The murders of Alex Murdaugh happened on June 7, 2021. He has been accused of killing his wife and son. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather and himself were all well known lawyers in their community. They were worried for Alex’s wife Maggie and Paul, only to find out  they had been shot to death. It was all a mystery to them, after more than a year passed without a suspect in connection to the murders. Then, on July 14, 2022, Alex Murdaugh was indicted with two counts of murder with officials saying he fatally shot his wife with a rifle and one of his sons with a shotgun. 

Alex had called 911 on the evening of June 7, 2021 saying he found his wife dead when he got back home from his parents house. Officials stated Paul Murdaugh, 22, was shot twice with a shotgun, with each round loaded with a different size shot, while Maggie Murdaugh, 52, was shot four times with a rifle. A crime scene report suggested both victims were shot in the head near the dog kennels. After more than a year, prosecutors charged Murdaugh, but will not pursue the death penalty. 

Alex has maintained his innocence in the killing of his wife and son, and his lawyers said before the trial that he “looked forward to this opportunity to clear his name”.  The trial began on January 23, 2023. Prosecutors called 61 witnesses and had more than 500 pieces of evidence over a 17 day testimony from the descriptions of the brutality killings. 

The weapons used to kill the victims were not shown during the trial, but prosecutors did get one key piece of evidence: a video taken right before Paul was fatally shot. “That changed everything,” prosecutor Creighton Waters said in his closing statement Wednesday. Alex said “ I did lie to them” when he took the stand in his own defense. 

Today March 2, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty and is being charged with two counts of murder, and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He faces a minimum of 30 years and maximum of life in prison on each murder count.