Alex Murdock was convicted of the murders of his son and his wife

Alex MurdockA lawyer has been declared one of the most powerful families in South Carolina, USA guilty feeling This Thursday Killed wife and sonNetflix created one of the most-watched miniseries on the platform with over 40 million views.

“The evidence of guilt is enormous”Judge Clifton Newman said after the jury returned a unanimous verdict.

The 54-year-old celebrity attorney is accused of fatally shooting his wife, Maggie, 52, and their youngest son, Paul, 22, at their home in rural South Carolina on June 7, 2021. The Murdoch family enjoyed great influence there.

“Why in the world would he have killed the two people he loved the most?” Defense attorney Jim Griffin, who questioned that, called it a “ridiculous theory” and called for his client’s acquittal.

For its part, the prosecution argued that Murdoch committed the crime With the aim of preventing his numerous embezzlement and money laundering cases from coming to light.

Also, Murdock used his experience as a lawyer to his advantage to manipulate the crime scene, changing clothes, erasing conversation history, as well as meeting his elderly mother to “prepare an alibi” and making calls. crime

Meanwhile, during the trial Murdoch admitted to lying to police about his whereabouts on the night of the crime, but claimed drug-induced paranoia was to blame and tearfully denied shooting his family.

Judge Clifton Newman, who heard the case, will announce the sentence at a later date, the newspaper reported. The New York Times. Minimum penalty for murder in South Carolina pending trial 30 years imprisonment. The prosecution has already proposed a life sentence.

Both the woman and the attorney’s son were shot multiple times with a rifle and shotgun, although the crime weapons were never found, nor were there any bloodstains or other forms of physical evidence.

A video recorded shortly before Paul Murdock’s death, in which the voices of both parents can be heard, refutes the prosecutor’s initial alibi that he was not at home at the time of the crime.

When he was accused of killing two of his cousins, Murdock was already in prison, awaiting trial on a hundred charges related to his business as a lawyer.

Murdock’s death began to be investigated

Investigations into Murdoch’s business began in 2019 after a young woman died in a drunken boating accident involving her son. It was then that the judge looked at his father’s finances and assessed whether he could afford to pay damages.

“The whole illusion of his life was about to come crashing down and he just couldn’t accept it,” said attorney Creighton Waters.

According to him, Murdock killed his relatives to buy time before attempting suicide. In early September, he asked an accomplice to kill his son so he could collect $10 million in life insurance. But the bullet barely hit him.

With information from agencies

DB