Alex Murdaugh gets two life sentences for killing wife, son

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After his sentencing Friday, 54-year-old former lawyer Alex Murdaugh still faces nearly 100 additional charges for various financial crimes throughout the state. A South Carolina jury on Thursday found Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife, Margaret, and son, Paul, in June 2021. After deliberating for less than three hours following a six-week trial, the jury reached its verdict.

Why has the case garnered national attention? Murdaugh and his family have been well-known lawyers in South Carolina’s Lowcountry region for nearly a century. The murders occurred while Murdaugh was being investigated for stealing money from clients. The murders also took place while his son, Paul, was being sued for his role in a 2019 boat crash that killed a South Carolina teen. Prosecutors said these stressors were factors in Murdaugh's killing of his family.

Dig deeper: Read Andrée Seu Peterson’s column in WORLD Magazine about the roots of the mass shooting problem in the United States.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.