The dynasty of the Murdaugh family was once potent, dating back countless generations. However, since the brutal murders of Margaret and Paul Murdaugh two years ago, the once powerful dynasty has had a publicly staggering crash. 

Alex Murdaugh comes from a vastly powerful family. Three generations of Murdaughs have served as solicitors over the 14th judicial court, carrying a legacy. With this reputation, many praised Murdaugh and viewed him as trusting.

However, in 2021, it all began to crumble. On June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh’s wife and son were found dead at their hunting estate in South Carolina. Margaret Murdaugh, 52, was shot five times and Paul Murduagh, 22, was shot twice. These brutal deaths inspired investigation, revealing astonishing details of the Murdaugh family’s lives. 

On the night of the disastrous murders, Murdaugh himself called the police, stating that he was the one who found them dead. “This is Alex Murdaugh at 4147 Mosel Road. I need the police and an ambulance immediately. My child and my wife have been shot badly.”

According to wtoc.com, Murdaugh sounded extremely frantic and distressed in his phone call to police. Additionally, the officer on call had instructed him not to touch the bodies, but Murdaugh stated that he already had done so to check if they were breathing. As this case had progressed, it was revealed that this was a clever lie by Murdaugh to cover his actions. 

Since the deaths of Murdaugh’s wife and son, many of his financial crimes came to light. On Sept. 7, 2021, Murdaugh was accused of stealing $1 million from his family law firm. The next day, Murdaugh’s law license was suspended. On Sept. 15, 2021, Murdaugh had organized for his client to “shoot” him so he could get $10 million from insurance policy. Additionally, on the same day, the investigation of Gloria Satterfield’s death from Feb. 26, 2018 was opened. These rapid series of events started to paint a bad picture for Murdaugh. 

As tensions started to escalate and more of the truth was uncovered, Murdaugh went to trial for 88 criminal charges. On July 14, 2022, an indictment was sent out stating that Murdaugh was responsible for the murders of both his wife and son. However, attorneys Jim Griffin and Richard Harpootlian were very quick to shoot down the accusations. On July 20, 2022, Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty.   

Months after Murdaugh had pleaded not guilty to the double count of murder, his trial date was set for Jan. 23, 2023 at the Colleton County Courthouse. Once the trial had started, an intense and fraught environment formed. There were numerous controversies between the prosecution and defense on whether or not there was ample evidence to convict Murdaugh or if it was mostly theorized. 

As the trial progressed, Murdaugh took the stand during the fifth week of trial, Feb. 23, 2023. While taking the stand, Murdaugh testified that he had no correlation to the murders of his wife and son. However, within the uncovering of new evidence within the next few weeks, Murdaugh’s lies continued to unfold and there was now sufficient evidence to convict him.  

On March 6, 2023, Murdaugh had been declared guilty for two counts of murder. On top of that, he has been sentenced to two additional counts of using a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The entirety of the trial was concluded on March 15, 2023. Murdaugh has received two life sentences with no possibility of parole.