Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison After Being Convicted of Murdering His Wife and Son

Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to to two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, Judge Clifton Newman ruled on Friday. 

"It was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go, in the media, as a grieving father who lost a wife and son to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them," the judge said prior to making his decision. "You have engaged in duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand, and as established by the testimony, throughout the time leading from the time of the indictment and prior to the time of the indictment to this point in time."

Murdaugh was found guilty of the 2021 murders of his wife and son on Thursday, Mar. 2, when a jury returned with their verdict after three hours of deliberation. The disgraced South Carolina lawyer was first charged with their deaths in July 2022 before standing trial in January 2023. 

In June 2021, Murdaugh alerted the police that he had found the bodies of his 52-year-old wife and their 22-year-old son near the dog kennels at the family hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina. Both victims had been shot multiple times. 

During the trial, Murdaugh revealed he lied about his whereabouts on the night of Maggie and Paul's deaths, blaming a painkiller addiction for increased paranoia that led him to not disclose the truth to authorities at the time. "I didn’t shoot my wife or my son any time -- ever,” he said while admitting that "I lied about being down there, and I’m so sorry that I did."

Additionally, Murdaugh has been accused of a number of other alleged crimes, including charges for a murder-for-hire suicide scheme as well as embezzlement and fraud. In total, the state has brought 99 charges against him.

Since the news of the two murders, the Murdaughs have become a national media sensation after it was discovered there were other deaths associated with the American legal dynasty, which had ruled over the Lowcountry region for several generations.

While not charged with any crimes, they have been tied to the unsolved 2015 hit-and-run of gay teen Stephen Smith and the 2019 boat accident that resulted in the drowning of Paul's high school friend, Mallory Beach, as well as the unexpected 2018 death of their longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield.

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