Watch Live: Alex Murdaugh faces sentencing for murders of wife and son
Alex Murdaugh is being sentenced Friday morning after a jury in South Carolina reached a guilty verdict in his double murder trial. The disgraced former attorney was convicted Thursday on four counts: the 2021 murder of his wife Maggie Murdaugh, the murder of his son Paul Murdaugh, and two counts of possession of a weapon during a crime.
Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole for each murder charge. The sentencing hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. ET in a South Carolina courtroom.
In a news conference Thursday evening, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said the verdict came after “nearly two years of blood, sweat and tears from a lot of hard-working people.”
“Our criminal justice system worked tonight. It gave a voice to Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, who were brutally mowed down by someone they knew and trusted,” Wilson said.
After the verdict was read, the defense moved to have it thrown out and a mistrial declared, but Judge Clifton Newman denied the request, citing the massive amount of evidence and testimony the jury had considered, The Associated Press reported.
“The jury has now considered the evidence for a significant period of time, and the evidence of guilt is overwhelming,” he said.
Murdaugh faces another trial in the future over numerous financial crimes.