Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh was convicted of homicide on Thursday within the taking pictures deaths of his spouse and son in a case that chronicled the unravelling of a strong southern household with tales of privilege, greed and dependancy.

The jury deliberated for lower than three hours earlier than discovering Murdaugh responsible of two counts of homicide on the finish of a six-week trial.

Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in jail with out parole when he’s sentenced, which in South Carolina is often proper after the decision however will be delayed if a decide chooses.

Investigators mentioned his 22-year-old son, Paul, was shot twice with a shotgun and his 52-year-old spouse, Maggie, was shot 4 or 5 instances with a rifle outdoors canine kennels on their rural Colleton County property on June 7 2021.

Experts from either side agreed there needed to be a large quantity of blood, tissue and different materials from the killings, however the prosecution didn’t current any proof of blood spatter on garments. The weapons within the case even have by no means been discovered.

Prosecutors assume Alex Murdaugh killed his spouse and son as a result of he feared his years of stealing hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from his regulation agency and shoppers could be uncovered and his lofty standing locally toppled. They mentioned he hoped their deaths would make him a sympathetic determine and draw consideration away from the lacking cash.

Motive shouldn’t be a mandatory aspect to show the crime. But Rachel Fiset, a Los Angeles-based trial lawyer, mentioned prosecutors painstakingly laid out motive to deal with the query she figures should have weighed on juror’s minds.

A key piece of proof for prosecutors is a video that features the voices of Murdaugh, his spouse and son on the kennels simply minutes earlier than investigators mentioned they have been killed. The video was not found for a 12 months as a result of brokers couldn’t initially hack into his son’s iPhone.

For 20 months, Alex Murdaugh instructed everybody that he was not on the kennels however whereas testifying in his personal defence, he lastly admitted he was there.