After deliberating for three hours on Thursday, March 2, the jury found Alex Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife Maggie, and son Paul. At the Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, the 54-year-old was seen shaking as the verdict was read. This happened after six months of testimony.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters told jurors,
The pressures on this man were unbearable and they were all reaching a crescendo the day his wife and son were murdered by him.
The state tried to convince the jury that Murdaugh killed his wife and son to cover up the fact that he had stolen millions from his law firm. There was also a lawsuit about Paul’s drunken boat accident, which could have cost him money. Murdaugh will be sentenced on Friday, February 3, at 9:30 a.m. He was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of having weapons. He will be facing a 30-year prison sentence.
The murders of Maggie and Paul
Alex Murdaugh, who was already in jail for theft and fraud, is said to have shot Paul twice, once in the head and once in the chest. On the other hand, an assault rifle was used to shoot Maggie multiple times. Reports said that their gunshot wounds looked like they were killed in an “execution style.” Sources said that Paul’s body was found partially inside one of the kennels, but Maggie’s body was found a few feet away. This showed that she might have been trying to get away from her killer while he was attacking her. Alex Murdaugh told police after the killings that he was at his dying father and mother’s house in Varnville, about 11 miles away, at the time of the crime.
BREAKING: The jury swiftly convicted disgraced lawyer #AlexMurdaugh of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. pic.twitter.com/FQllIkeKvW
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) March 3, 2023
The South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) started looking into the death of Gloria Satterfield, who used to work for the Murdaugh family, in 2018. This happened in September last year. Investigators had said the day before that Alex Maurdaugh hired a hitman to kill him in an attempt to end his life after his wife and son were killed. Gloria Satterfield worked for the Murdaughs for a long time as their housekeeper. On February 26, 2018, the 57-year-old woman died “from injuries she got when she tripped and fell” in the family’s home in Hampton County.
Did Alex Murdaugh say that he had lied about where he was?
According to a source, Murdaugh’s lawyer said in closing arguments on Thursday that investigators had made up evidence. He said that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) focused on his client’s alleged financial wrongdoings instead of securing the crime scene and looking at key evidence. Then, Assistant Attorney General John Meadors said that prosecutors didn’t need to prove why Alex Murdaugh did it because all the evidence pointed to him.
Last week, Alex Murdaugh admitted on the stand that he had lied about where he was on the night of the murders. This is said to be one of the strongest pieces of evidence that the state has against him. He said at first that he wasn’t at the dog kennels before the murders happened, but he changed his story after the jury listened to an audio tape that showed him at the crime scene just before the murders.
Murdaugh was talking to Maggie when she died, according to audio and video from Paul’s cellphone, which was found near his body. A source says that the “high-velocity impact spatter” of blood found on his clothes that night shows that he was at the crime scene when at least one of the victims died. Investigators say that patterns in bloodstains and other bodily fluids can help them figure out how the victim and the suspect were positioned at the time of the violent death.
‘Privilege and status don’t always win’
After the verdict, people on social media seemed happy, with one saying,
Paul Murdaugh is the one responsible for this verdict. His video was the nail in the coffin.
Maggie and Paul, justice has been served. Rest in peace. The Snapchat video showed you (Paul) knew what was coming because you knew your dad’s soul,
said another.
Alex sentenced in the same Courthouse that dad and grandfather were chief prosecutors. Poetic justice,
one user said while another wrote,
Guilty!!! YES!!!! Now if we could just get justice for Mallory, Stephen, Gloria and every other person affected negatively by this man!
Paul Murdaugh is the one responsible for this verdict. His video was the nail in the coffin
— me (@coltsgirl8) March 3, 2023
Maggie and Paul, justice has been served. Rest in peace. The Snapchat video showed you (Paul) knew what was coming because you knew your dad’s soul.
— Nature (@NatureConnie) March 3, 2023
Alex sentenced in the same Courthouse that dad and grandfather were chief prosecutors. Poetic justice ⚖ #AlexMurdaughguilty
— 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨 𝐕𝐢𝐛𝐞𝐬 (@312Gina) March 3, 2023
Guilty!!! YES!!!! Now if we could just get justice for Mallory, Stephen, Gloria and every other person affected negatively by this man!
— SONIA (@Vestini4) March 3, 2023
His face says it all. Not shocked whatsoever,
one user said while another wrote,
Justice prevailed today!!! Justice for Maggie and Paul. Paul got him from the grave with the video.
Privilege and status don’t always win,
said one user.
Another said,
Congratulations to Creighton Waters and his entire prosecution team! Job well done!
His face says it all. Not shocked whatsoever
— 2023 All Valley Champion (@RobGuy3) March 3, 2023
Justice prevailed today!!! Justice for Maggie and Paul. Paul got him from the grave with the video.
— Teri Brown (@TeriBro34107099) March 3, 2023
Privilege and status don’t always win…
— Diverguy57 (@b_time57) March 3, 2023
Congratulations to Creighton Waters and his entire prosecution team! Job well done!
— Dana Roetzer (@dana97981170) March 3, 2023
