Alex Murdaugh has been found guilty of the shooting of his wife and son that took place on June 7, 2021. Murdaugh received two life sentences to ensure he would never get out of prison. According to The New Yorker, Murdaugh is from a long line of successful lawyers, his career included many scandalous cases. These crimes include those of embezzlement, drug trafficking, money laundering, a faked murder attempt, a failed assisted suicide and the deaths of three other individuals.
The trial took longer than expected due to many external causes. Throughout the course of the trial, morbid scenes happened, for example, someone had called in a bomb threat and a defense lawyer pointed a rifle at the prosecution while showcasing theories of how the shootings had occurred. Additionally, sickness was a large problem; two jurors were diagnosed with COVID-19 and two more left the jury because of other medical problems. Finally, a fifth juror was removed on the last day for discussing the case outside court; as she left the courtroom, she told the judge that she had left a dozen eggs in the jury room and provided a rare moment of comedic relief.
Despite the double murder trial having come to a conclusion, Murdaugh is still facing 99 other criminal charges from state and local grand jury indictments, as well as a dozen civil lawsuits. In the courtroom, Murdaugh’s multitude of other crimes were discussed, including stealing vast amounts of money from colleagues, family and the victims he had previously represented.
Murdaugh is currently being held at the Kirkland Correctional Institution. Before being moved to a more permanent housing situation, Murdaugh is required to undertake testing to examine his physical and mental needs.
In an interview with Greenville news, Chrysti Shain, S.C. Department of Corrections Communications Director said that many factors come into play when figuring out Murdaugh’s final destination. Professionals have decided that he is in a secure place while they determine where he will best fit.
There is a very slim chance that Murdaugh will stay where he currently resides. Kirkland houses the most violent and dangerous criminals and those who are currently on death row.
All though there has been very little information shared from investigators nor had they named any other people of interest, the grand jury still found Murdaugh guilty.
NBC News’ timeline in the case states that on Feb. 1, prosecutors played an unseen video in front of the jury which had three voices in it. Witnesses testify that the three voices are Murdaugh’s, his son’s and his wife’s. This places Murdaugh at the scene of the crime and therefore makes his previous statement, that he had not seen his wife nor son, untrue. During the fifth week of the trial, Murdaugh testifies that he did not shoot his wife or son — then he proceeded to break down multiple times as his attorney asked him to describe the murder scene.
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters spoke at a news conference following the conviction and let the world know that social standing does not matter because the truth comes out no matter what.
As of March 9, 2023, Murdaugh has filed a notice to appeal his double murder charges, however, the notice does not include arguments offered by his legal team. The Murdaugh trial is what many believe to be the start of society finally finding powerful people guilty of their crimes.
