Alex Murdaugh sentencing: How long will he go to jail for and where?
Alex Murdaugh has arrived in court to be convicted of the murder of his wife and son.
Murdaugh was found guilty yesterday of the murders of Maggie and Paul at the family’s hunting lodge in June 2021. He faces between 30 years and life in prison.
The jury’s lightning-fast verdict surprised many after the six-week trial, which produced a mountain of evidence and testimony.
Alex Murdaugh has arrived in court to be convicted of the murder of his wife and son.
Murdaugh maintained his innocence throughout.
He cried in the stands as he talked about his crippling opioid addiction and spoke fondly of his family, whom he says he would never want to hurt.
Prosecutors were unable to pinpoint some of the key questions that remain unanswered after the trial.
Their arguments were enough to convince the jury of Murdaugh’s guilt.
A juror broke cover on Friday to tell Good Morning America why they sentenced him so quickly.
“He was a good liar, but not good enough,” Moyer said, breaking his anonymity to discuss the blockbuster trial that gripped America.
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 deliberation to convince the three other jurors of his guilt.
“You start deliberating, go over the evidence, and everyone was pretty much talking.
Murdaugh was handcuffed as he was led into the courtroom in South Carolina this morning
Alex Murdaugh with wife Maggie and their sons Buster (left) and Paul (right)
“About 45 minutes later, after all our deliberation, we were out. The evidence was clear.’
Moyer said the nail in Murdaugh’s coffin was a video filmed by his son Paul just 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 admitted at trial that he lied and was heard in the video.
Moyer also said the jury was not convinced by Murdaugh’s emotional testimony on the stand.
“I didn’t see any real 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 alleged that Murdaugh would not have had enough time to shoot his wife and son, clean up, visit his mother, and then return to where he called the police.
However, Moyer said he and the jurors felt he had “just enough time” to do all those things.
Buster Murdaugh with his head in his hands yesterday after father was found guilty of murder
Pictured: Alex Murdaugh’s sister Lynn leaves Colleton County Court
He also said they were turned off by Murdaugh’s apparent readiness.
“His reactions, how quick he was with the defense, and his lies…just solid lies.”
Murdaugh returns to court this morning for sentencing. He faces life in prison.
Yesterday he showed no emotion when he was found guilty.
He had cried in the stands when he told the court about his crippling opioid addiction and money problems, but insisted he had not killed his wife and son.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters also appeared on GMA Friday to reveal his cross-examination strategy.
He’s spent his whole life talking his way out of responsibility. Such people are convinced of their own ability to do so.
“I was convinced he would testify. My strategy was to establish who he was.
“You know, he wouldn’t even admit to the jury that he was rich.
“The idea was to have him talk about himself, his life, and then get into the details of his new story that he was telling the world for the first time.”
Among those in court yesterday was Buster Murdaugh, the only surviving son of the legal heir.
Craig Moyer appeared on Good Morning America Friday morning to explain why he and his fellow jurors felt Murdaugh was guilty
Alex Murdaugh returns to court for sentencing on Friday. He faces life in prison
Buster has never stated whether he believes in his father’s innocence, but he was called to testify for his defense team.
He told the court that his father was “devastated” by the murders.
Maggie’s relatives, including her sister, also testified for the prosecution. She said she thought it was odd that her brother-in-law was not looking for the killer of his wife and son.
“I just thought his priority should have been finding out who killed Maggie and Paul,” Marian Proctor said.
In his closing argument, Waters told the jury, “No one knew who this man was.
“He evaded accountability all his life, he had relied on his family name, he had a powerful family, he wore a badge and used it as authority, he lived a wealthy life – but now he was finally in danger of complete ruin.”
He added that the legal scion is “the kind of person for whom embarrassment is an extraordinary provocation” and faced financial ruin his “ego couldn’t stand…he became a family destroyer.”
He closed the speech with the fiery plea: “This defendant has fooled everyone.
“Anyone who thought they were close to him, he fooled them all and he also fooled Maggie and Paul and they paid for it with their lives.
“Don’t be fooled either.”