Why did Alex Murdaugh kill his family? Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial, which lasted for six weeks, has been discussed in podcasts and on Netflix and HBO documentaries around the world.
Murdaugh was executed today after being found guilty of the June 2021 murders of his wife and kid. For each of the two murder counts against him, the BBC reports, he now faces a mandatory minimum of 30 years in prison without parole.
US ex-lawyer Alex Murdaugh admits lying but denies killing family https://t.co/s1gzzG9Tpt
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 24, 2023
If you’ve been online or paying attention to international news in the last few months, you’ve probably heard about the Murdaugh case, if only in passing. We have summed up this astonishing and unusual situation for your convenience. Read on to learn more.
Who is Alex Murdaugh?
Former personal injury attorney and member of a prominent family of South Carolina lawyers, Richard Alex Murdaugh has fallen on hard times since his days of practicing law. For three generations before 2006, members of his family held the office of district attorney in their area.
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, Alex’s wife and son, were brutally killed on the family’s Colleton Property in June 2021. Paul, age 22, was shot twice with a shotgun, while Maggie, age 52, was shot four or five times with a rifle, according to police.
The two murders were soon attributed to Alex. The 54-year-old lawyer, who resigned in September 2021, was also accused of stealing millions of dollars from his law practice.
The murder trial of Alex Murdaugh began on January 2, 2023, and he was found guilty of killing his wife and son on March 2, 2023, after only six weeks of testimony.
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Why Did Alex Murdaugh Kill His Family?
Creighton Waters, one of the prosecutors, told the jury on March 2 that disgraced lawyer Murdaugh had been stealing millions of dollars from law partners and clients for years to support his drug habit and opulent lifestyle.
Alex Murdaugh decided to ‘buy time’ by slaying his family, specifically his wife Maggie and son Paul. The jury heard from Waters that Murdaugh tried to get people to feel sorry for him to deflect attention from the stolen cash.
Take a look at this tweet:
Alex Murdaugh testifies in his own murder trial: ‘I didn’t shoot my wife or son.’ https://t.co/uHAH1F4vfd
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 23, 2023
He continued, saying the disbarred attorney had devised a cunning strategy based on his years of experience handling criminal cases.
Alex Murdaugh had before testified that he would never harm his family. Instead, he tried to change the conversation to a boating tragedy involving Paul in 2019, implying that Paul’s youngest son’s death was a case of revenge.
No physical evidence such as a murder weapon, eyewitnesses, or blood on Alex’s clothes connected him to the murders. The only piece of circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution was a SnapChat video made on Paul’s iPhone mere minutes before his death.
Alex’s attorney said that despite his being on the video and his voice being audible in the background, Alex was not even in the vicinity when the murder took place since he was at home sleeping.
Alex Murdaugh confessed to lying and drug dependency, explaining that his paranoia stemmed from his opiate addiction.
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