Alex Murdaugh murder trial

March 25, 2023 — A debrief of the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh; the latest on the resignation of embattled South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom over a $3.5 billion accounting error; a look at the potential economic impact of Scout Motor's production facility in the Palmetto State; and more.

A mother whose son was found dead in the middle of a South Carolina road eight years ago is opening a private investigation into his death after raising almost $90,000 amid the publicity surrounding the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. The lawyers for Sandy Smith say there isn't any evidence linking Stephen Smith's death to the Murdaugh family. Investigators have remained tight-lipped about their reasons for taking over the case around the same time police said Murdaugh killed his wife and son. Stephen Smith was found dead on a lonely highway in July 2015. Investigators initially thought it was a hit-and-run, but authorities say no skid marks or vehicle debris was found near his body.

Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh have filed a notice to appeal his convictions for the murder of his wife and son along with his two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. The trial in rural South Carolina lasted six weeks and included more than 75 witnesses, but the jury took less than three hours to find the 54-year-old Murdaugh guilty last week. The appeal to the South Carolina Court of Appeals was filed on Thursday.

Alex Murdaugh didn't help his defense when he took the stand at his trial for the murder of his wife and son, three jurors said on Monday.

Alex Murdaugh's murder trial brought a business boost and frenzy of attention to a small South Carolina town. The spectacle altered life for over a month. Teachers adjusted drop-off and pickup routines at the school down the street from the courthouse. Walterboro Police Chief Kevin Martin said the city incurred $35,500 in overtime pay, facilities rentals and technology upgrades related to the trial — not including this past week's costs. Now, many residents are ready for life to return to normal.

The judge who sentenced Alex Murdaugh on Friday to life in prison for killing his wife and son has earned attention and plaudits for his even-handed demeanor throughout the trial and for his dressing-down of the once-prominent lawyer just before he sent him to prison. Judge Clifton Newman, a South Carolina native who attended racially segregated schools in the 1950s and 1960s, addressed Murdaugh directly during roughly 20 minutes of comments that ranged from invoking the memories of the defendant's slain son and wife to lamenting what he described as attacks on the credibility of the state's justice system during the trial.

Prosecutors produced no direct evidence linking South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh to the killings of his wife and son, yet a jury took less than three hours to convict him. Legal experts say that is thanks, in large part, to the defendant himself. Observers say Murdaugh did himself no favors by taking the witness stand, where he admitted to stealing money from clients and lying to investigators about being at the kennels with his wife and son Paul shortly before their killings.

Leading up to Alex Murdaugh's guilty conviction of two counts of murder, the public attention on the case had intensified. Authorities say investigations stemming from the June 2021 shooting deaths of Murdaugh's wife and son revealed that the prominent South Carolina lawyer stole millions of dollars from largely poor clients' settlements and staged an attempt on his life to secure his surviving son a $12 million life insurance payout.

A judge has sentenced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh to life in prison a day after he was convicted of murder in the shooting deaths of his wife and son. The sentence issued Friday carries no chance of parole or early release. The Colleton County jury deliberated for less than three hours Thursday before finding Murdaugh guilty of killing his 22-year-old son, Paul, with a shotgun and his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, with a rifle on June 7, 2021.

South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh has been convicted of murder in the shooting deaths of his wife and son. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder Thursday. The tangled case chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction. Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison without parole when he is sentenced. The once-prominent lawyer also faces about 100 other charges ranging from theft to insurance fraud.