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Alex Murdaugh has arrived in court in handcuffs and a prison jumpsuit to be sentenced for the murders of his wife and son.
Murdaugh was yesterday found guilty of murdering Maggie and Paul at the family’s hunting lodge in June 2021. He faces between 30 years and life in prison.
His son Buster, sister Lynne and brother John Marvin are all in court to support him.
The jury’s lightning-fast verdict stunned many after the six-week trial, which produced a mountain of evidence and testimony. Prosecutors today requested the maximum sentence available – two consecutive life sentences.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters told the court: ‘I don’t need to repeat the evidence. A man like that, a man like this man, should never be allowed to be among free, law abiding citizens again.’
He said Maggie was ‘cut down in the prime of her life’ while Paul was ‘cut down as he was just starting to live his life.’
Murdaugh spoke briefly, telling the judge: ‘I am innocent. I would never my wife Maggie and I would never hurt my son Paw Paw.’
Alex Murdaugh has arrived in court to be sentenced for the murders of his wife and son.
‘The depravity, callousness, and selfishness of these crimes are stunning.’
Murdaugh maintained his innocence throughout.
He wept on the stand as he talked about his crippling opioid addiction and talked fondly of his family, who he said he would never want to hurt.
He suggested that it was the 2019 boating accident caused by Paul that led to the death of a teenage girl that ultimately led to his death.
Prosecutors were not able to nail down some of the key questions that remain unanswered after the trial.
Their arguments were enough to convince the jury of Murdaugh’s guilt.
One juror broke cover on Friday to tell Good Morning America why they convicted him so quickly.
‘He was a good liar, but not good enough,’ Moyer said, breaking his anonymity to discuss the blockbuster trial that had America gripped.
When the jury entered the deliberation room yesterday, nine were already convinced of Murdaugh’s guilt – including Moyer. Two thought he was innocent and another juror was undecided.
Moyer revealed on Friday that it took just 45 minutes of deliberations to convince the three other jurors of his guilt.
‘You start deliberating, going through the evidence and everybody was pretty much talking.
Murdaugh was helped out of a prison van. He wore orange slide shoes with socks and a prison jumpsuit
Murdaugh was in handcuffs as he was led into the courtroom in South Carolina this morning
Buster Murdaugh arrives at court with his girlfriend for his father’s sentencing
Murdaugh’s sister Lynn arrives at court with other members of the family including his brother John Marvin
‘About 45 minutes later, after all our deliberating, we figured it out. The evidence was clear.’
Moyer said the nail in Murdaugh’s coffin was a video filmed by his son Paul just moments before the murders, in which his voice can be heard in the background.
Murdaugh had always denied being near the dog kennel where the bodies of his wife and son were found, but conceded at trial that he’d lied, and was heard in the video.
Moyer also said the jury wasn’t convinced by Murdaugh’s emotional testimony on the stand.
‘I didn’t see any true remorse or any compassion or anything. He never cried.
‘All he did was blow snot. [There were] no tears. I saw his eyes,’ Moyer said.
The defense claimed Murdaugh wouldn’t have had enough time to shoot his wife and son, clean up, visit his mother and then return to the scene where he called police.
Moyer, however, said he and the jurors felt he had ‘just enough time’ to do all those things.
Alex Murdaugh with wife Maggie and their sons Buster (left) and Paul (right)
Buster Murdaugh with his head in his hands yesterday after father was found guilty of murder
Pictured: Alex Murdaugh’s sister Lynn is seen leaving the Colleton County Court
He also said they were turned off by Murdaugh’s apparent preparedness.
‘His responses, how quick he was with the defense, and his lies…. just steady lies.’
Murdaugh will return to court this morning for sentencing. He faces life in prison.
Yesterday, he showed no emotion as he was found guilty.
He had wept on the stand, telling the court of his crippling opioid addiction and money troubles, but insisted he did not kill his wife and son.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters also appeared on GMA on Friday to reveal his cross-examination strategy.
‘He’s been able to talk his way out of accountability his entire life. People like that are convinced of their own ability to do that.
‘I was convinced he was going to testify. My strategy was to establish who he was.
‘You know, he wouldn’t even concede to the jury that he was wealthy.
‘The idea was to get him talking about himself, his life, then move into the specifics of his new story that he was telling the world for the first time.’
Among those in court yesterday was Buster Murdaugh, the legal heir’s only surviving son.
Craig Moyer appeared on Good Morning America on Friday morning to explain why he and his fellow jurors felt Murdaugh was guilty
Buster has never stated if he believes in his father’s innocence, but he was called to stand as a witness for his defense team.
He told the court his father was ‘devastated’ by the murders.
Maggie’s relatives, including her sister, also testified for the prosecution. She said she thought it was strange her brother-in-law wasn’t looking for his wife and son’s killer.
‘I just thought his priority should have been focusing on finding out who killed Maggie and Paul,’ Marian Proctor said.
In his closing arguments, Waters told the jury: ‘Nobody knew who this man was.
‘He avoided accountability his whole life, he had relied on his family name, he had a powerful family, he carried a badge and used that in authority, he lived a wealthy life – but now finally he was was facing complete ruin.’
He added that the legal scion ‘is the kind of person for whom shame is an extraordinary provocation’ and faced with financial ruin which his ‘ego couldn’t stand…he became a family annihilator.’
He concluded the speech with the fervent plea: ‘This defendant has fooled everyone, everyone.
‘Everyone who thought they were close to him he’s fooled them all and he fooled Maggie and Paul too and they paid for it with their lives.
‘Don’t let him fool you too.’
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