Alex Murdaugh gets life prison sentence for the murder of his wife and son
Walterboro, South Carolina - South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was sentenced Friday morning to life in prison after being convicted of murdering his wife and son in a case that has captivated the nation.
The once high-powered and well-connected lawyer Alex Murdaugh was given two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the shooting deaths of his wife Maggie Murdaugh and son Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021 on the family's property.
After six weeks of trial and over 75 witnesses taking the stand, he was found guilty on Thursday.
"I'm innocent," Murdaugh maintained again to Judge Clifton Newman at his sentencing, according to CNN. "I would never hurt my wife Maggie. And I would never hurt my son Paul Paul."
Prosecutor Creighton Waters had recommended the maximum sentence for the 54-year-old of life without parole, sparing him the death penalty – which Judge Newman said his conviction qualifies for.
Newman placed blame on Murdaugh's admitted opioid addiction in the months leading up to the murders.
"It might not have been you," Newman said. "It might have been the monster that you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I have seen that before.
"The person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, though it is the same individual."
Is Alex Murdaugh truly guilty of murder?
The circumstances of the Murdaghs' deaths remain somewhat mysterious.
The family guns used to commit the murders have never been found. Yet the disgraced lawyer's financial woes and alleged embezzlement schemes are said to be motivations for his crime.
What likely led to Murdaugh's conviction, however, are his lies about not being on the family's property on the night of the murders. A Snapchat video taken from Paul's phone timestamped just moments before the murders featured Murdaugh's voice in the background.
After being caught lying, he apologized during the trial, saying, "Oh, what a tangled web we weave."
When asked by the judge to clarify the statement on Friday, he said, "I meant that when I lied, I continued to lie."
He was led out of the courtroom after his sentencing in handcuffs.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / USA TODAY Network