A verdict is reached in the double homicide trial of Alex Murdaugh.
The disgraced attorney is charged with the murders of his wife and younger son. In the double murder trial of discredited South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who is accused of killing his wife and younger son at the family's property in 2021, the jury has rendered a decision.
After five weeks of testimony from more than 70 witnesses, including Alex Murdaugh himself, who denied the killings but admitted to misleading police and defrauding his customers, the jury debated for about three hours on Thursday.
Before deliberations, the jury went to the family's estate, Moselle, on Wednesday to view the crime scene. On the family's estate in June 2021, the bodies of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were discovered dead from numerous gunshot wounds close to the dog kennels, according to the authorities.
More than a year after the discovery, Alex Murdaugh, 54, who had called 911 to report it, was charged with their murders. If found guilty, he might spend the rest of his life in prison.
Alex Murdaugh, who comes from a line of well-known lawyers in the area, is accused of killing his wife and kid to gain sympathy and draw attention away from his financial wrongdoings.
The defense, meantime, has depicted him as a devoted husband and father and said that the police failed to consider the possibility that someone else could have murdered the victims. In his testimony, Alex Murdaugh attributed his lying to the authorities to his dependence on medications, which he claimed led to "paranoid thinking."
Alex Murdaugh was the only person, according to lead prosecutor Creighton Waters, who "had the desire, the means, and the opportunity to commit these crimes," and his "guilty behavior after these crimes betrays him," he said during his almost four-hour closing argument on Wednesday.
Waters stressed to the jury the value of credibility and presented Murdaugh as a skilled liar who was accustomed to reading juries' minds.
"This person has received training in building cases, particularly difficult instances. He was a prosecutor once "Waters stated. "He has already delivered closing arguments before juries. So, when you have a defendant like that, consider whether or not they are coming up with excuses and defenses."
Waters described a timeline that investigators pieced together using the three Murdaughs' cell phones on the day of the murders. This timeline included a video from Paul Murdaugh's phone that showed Alex Murdaugh at the kennels just before the shootings, in contrast to earlier claims that he was never there.
The "most crucial thing" Alex Murdaugh could have informed law police, according to Waters, was the last time he saw his wife and child alive.
Why in the world would a good father and spouse, who is also sensible, lie about that and lie about it so soon? stated Waters.
The defense contended that the state's standard of proof was not met and that the investigation "failed terribly" by concluding right away that Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and son and never investigating elsewhere.
During his final remarks to the jury on Thursday, defense counsel Jim Griffin detailed the numerous chances that were lost and cited the absence of evidence such as DNA, fingerprints, and footprints. Also, he saw footage of prosecution witnesses describing how much Alex Murdaugh loved his wife and children during their testimony.
This raises the question, "Why?" Griffin disputed the state's theory that Alex Murdaugh was about to suffer the consequences of years of lying and theft and that the murders were an attempt to draw attention away from this.
He claimed that he would not have killed the ones he loved most in the world even if the financial day of reckoning was imminent. There is no proof that he would act in that manner.
Griffin also addressed the fact that Alex Murdaugh acknowledged deceiving investigators on his whereabouts the night of the shootings.
"If he hadn't lied, I most likely wouldn't be sitting there right now. Nonetheless, he did lie and admitted to lying to you "Griffin revealed to the jury. "Since lying is what addicts do, he did it. He lied to avoid more investigation because he had many skeletons in his closet."
Alex Murdaugh resigned from his law company in the months after his wife and son were killed. The firm had been suing him for allegedly defrauding clients and the firm for years by depositing stolen funds into a fictitious bank account. Also, he claimed to have sought treatment for opioid addiction.
In addition to these charges, Alex Murdaugh is accused of fabricating his demise so that his son who survived him may benefit from his $10 million life insurance policy. He was also accused of stealing settlement money related to the passing of his maid Gloria Satterfield, who allegedly passed away in February 2018 at the Murdaugh family home following a falling incident.
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