Lawyer Alex Murtaugh found guilty of murdering his wife and son, term of 30 years to life
2023.03.03 03:45
Lawyer Alex Murtaugh found guilty of murdering his wife and son, term of 30 years to life
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – In a case that has captivated the nation’s attention for nearly two years, a South Carolina jury on Thursday found Richard “Alex” Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son. The case involved the once-important attorney killing his wife and son.
On June 7, 2021, Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty by a jury of 12 people of two counts of murdering his 52-year-old wife Maggie and 22-year-old youngest son Paul at close range near the dog kennels on their family estate. He was also found guilty of two related charges involving firearms.
As the jury foreperson read the verdict, which was reached after three hours of deliberation, Murdaugh displayed no emotion. After that, he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
The judge quickly denied his lawyer’s request for a mistrial, which he made right away.
Judge Clifton Newman of the South Carolina Circuit Court stated, “The evidence of guilt is overwhelming.”
Murdaugh, the son of a prominent legal family in a region west of Charleston, had pleaded not guilty, but in confessions that undermined his credibility with the jury, he admitted to lying about his alibi and committing a variety of financial crimes.
For each of the two counts of murder, Murdaugh faces a sentence of 30 years to life in prison on Friday if he is found guilty.
Due to the family’s enormous political influence in and around Colleton County, where the trial took place, the case has received a lot of attention from the media. Murdaugh was a prominent personal injury attorney in the Deep South state, and family members were the region’s leading prosecutor up until 2006.
Prosecutors portrayed Murdaugh as a serial liar throughout the trial and argued that only he had the opportunity and means to commit the murders. According to the prosecution, he killed his wife and son to distract himself from his financial crimes, which included the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients. This money was used to support an expensive lifestyle and feed an opioid addiction that lasted for years.
Murdaugh’s admission from the stand last week that he lied about where he was on the night of the murders, telling investigators he wasn’t at the dog kennels before the murders, is one of the state’s strongest pieces of evidence. After the jury heard audio evidence that placed Murdaugh at the crime scene just minutes before the murders, he changed his story.
Creighton Waters (NYSE:), who once said, “It doesn’t matter who your family is or how much money you have,” the lead prosecutor declared following the verdict. In South Carolina, wrongdoing, breaking the law, and murder will all be dealt with.
“ONLY ONE CONCLUSION” Murdaugh’s attorneys, on the other hand, attempted to portray their client as a devoted husband and father who would never harm his family, despite facing financial difficulties and an opioid addiction that caused him to steal and lie.
They talked about different theories, and Murdaugh said in his testimony that he thought someone who was angry about Paul’s fatal boating accident in 2019 probably wanted to get even with his son.
During his closing argument on Thursday, one of the defense attorneys, Jim Griffin, argued that the murders would have only drawn more attention to Murdaugh’s financial misdeeds and that the state’s alleged motive was absurd.
Griffin also said that investigators made up evidence. He also said that the legal requirement to prove someone’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is very high in criminal cases. This showed how hard it was for prosecutors to prove their case because they mostly used circumstantial evidence rather than direct evidence.
However, the jury ultimately rejected Murdaugh’s account. The prosecution emphasized Murdaugh’s credibility by repeatedly referring to his admission that he lied about his location when his wife and child were killed.
Jurors were advised to make the right choice by Judge Newman.
He stated, “Circular evidence, direct evidence — all of the evidence pointed to only one conclusion, and that’s the conclusion that you all reached.”
