EXPLAINED: Alex Murdaugh found guilty of killing wife and son. All you need to know about the case

The Alex Murdaugh trial concluded Thursday with a jury finding Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and son in a case that generated widespread interest not just in the US, but also in other countries.

The six-week trial of the scion of a powerful South Carolina family came to an end after three hours of deliberation on Thursday. Murdaugh was sentenced to life on Friday (March 3) for murdering his wife and son.Judge Clifton Newman sentenced the 54-year-old to consecutive life terms.

After the verdict was announced, the defence's efforts to have a mistrial declared were turned down by Judge Clifton Newman on ground of the massive amount of evidence and testimony jurors heard.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

“The jury has now considered the evidence for a significant period of time, and the evidence of guilt is overwhelming,” he said. The court found there "was sufficient evidence to find the defendant guilty if the evidence was believed by the jury."

Paul Murdaugh cellphone video

While Alex Murdaugh insisted that he hadn't killed his wife and son, what sealed the deal against him was a mobile phone video shot by his son. The cellphone video of the dogs at the kennel shot by Paul was the key evidence in the murder trial, placing Alex Murdaugh at the scene of the crime. Prosecutors said that the video was shot about five minutes before the killings happened.

Two of Paul's friends testified that they are certain the video carried voices ofPaul, Maggie and Alex. However, Alex Murdaugh has maintained that he was not at the kennels at the time of the murders.

Also Read |Alex Murdaugh, scion of a legal dynasty involved in 'trial of the century'

“I did not kill Maggie, and I did not kill Paul. I would never hurt Maggie, and I would never hurt Paul — ever — under any circumstances,” Murdaugh said.

Even though the prosecutors didn't have circumstantial evidence, the video of Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone nailed the entire thing against Alex Murdaugh.

How did Alex Murdaugh kill his family?

Alex Murdaughhas maintained the he wasn't at the scene of the murders and has nothing to do with the killings. While Paul was shot twice with a shotgun, Alex's wife Maggie was shot several times with a Blackout rifle at the Colleton County hunting lodge on June 7, 2021. Blackout rifle bullet casings were found near Maggie’s body and matched casings found on other parts of the property. The rifle went missing

State Law Enforcement Division Lt. Britt Dove, a specialist in retrieving and analysing cellphone data, went through a call logs, videos, steps taken, GPS locations, etc. on Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh's phones. The camera on Paul Murdaugh’s cellphone came on one last time at 8:44:49 pm. A video was recorded for under a minute, Dove said.

Dove added that Paul Murdaugh read the final text on his phone at 8:48:59 pm. Another text came 36 seconds later which he never read. Maggie Murdaugh read a text 28 seconds later, Dove testified.

Why did Alex Murdaugh kill his family?

Prosecutors allege that Alex killed them to distract attention from the several financial crimes he had carried out in the last several years. The chief financial officer of his law firm had testified that he had confrontedAlex Murdaugh about missing funds on the morning of June 7, 2021. Later that same day, after the killings happened, the financial investigation was relegated to the background.

The Mallory Beach lawsuit, that was scheduled for June 10, 2021, also could have exposed his financial wrongdoings. Mallory Beach had died after a 2019 boating accident, involving his son Paul. On February 23, 2019, Paul Murdaugh drove a boat with five others on board on the Beaufort River in South Carolina. Mallory Beach, Anthony Cook, Morgan Doughty, Miley Altman, and Connor Cook were with him on the boat. While returning at 2 am on Sunday, the boat crashed into Archer’s Creek Bridge near Parris Island, throwing Mallory Beach overboard. Paul was later found to have high blood alcohol level.

About Alex Murdaugh's father and grandfather

The high-profile legal family from South Carolina had had three members serving as district attorneys from 1920 to 2006. The people in the area even call the five-county district "Murdaugh Country". They founded a civil litigation law firm in Hampton, South Carolina, specialising in personal injury litigation.

Randolph Murdaugh Sr. graduated from law school at the University of South Carolina (USC) in 1910 and founded a one-man law firm in Hampton. He became a solicitor in the 14th judicial circuit in 1920. Randolph "Buster" Murdaugh Jr. succeeded him, who served from 1940 to 1986. His son, Randolph Murdaugh III, succeeded him as solicitor in 1986. He had four kids with Elizabeth Alexander, three of them sons. Alex Murdaugh was one of his sons. He graduated from University of South Carolina in 1990 and from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994. Randolph IV and John Marvin were his other two sons.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.