WALTERBORO, S.C. — Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial that pulled back the curtain on the once-prominent lawyer’s fall from grace.
After the verdict was announced and Alex Murdaugh was led from the court in handcuffs, prosecutors gathered outside the courthouse to comment on the verdict.
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson began by thanking his team, including Deputy Attorney General Don Zelenka, Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General Creighton Waters, John Meadors and their team of attorneys, for their "Herculean effort" to convict Alex Murdaugh.
“Today’s verdict proves your position and power in life do not matter: no one is above the law, and that includes Alex Murdaugh," Wilson said. "It’s been a long six weeks, but Maggie and Paul Murdaugh deserved justice, and they certainly did not deserve to brutally die at the hands of someone who was supposed to love and protect them. Alex Murdaugh’s house of cards, built on the foundation of lies, manipulation, and theft, came crashing down. Let this be a warning: no matter who you are, if you break the law, the truth will come out and you will be brought to justice.”
Creighton Waters also spoke outside the courthouse.
“I want to thank the jurors for their service and the justice they delivered to Richard Alexander Murdaugh today. Alex Murdaugh tried one last con to prevent the accountability he has never had to face in his life, but the jury saw through that and properly found he murdered his wife and son in cold blood," Waters said. "This has been a long and exhaustive effort that could only have been achieved with the amazing team I have been fortunate to lead. Each and every one rose to the occasion, and I could not be more proud to serve with of all of them.
Sentencing is set to take place at 9 a.m. on Friday morning.
You can find trial updates here. Watch live streaming testimony and coverage on wltx.com, on the WLTX+ streaming app on Amazon Fire and Roku TV, and on the News19 WLTX YouTube page.
