Alex Murdaughwas handcuffed just moments after he was convicted of killing his wife and son.
On Thursday, a juryfound the disgraced lawyer guiltyof the gruesome 2021 murders. As the courtroom waited for the verdict, Murdaugh stood stoic. Once his fate was read, he rocked his head back and forth very slightly.
Moments later, officers surrounded Murdaugh, 54, and cuffed him, leading him into custody.
Jurors had deliberated for three hours before deciding on the guilty verdict. It came following weeks of testimony from more than 75 witnesses who took the stand.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday at 9:30 a.m.
On June 7, 2021, Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, were found dead on the 1,770-acre property in Islandton, S.C., where the family’s hunting lodge was located.
More than a year after the bodies were discovered, Murdaugh was indicted for the killings. He was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and was convicted on all charges.
Alex Murdaugh (center).Andrew J Whitaker/AP/Shutterstock
On Jan. 23, 2023, Murdaugh’s murder trial began. During the sensational courtroom proceedings, a cell phone video Paul took on the night of the murders was shown to the jury.
The video — which was taken near the dog kennels on the property — featured the voices of Paul, Maggie and Murdaugh.Murdaugh had initially denied being near the dog kennelson the night of the murders, but when he was testifying in his own defense, headmitted to lyingabout his whereabouts that evening.
On the evening of June 7, 2021, Murdaugh allegedly reached out to his wife, asking her to meet him at the family’s estate.
According to a law enforcement source close to the investigation, Murdaugh told his wife that his 81-year-old father, Randolph Murdaugh III, was in failing health and that she needed to see him before he died.
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According to several sources, the couple hadhit a rough patch in their marriage, and she was staying at the family’s beach house on Edisto Island, approximately an hour away from the family’s estate.
The law enforcement source previously told PEOPLE that Maggie initially declined to meet him at the family home, suggesting instead that they meet at the hospital. Ultimately, she consented to meet at the property, planning to follow her husband to the hospital in her own vehicle.
On her way to the house, Maggie allegedly messaged a friend, saying that something about her husband’s behavior felt “fishy,” the law enforcement source said.
“He’s up to something,” Maggie allegedly wrote to her friend.
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When Maggie arrived at the scene, she left her car running and walked to the dog kennels on the estate where her son, Paul, was taking photos of a dog he was watching for a friend.
It’s unclear what happened next — but Maggie and Paul weregunned downclose to the dog kennels. Paul’s body was found “half in and half out” of the dog kennels, authorities say.
Paul was shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range. Maggie was shot multiple times, including one shot in the back and additional shots while she was lying on the ground. She had been shot with 300 Blackout ammo from an AR-style rifle. Both of them were pronounced dead at the scene.
Even after his conviction, Murdaugh has more legal woes.
He faces dozens of charges for alleged financial crimes, including misappropriating money from his law firm, defrauding clients of funds and computer crimes.
source: people.com
