Tipsheet

Verdict Reached in Alex Murdaugh Murder Trial

After less than three hours of deliberating, jurors found disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh guilty on all counts in the murders of his wife and son.

The guilty verdict was found in Walterboro, South Carolina, 20 months after the June 2021 fatal shootings of Murdaugh's wife, Maggie, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22, near the dog kennels on the family's rural estate.

Alex Murdaugh shot his wife with a rifle and his son with a shotgun. 

Murdaugh came under scrutiny after he seemed to have stolen funds from his law firm and admitted to staging his own suicide attempt, trying to make it appear to be a homicide so that his surviving son could inherit a life insurance policy.

On July 14, 2022, the drug-obsessed lawyer was charged with nearly 100 financial crimes for stealing millions of dollars from clients and friends before being arrested for killing his wife and son. 

The trial only lasted 28 days, with prosecutors bringing forth 61 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence, including cellphone data, videos, and instances of financial misconduct that were set to go public, which would have damaged Murdaugh's career just days after the murders occurred.

Murdaugh testified earlier this week on the stand, where he wept and denied he killed Maggie and Paul. He did, however, admit to lying to investigators about where he had been for two years and that his oxycodone addiction made him con millions of dollars from clients.

Ultimately, the jurors were not swayed by Murdaugh's performance, ruling in favor of the prosecution's case.