Alex Murdaugh Kills His Family: Trial and Decision

Alex Murdaugh sits in court waiting to hear if he is found guilty for the murders of his wife and son.

Alex Murdaugh sits in court waiting to hear if he is found guilty for the murders of his wife and son.

Courtney Collins

Alex Murdaugh, a father, husband, and former attorney in South Carolina, was recently found guilty for the murder of his wife and son; Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. After trying to cover up being caught with two different weapons in his possession that were used in the murder, Murdaugh was sentenced to life imprisonment on March 10th after a 28-day trial.

During the night of the murder, on June 7, 2021, law enforcement got a call from Mr. Murdaugh said that he had found his 22 year old son and 52 year old wife dead. When Murdaugh was asked about what happened, he seemed to have an answer for everything. He had a clear background story which he was ‘quick to offer’(Waters) when he was asked why his family members might have been targeted and shot. When asked by officer Greene, he didn’t stutter at all or even have to think deeply about what he was saying. (CBS News)

After the state’s team of prosecutors, led by Creighton Waters, investigated the case more they realized this would be the perfect crime for Alex Murdaugh to commit in hopes of getting away with it, while also having numerous stealing charges from large sums of money from different companies that were finally dropped.Then in the courtroom while looking back to find evidence, some more gruesome facts were explained that went against Alex and charged him as guilty. These facts were later shared by CBS News in an article written by Elizebeth Campbell.  The article states that “The state’s main points of evidence include a video taken by Paul minutes before he died on which multiple witnesses testified to hearing Alex Murdaugh’s voice — despite Murdaugh claiming he was never at the kennels that night. Neither Paul nor Maggie showed any defensive wounds on them despite being shot at close range” (Campbell). Most of the evidence that the court had identified Murdaugh as the murderer. There was even proof that the victims didn’t fight back or seem to have any distress or reason to fight back, meaning they were comfortable with the killer. He was then asked about the death sentence for the crimes committed and said , “The prosecution is not seeking the death penalty but instead asking for life in prison without parole if convicted” (Campbell). This man was not only convicted for multiple cases of stealing, but then also found guilty for the murder of his own family.

After talking to one of the students in the sophomore class at Ramapo who read about the case, they said they were “disgusted” and that “this is something that only psychotic people would think to do.” After speaking with the student the same conversation came up later with a teacher. This teacher is a big fan of mystery and figuring out who did it. She speaks about how when she followed the case she was amazed by how someone could be so narcissistic and callous. She thought of it from her point of view as a mother and how she feels like it would be impossible to take a family member’s life. She continued to say she was a big psychology fan and loved to listen and learn about stories like this when they are real events. 

Overall, Alex Murdaugh, a father, husband, and murderer is now placed in prison after being convicted of killing his family; a crime he thought he could lie his way out of. This despicable, cruel man now has been placed under a life sentence after being caught in his many lies. His son and wife, Maggie and Paul, murdered by him, with no warning or way of fighting back now have some justice for their deaths. 

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyphillipserb/2023/03/01/how-alex-murdaugh-opened-the-door-for-convictions-on-financial-and-tax-crime-charges/?sh=3abf16a272ed