Former prosecutor Alex Murdaugh has been found guilty of murdering his wife, Maggie, and his son, Paul. The guilty verdict came down last night, and now the court has sentenced Murdaugh to two consecutive life sentences for his crimes. Murdaugh still maintained his innocence, claiming that he has no idea who killed his wife and son with a shotgun.
Judge Clifton Newman told the court that Murdaugh’s trial was “one of the most troubling cases” he had ever seen. He noted that Murdaugh and his family had spent decades as prominent prosecutors in the South Carolina justice system, so seeing Murdaugh himself on trial was bizarre.
What Happened?
Murdaugh’s wife and son were found dead at the dog kennels near their family home on June 7, 2021. Murdaugh contacted the police and said he returned home from his mother’s house to find them already dead. The police quickly scanned the area and began poking a few holes in Murdaugh’s alibi.
For one thing, Murdaugh didn’t stay at his mother’s house for the two hours he claimed; witnesses at that residence said he might have stayed for around fifteen minutes. Another issue that law enforcement noticed immediately was that Murdaugh continued to ask them numerous times if they were certain that Maggie and Paul were no longer alive.
Case Troubles Legal Community
The prosecution ripped apart Murdaugh’s story and convinced the jury he was guilty of the double homicide. Judge Newman earnestly expressed his disappointment in the case just before the sentencing.
“It is also particularly troubling, Mr. Murdaugh, because as a member of the legal community … we have seen each other at various occasions throughout the years,” Newman noted. “And it was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go, in the media, as a grieving father who lost a wife and son to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them.”
Life in Prison
Murdaugh has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences. The judge also remarked that Murdaugh only narrowly avoided the death penalty.
“I don’t question at all the decision of the state not to pursue the death penalty,” the judge stated.
“But as I sit here in this courtroom and look around at the many portraits of judges and other court officials and reflect on the fact that over the past century, your family — including you — have been prosecuting people here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct,” Newman observed.
