South Carolina lawyer, Alex Murdaugh, has been found guilty of murdering his wife and son after a six-week trial.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before deciding that Alex Murdaugh, 54, should be sentenced for two counts of murder of his wife, Maggie, 52, and his youngest son, Paul, 22, AP reported.
Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in jail for each murder without parole. He was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot near the dog kennels on their family estate in June 2021. Murdaugh had pleaded not guilty for the killings of both family members.
He told law enforcement that he was at home napping when his family members were killed, and that he had not been at the kennels that evening.
Twenty months after their murders, a Snapchat video on Paul’s phone was retrieved, which helped prove that Alex Murdaugh had been lying about his location on the day of their deaths.
The 50-second video of their dog was taken by Paul minutes before the shootings and captured the voices of his father, his mother and himself altogether at the kennels.
On the trial stand, Murdaugh said his years-long addiction to painkillers had put him in a paranoid state, admitting that he had lied.
“The evidence of guilt is overwhelming,” Judge Clifton Newman said whilst denying a defence motion to declare a mistrial.
The lawyer was an influential personal injury attorney in the state, and the family name came to represent a legal dynasty as three generations controlled the local prosecutor’s office.
The trial also heard that Murdaugh had been stealing millions of dollars from his law firm, legal clients and friends for years. This was said to feed an addiction to painkillers, as well as a luxurious lifestyle.
Attorney General Alan Wilson, South Carolina’s top prosecutor, said: “The verdict proves that no one, no matter who you are in society, is above the law.”
The case has gained international attention after being covered by documentary series on Netflix and HBO.