Alex Murdaugh, a SHAMED legal heir, has been sentenced to life in prison.
The disbarred South Carolina attorney was convicted of the murders of his wife Maggie and his youngest son Paul in June 2021.
Murdaugh, 54, was sentenced to life in prison by South Carolina Circuit Judge Clifton Newman on Friday.
Murdaugh was chastised by Newman for “engaging in duplicitous conduct” in the courtroom and while testifying on the witness stand.
The judge also said that drugs may have turned Murdaugh into a “monster.”
He said: “It might not have been you, it might be the monster you become when you take… opioids.”
Prosecutor Creighton Waters described Murdaugh as a “cunning manipulator” and said he showed a “lack of remorse.”
He said: “No one knew who he really was, and that’s chilling.
“This family has suffered and they have had to suffer in the public eye.
“The reality remains that despite all this attention, this case is about Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh.”
Before being sentenced, Murdaugh stated that he was innocent.
He said: “I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie and hurt my son Paul Paul.”
The disgraced lawyer was found guilty on two counts of murder and two counts of possessing a firearm.
The case’s jurors reached their decision after less than three hours of deliberation.
A juror, Craig Moyer, told ABC News that a cell phone video helped convict the disgraced lawyer.
He admitted that he was certain he heard Alex’s voice in the footage shot at the family’s kennels.
Moyer said: “I was certain it was [Murdaugh’s] voice.”
The footage was taken by Paul, 22, before he was killed.
Moyer claimed that the jury deliberated for 45 minutes to an hour.
Waters stated that “justice was served” after the verdict was read aloud yesterday.
He stated: “It makes no difference how much money you have or think you have… If you do wrong, break the law, or murder, justice will be served in South Carolina.”
Murdaugh openly admitted during the weeks-long trial that he lied to authorities about his whereabouts on the night of the murders on June 7, 2021.
Maggie, 52, was killed with a rifle four or five times.
Meanwhile, at the kennels, Paul was shot twice with a shotgun.
Waters claimed Murdaugh committed the heinous crimes to divert attention away from his financial and criminal wrongdoings.
He claimed that his legal empire began to crumble after Paul was involved in a fatal boat crash in 2019 that killed Mallory Beach, 19 years old.
Waters told the jury: “That legacy was in danger, and it was threatening to expose who he truly was, which would destroy that part of the legacy.”
He also claimed that Murdaugh’s family was “watching him [Murdaugh] like a hawk” because of the attorney’s opioid addiction, which Murdaugh openly admitted to in court.
Waters told the jury about Murdaugh using a shotgun to blow off Paul’s head before picking up a rifle to execute his wife Maggie.
Defense attorney Jim Griffin slammed the state’s motive as he claimed: “Their theory is he slaughtered his wife and son to distract from an impending financial investigation—but he puts himself in the middle of a murder investigation, and he puts himself in the spotlight of a media firestorm. That’s their motive.”
During the testimony, Murdaugh denied allegations that he hurt his family.
He said: “I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them, ever.”
Murdaugh added: “On June 7, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I don’t think I was capable of reason. And I lied about being down there. And I’m so sorry that I did.
“My addiction evolved over time, I would get in these situations or circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking over anything.”
Murdaugh testified that he had to keep lying.
He told the court: “Once I told a lie – I told my family – I had to keep lying.”
Body language expert Patti Wood told The U.S. Sun that Murdaugh’s fear and anxiety emerged as the verdict was read out.
She said that he kept his mouth in a straight line but the downward curves hinted at “suppressed sadness.”
