A disbarred United States (US) lawyer has been found guilty by a South Carolina jury of the murder of his wife and son in June 2021.
Richard “Alex” Murdaugh was found guilty of the murders of wife Maggie and son Paul, after a gripping six-week televised trial that culminated with the defendant unexpectedly taking the stand to plead his innocence, Guardian reports.
The court sitting lasts for almost three hours before he was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Maggie Murdaugh, 52, was killed with five shots from a hunting rifle, while Paul Murdaugh was hit with two shotgun blasts. Both died instantly.
Murdaugh, 54, had been held in jail in South Carolina since October 2021 on felony counts of fraud, after millions of dollars went missing from a settlement involving the death of a housekeeper.
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During the murder trial, almost 75 witnesses were called. Prosecutors said Murdaugh shot and killed his family members to distract from his financial crimes.
Murdaugh claimed on the witness stand that he would never do anything to hurt Maggie and Paul, but he never, outside of a not guilty plea, directly denied killing them.
“I didn’t shoot my wife or my son anytime, ever. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them. Ever.” he said.
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However, Murdaugh admitted to repeatedly lying to investigators about his whereabouts the night of the murders, citing his distrust for local law enforcement and paranoia induced by drug addiction, stealing millions from clients and law firm and attempting to orchestrate his own death.
