tarnished by the death of a young girl, killed in a boating accident steered by her youngest son while intoxicated. Most importantly, the partners in his firm began demanding explanations for the millions of dollars Alex Murdaugh had embezzled.
The Fall of a Local Dynasty
For more than 100 years, the Murdaugh family has represented law and order in the Lowcountry, serving three consecutive generations as the region’s senior attorneys. Alex Murdaugh, 54, didn’t quite follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and simply became a personal injury attorney.
When his wife and son were shot dead near the kennel of their “Mosel” home, Alex Murdaugh appeared to have an alibi: he said he was taking a nap and then drove to his parents’ house. A year later he was arrested and charged: a video recorded by his son’s smartphone proves that he was present at the scene a few minutes before the tragedy. At the top, this opiate addict tried to justify his lie by blaming it on his “paranoia.” Given the speed of the verdict, which came in a few hours, the 12 jurors clearly did not believe him.
A saga that fascinates America
The prosecutors themselves had to do without direct material evidence, especially in the case of the two missing murder weapons. But alongside a lie and a schedule that was problematic for the defendant, they insisted on a series of “circumstantial” evidence: the blue shirt he was wearing at the start of the evening disappeared, as did a family gun. Alex Murdoch also pressured a caregiver and housekeeper to corroborate his version of a “fabricated alibis,” prosecutors pointed out.
This double homicide is only the visible part of an intricate saga of money, power and influence that has been the subject of numerous podcasts and a Netflix series released last week. The soap opera may not have finished divulging its secrets: the investigation into the mysterious death of an eldest son’s classmate has resumed in 2021, and we await news of the exhumation of the body of the family’s late housekeeper after falling down stairs in 2018.
The most important facts of the case
July 8, 2015. Stephen Smith, 19, is found dead on a country road, killed with a blow to the head. He was a classmate of Buster, Alex Murdaugh’s eldest son. Relatives conjure up rumors of a possible secret homosexual affair in the Netflix documentary that have not yet been confirmed.
February 26, 2018. The Murdaughs’ housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, died two weeks after falling down the steps of their Moselle estate. His death was never reported to a coroner, and no autopsy was performed. Younger brother Paul Murdaugh’s ex-girlfriend claims the clerk found a bag of Alex Murdaugh’s pills just before his fall.
February 24, 2019. Mallory Beach, 19, dies in drunken boat crash Paul Murdaugh.
June 7, 2021. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh are shot.
June 22, 2021. Authorities are reopening their investigation into the death of Stephen Smith based on new information obtained during the investigation into the double murder of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.
September 4, 2021. Alex Murdaugh calls the police after being shot in the head. He has since admitted asking an acquaintance to kill him so his eldest son Buster could get a $10 million life insurance policy. But his accomplice apparently overlooked that.