Alex Murdaugh was convicted Thursday of fatally shooting his wife and son after a panel of 12 jurors spent less than three hours deliberating. The jury found Murdaugh guilty of two counts each of murder and weapons possession without posing a single question to the judge while weighing the case.
Prosecutors argued that Murdaugh, 54, used a shotgun to kill his son, Paul, 22, inside a feed room attached to the dog kennels at the family’s estate, Moselle, and a rifle to execute his wife, Maggie, 52, June 7, 2021. The disgraced disbarred attorney admitted he’s a drug addict and thief who allegedly swindled his law firm and clients out of nearly $9 million – but denied killing his wife and son.
The most damning piece of evidence against Murdaugh is a cellphone video recovered from Paul’s phone in 2022 that places him at the murder scene with the victims four minutes before prosecutors say they were shot to death at 8:50 p.m. For months, Murdaugh repeatedly told investigators, friends and his own family that he did not go to the dog kennels the night of the slayings. He claimed, instead, that he was napping at the main house perched on a hill then left to visit his mother in nearby Almeda at 9:07 p.m.
When he returned, he didn’t find them at the main house, so he drove to the kennels, where he said he came upon their mutilated bodies about 30 feet apart, checked their pulses and then called 911.
Murdaugh faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced.
