Judge condemns 'the monster' Alex Murdaugh became before sentencing him
1:52
What we covered here
Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and son Paul Murdaugh.
The disgraced South Carolina attorney repeatedly said he was innocent when given the opportunity to speak by the judge at his sentencing.
Murdaugh will spend his life behind bars, but several issues relating to him and his family remain unresolved, including lawsuits and open investigations.
Our live coverage has ended. Follow the latest news on the Murdaugh case here or read through the updates below.
Updates
(25)
Link Copied!
Murdaugh is behind bars, but the story isn't over. Here are some of the outstanding issues
From CNN's Elise Hammond
Alex Murdaugh is led out of the courtroom after being sentenced to life in prison on Friday, March 3.
(Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier/AP)
Alex Murdaugh was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of his wife and grown son, concluding a brutal chapter in the story of the once-influential South Carolina lawyer.
But the tangled tale isn’t over. Here are some of the outstanding issues.
Allegations of financial wrongdoing:
Murdaugh faces 99 charges stemming from 19 grand jury indictments for various crimes, according to the state attorney general’s office, including allegedly defrauding his clients and former law firm of nearly $9 million. And in December, the attorney general’s office said Murdaugh had been indicted for tax evasion for failing to report almost $7 million of income earned through illegal acts, for which he allegedly owes the state almost $500,000.
Murdaugh resigned from the PMPED (Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth, and Detrick) law firm in September 2021 after “the discovery by PMPED that Alex misappropriated funds in violation of PMPED standards and policies,” the firm said in a statement. That same month, the state’s Supreme Court issued an order suspending his license to practice law in South Carolina. In October 2021, the law firm sued Murdaugh to recover funds it alleged he stole from clients for his own personal use, saying Murdaugh “developed a systematic scheme in which he diverted funds owed to the firm and to clients to a fictitious entity” for many years.
In June 2022, Murdaugh and former acquaintance Curtis Smith were indicted on two counts of criminal conspiracy by a state grand jury, according to the attorney general. The indictment alleges Murdaugh gave Smith hundreds of checks over a number of years totaling about $2.4 million.
Murdaugh has been sued by other alleged victims of financial fraud. The majority center on cases and victims not previously known to the public, like a highway patrolman injured in the line of duty, from whom prosecutors allege Murdaugh stole settlement money for “his own personal use, for expenses including but not limited to overdraft fees, cash, and checks written to associates,” according to the indictment.
The Satterfield family:
Family housekeeper Gloria Satterfield died in February 2018 in what was described as a “trip and fall accident” at the Murdaugh home, according to attorney Eric Bland, who is representing her estate. After Satterfield’s death, Murdaugh coordinated with her family to sue himself in order to seek an insurance settlement, according to investigators.
In September 2021,theSouth Carolina Law Enforcement Division announces it is opening a criminal investigation into her death and the handling of her estate.
The children of Satterfield filed a motion for Murdaugh’s arrest and detention until the money he allegedly embezzled from her estate is returned. The estate has not received any of the money owed as the result of a 2018 civil settlement, the estate’s attorney says.
Murdaugh was arrested in October 2021 on suspicion of misappropriating settlement funds in connection with Satterfield’s death and agreed to a $4.3 million settlement with the family in December 2021, according to Bland.
The fatal boat crash:
Murdaugh’s late son Paul was allegedly the driver of the boat that crashed in February 2019, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach. At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was facing charges of boating under the influence, causing great bodily harm and causing death. He pleaded not guilty, and court records show the charges were dropped after his death.
However, Alex Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh’s estate are still defendants in an ongoing wrongful death lawsuit filed by Beach’s family in 2019, according to court records.
Stephen Smith:
In June 2021, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced it was reopening an investigation into the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found in the middle of a Hampton County road on July 8, 2015.
Though authorities have not announced a connection between Smith’s death and the Murdaugh family, SLED said it was reopening an investigation based on information gathered while investigating the double homicide of Margaret and Paul Murdaugh.
SLED has not specified what that information was and his death remains unsolved.
CNN’s Christina Maxouris, Maria Cartaya, Dianne Gallagher, Amir Vera and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.
Link Copied!
Defense attorney: Murdaugh believes he's innocent, but expected a guilty verdict
From CNN’s Randi Kaye, Alta Spells and Adrienne Vogt
Defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian, left, and Jim Griffin speak to the media on Friday.
(Chris Carlson/AP)
In an interview with CNN, defense attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin shared their thoughts on the proceeding that lasted nearly six weeks and ended in a double murder conviction for their client, Alex Murdaugh.
Harpootlian said, “I think he (Murdaugh) expected it … After the financial crimes, we were hoping for mistrial, you know, a hung jury. That was the best we could do,” when asked about his client after the unanimous verdict.
Harpootlian told CNN that he and Griffin spent almost a year working with Alex, his son Paul, and his wife, Maggie, on a criminal boat case from 2019.
“We saw them holding hands, we saw a relationship between Paul and Alex,” Harpootlian said, adding that it is “inexplicable that he would execute his son and his wife in that fashion, in my mind.”
Asked if Murdaugh believes he’s innocent, Harpootlian said, “Absolutely, he says he’s innocent.”
Both lawyers said they were surprised by how quickly the jury arrived at a verdict on Thursday after deliberating for less than three hours.
But Harpootlian said there was nothing they wished they had done differently.
The case “was over” once the focus turned to Murdaugh’s financial issues for two weeks, he said.
Close connections: The defense attorneys explained how the case was personal not only for themselves, but for the judge and prosecution too.
Griffin said that “it struck me how personal it was” for Judge Clifton Newman and that the judge prompted Murdaugh to speak during Friday’s sentencing.
“This whole case is somewhat personal for all the players involved, and that’s what makes it an unusual setting for a criminal case,” he said.
Griffin said he found the judge’s questions to Murdaugh on Friday interesting.
“Judge Newman was trying to entice Alex to talk more than what he did, but you know, Alex was … had planned to limit his words, and he did,” he said.
Harpootlian said some facts that Newman cited “were inaccurate.”
“I mean obviously he was expressing what he felt, but I don’t think they were particularly accurate or right,” he added.
Link Copied!
Evidence of Murdaugh's financial misconduct should not have been allowed in the murder trial, defense says
From CNN’s Randi Kaye and Alta Spells
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian, left, speaks to press outside the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, March 3.
(Joshua Boucher/The State/AP)
Defense attorneys are questioning Judge Clifton Newman’s decision to allow much of Alex Murdaugh’s financial misconduct information to be a part of the trial.
Another defense attorney on the team, Jim Griffin, said the jurors should not have heard some of the evidence they were presented.
“We think some of the evidence they heard, they should not have,” Griffin said. “They’re weighing a murder case, then they’d just heard two weeks of financial crime cases that he’s obviously guilty of,” Griffin said. “I think that was a problem in the jury deliberations. That’s why it did not get as serious consideration as we expected.”
The attorneys say they plan to file an appeal within the next 10 days.
In a separate case that has not yet gone to trial, Murdaugh faces 99 charges stemming from a slew of alleged financial crimes, including defrauding his clients, former law firm and the government of millions.
Link Copied!
Defense attorney explains why Alex Murdaugh testified in his own defense
From CNN's Aditi Sangal
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian speaks to press outside the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday, March 3.
(Chris Carlson/AP)
Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian explained why the team decided to have Alex Murdaugh take the stand to testify in his own defense, saying his credibility was under question because of his alleged financial wrongdoings.
“Once they got that character information — ‘he’s a thief, he’s a liar’ — then this jury had to think that he’s despicable human being, and not be believed. So it was about character, it wasn’t about motive,” Harpootlian told reporters on Friday, just hours after Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison by the judge.
Murdaugh always wanted to take the stand, but the team debated whether he should until the financial information came out, which limited their defense options, the lawyer explained.
“As a result, our options were limited, Should he take the stand? Well we debated that. He always wanted to take the stand. Once that information was in, I mean he had to take the stand to explain the kennel video, the lie,” Harpootlian said.
“His credibility had been stripped away by the financial mistakes,” he added.
In a separate case that has not yet gone to trial, Murdaugh faces 99 charges stemming from a slew of alleged financial crimes, including defrauding his clients, former law firm and the government of millions.
Link Copied!
Murdaugh's defense team plans to appeal his conviction, attorney says
Members of Alex Murdaugh’s defense team speak to the media outside the Colleton County Courthouse on Friday.
(Chris Carlson/AP)
The defense team for Alex Murdaugh, who was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the murders of his wife and son, plans to appeal the former attorney’s conviction, his lawyers said.
The team plans to file a notice of intention to appeal the decision within 10 days. Attorney Richard “Dick” Harpootlian shared the timeline in response to a question from a reporter outside the courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, Friday.
A reporter followed up with a question about what the defense believes is the strongest grounds for an appeal.
Another of Murdaugh’s attorneys, Jim Griffin, highlighted the admission of financial crimes evidence to be considered in support of the prosecution’s presented motive for the killings — to distract and delay investigations into Murdaugh’s growing financial problems.
“That was being offered as motive for why he would go home and kill his wife and son, which we thought was illogical and ludicrous,” Griffin said. “There really was no evidence linking one to the other, and we did not think it should (be admitted).”
More context: The prosecution’s focus on Murdaugh’s financial motive underscored the lack of direct evidence — such as a murder weapon, bloody clothing or eyewitnesses — that connected him to the killings. Instead, they hinged their case on circumstantial evidence, including a consequential video placing Murdaugh at the crime scene that night.
Though the financial evidence was not directly related to the murder charges, the judge overseeing the case ruled to allow it, saying it was “so intimately connected” with the state’s case “that proof of it is essential to complete the story.” He instructed jurors to only consider the financial evidence as part of the motive and not as a broader criticism of the defendant’s character.
CNN’s Eric Levenson and Alta Spells contributed to this post.
Link Copied!
Law enforcement chief says he stands by investigators' work in the face of "constant scrutiny"
Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division speaks during a press conference on First, March 3.
(CNN)
The chief of the state law enforcement agency that played a role in the investigation of the Murdaugh family murders spoke outside the courthouse shortly after Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison Friday, saying he understood the immense scrutiny the case had placed on his organization.
Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said he rarely holds news conferences, but it was “important for me to speak out … because Maggie and Paul (Murdaugh) cannot.”
Keel said his team worked “under constant scrutiny, constant pressure” in the case.
During the trial, Murdaugh’s defense attacked the work of SLED agents in an effort to prove his innocence, claiming the agency had “failed miserably” in their investigation, and going as far as to accuse investigators of fabricating evidence against Murdaugh because his known financial and drug issues made him an “easy target.”
Keel said he chose not to speak publicly about the investigation until the trial concluded, because he believed in the criminal justice system and in “the rights of an accused to have a fair trial.”
Now that the trial is over, he voiced pride for the investigators’ work. Keel said his staff works “day in and day out for days just like today — to bring justice for victims.”
“And today is not the end, just the next step in a long road to justice for every person who has been victimized by Alex Murdaugh,” Keel said, referencing the 99 separate charges that Murdaugh still faces from a horde of alleged financial crimes.
Link Copied!
Here's what happens next, now that Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to life in prison
From CNN’s Dianne Gallagher
Alex Murdaugh arrives at the Colleton County Courthouse for his sentencing on Friday, March 3.
(Chris Carlson/AP)
After being sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife and son, Alex Murdaugh was released into the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
Wearing a brown jumpsuit and handcuffs, he could be seen exiting the courtroom with a law enforcement official guiding him.
Murdaugh is now expected to begin intake and evaluation processing, which is expected to last for several weeks, according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office. The average time is normally about 45 days.
Murdaugh will remain in a holding facility in Columbia, South Carolina, during that period, according to a South Carolina legal source with knowledge of the situation.
Link Copied!
Judge says he had portrait of Murdaugh's grandfather removed to ensure fair trial
During the sentencing hearing for disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh, Judge Clifton Newman said he had to have a portrait of Murdaugh’s grandfather removed from the courthouse to ensure a fair trial.
“You have a wife who has been killed, murdered. A son who has been savagely murdered. A lawyer, a person from the respected family who has controlled justice in this community for over a century, a person whose grandfather’s portrait hang at the back of the courthouse that I had to have ordered removed in order to ensure that a fair trial was had by both the state and the defense,” Newman said during the sentencing hearing.
Family background: Murdaugh was a former personal injury attorney and member of a dynastic family in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, where his father, grandfather and great-grandfather served as the local prosecutor consecutively from 1920 to 2006.
Link Copied!
Court is now adjourned
Judge Clifton Newman adjourns court following Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
After sentencing Alex Murdaugh to life in prison for the murders of his wife and son, Judge Clifton Newman adjourned the court.
Before adjourning, Newman gave some instructions on protecting the jurors’ identity. He said jurors can choose to speak to the media or stay private and requested that their wishes be respected.
Link Copied!
JUST IN: Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life in prison
Alex Murdaugh attends a sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3. (Pool)
(Pool)
Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole, for the murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and his son Paul Murdaugh.
Link Copied!
Judge to Murdaugh: "You have to see Paul and Maggie during the nighttime when you're attempting" to sleep
Alex Murdaugh attends his sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
Judge Clifton Newman spoke about Alex Murdaugh’s lies during the investigation, saying that his slain wife and son must “come and visit” while he is trying to fall asleep, to which Murdaugh responded that he sees them “all day and every night.”
Newman said Murdaugh’s murder conviction qualifies for the death penalty.
The judge then asked Murdaugh about his statement during testimony about lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murders.
“Remind me of the expression you gave on the witness stand. … ‘Oh, what tangled web we weave.’ What did you mean by that?” he asked, and Murdaugh responded, “I meant that when I lied, I continued to lie.”
The judge then said, “And the question is, when will it end? When will it end? And it has ended already for the jury, because they’ve concluded that you have continued to lie and lied throughout your testimony.”
Murdaugh said he sees his wife Maggie and son Paul “all day and every night.”
“And they will continue to do so and reflect on the last time you looked them in eyes, as you looked the jury in the eyes,” Newman said.
Murdaugh again said he is innocent.
Link Copied!
Judge: The culprit "might have been the monster that you become" when Murdaugh took opioid pills
Judge Clifton Newman speaks during Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
Before giving his sentence, Judge Clifton Newman spoke of the opioid addiction that Alex Murdaugh admitted on the stand.
Some background: During his trial, Murdaugh said he sometimes took more than 2,000 milligrams of oxycodone per day in the months leading up to the deaths of his wife and son.
It is virtually unheard of for a doctor to prescribe a patient more than 100 milligrams of oxycodone a day, even for the most severe acute or chronic pain.
Judge says Murdaugh trial was "one of the most troubling cases" he has seen
Judge Clifton Newman speaks during Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
Judge Clifton Newman said that Alex Murdaugh’s trial was “one of the most troubling cases” for him as a judge, as well as for the state, defense team and the community.
Newman acknowledged he saw Murdaugh on various occasions, since they are both part of the legal community.
“It is also particularly troubling, Mr. Murdaugh, because as a member of the legal community … we have seen each other at various occasions throughout the years,” Newman said. “And it was especially heartbreaking for me to see you go, in the media, as a grieving father who lost a wife and son to being the person indicted and convicted of killing them.”
He added, “You have engaged in duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom, here on the witness stand, and as established by the testimony, throughout the time leading from the time of the indictment and prior to the time of the indictment to this point in time.”
Newman said he does not expect Murdaugh to confess.
Link Copied!
Prosecutor urges life sentence for Alex Murdaugh: He shouldn't "be among free, law-abiding citizens again"
Prosecutor Creighton Waters speaks during Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
Prosecutor Creighton Waters offered condolences to the Murdaugh family and also recommended the maximum sentence for Alex Murdaugh during his sentencing hearing.
“This is a very complicated situation, and I want to offer my condolences to the family that has suffered here,” he said.
“The reality remains is that despite all this attention, this case is about Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh, and I’m so thankful that the jurors gave them a voice,” Waters added.
Waters claimed that Alex Murdaugh “liked to stare me down” while they passed each other in the courtroom during the trial.
“I could see the real Alex Murdaugh when he looked at me. The depravity, the callousness, the selfishness of these crimes are stunning. The lack of remorse and the effortless way in which he lies, including sitting right over there on this witness stand. Your honor, a man like that, a man like this man, should never be allowed to be among free, law-abiding citizens again,” he said.
“I would submit to you that the only just sentence here to give justice for Maggie and Paul is the maximum, and that would be two consecutive life sentences,” Water said.
Link Copied!
"I'm innocent," Alex Murdaugh says before his sentencing
Alex Murdaugh attends a sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
Before the judge sentenced him, Alex Murdaugh spoke in court, again saying he did not kill his wife and son.
Link Copied!
Court is in session for Alex Murdaugh's sentencing
Prosecutor Creighton Waters speaks during Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing hearing on Friday, March 3.
(Pool)
The sentencing hearing for Alex Murdaugh — the disgraced South Carolina attorney found guilty of murdering his wife and grown son — just started.
After more than a month and dozens of witnesses, jurors on Thursday convicted Murdaugh of two counts of murder in the June 2021 killings, as well as two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
Prosecutors have indicated they will seek life in prison without the possibility of parole, sparing Murdaugh the death penalty.
Link Copied!
Alex Murdaugh's legal team will talk to reporters after today's sentencing hearing
From CNN's Dianne Gallagher
Defense attorneys Jim Griffin and Dick Harpootlian speak after their client Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on Thursday, March 2.
(Joshua Boucher/The State/AP)
Alex Murdaugh’s legal team says it will not be commenting prior to sentencing Friday.
Following the sentencing hearing, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin will address the media, according to the legal team.
“The expectation for that press conference is for it to occur about an hour after the completion of the sentencing hearing but more specifics will be provided tomorrow morning,” Murdaugh’s legal team said in an email.
The disgraced South Carolina attorney was convicted on all four counts that he was facing — two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime.
Link Copied!
Judge denied defense motion for mistrial
Judge Clifton Newman denied the defense’s motion for mistrial on Thursday, saying that there has been an “overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence” presented to the jury.
He said this was a matter for the jury to determine and the court found that there “was sufficient evidence to find the defendant guilty if the evidence was believed by the jury.”
Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on two counts of murder in the killing of his wife and son. The jury deliberated for under three hours after hearing weeks of testimony by dozens of witnesses.
Link Copied!
South Carolina Department of Corrections will take custody of Alex Murdaugh after sentencing
From CNN’s Dianne Gallagher
Alex Murdaugh will be released into the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections following his sentencing hearing today.
According to the South Carolina Attorney General’s office, Murdaugh will begin intake and evaluation processing, which is expected to last for several weeks. The average time is normally about 45 days.
During this time, Murdaugh will be in a holding facility in Columbia, South Carolina, according to a South Carolina legal source with knowledge of the situation.
Link Copied!
These were the key takeaways in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial
From CNN's Elizabeth Wolfe
Alex Murdaugh gives testimony in court on Thursday, February 23.
(Grace Beahm Alford/The Post And Courier/AP)
After hearing weeks of witness testimony, jurors after – less than three hours of deliberations – convicted Alex Murdaugh of two counts of murder and two weapons charges in the death of his wife and son.
Murdaugh, a once-prominent attorney in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, fatally shot his wife, Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh, and son Paul Murdaugh on the family’s expansive hunting estate on June 7, 2021.
Here’s what legal experts say were the key points of the case:
Murdaugh’s lie to investigators: In his two-day testimony last week, Murdaugh admitted he lied to investigators when he told them he hadn’t been to his estate’s dog kennels on the evening of the killings until he reported finding the bodies there. That admission came after multiple witnesses for the prosecution identified his voice in a video taken on Paul’s phone at or near the kennels at 8:44 p.m. – shortly before, prosecutors contend, the killings happened.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters speaks during closing arguments on Wednesday, March 1.
(Joshua Boucher/The State/AP)
Prosecutors painted Murdaugh as a dishonest and disgraced attorney who killed his wife and son to draw attention from investigations into financial misconduct allegations against him. In his testimony, Murdaugh repeatedly denied carrying out the killings but admitted to stealing millions of dollars from his former clients and law firm.
Murdaugh said he had a decades-long addiction to opiate painkillers, and that it contributed to “paranoid thinking” that led him to lie to investigators. He testified he took more than 2,000 milligrams a day of oxycodone in the months before Maggie’s and Paul’s deaths.
Dog kennels at the Murdaugh’s Moselle property in Islandton, South Carolina.
(Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post And Courier/AP)
The kennel video was a crucial piece of evidence: Prosecutors tried to overcome a lack of direct evidence — such as eyewitnesses — linking Murdaugh to the killings. They built their case in large part using video, photos, and cell phone and location data to convince the jury that Murdaugh was lying about his actions that night. Prosecutors hinged their case on the video recorded around the kennels on Paul’s phone.
Murdaugh maintained Maggie and Paul were alive when he left the kennels to return to the house, and that he eventually drove to visit his mother in a nearby town. He found the bodies near the kennels after returning, he said; authorities say he called 911 after 10 p.m. Prosecutors, however, argued he carried out the killings and then tried to create an alibi by leaving the property. They also pointed to videos showing he changed clothes sometime between when he was with Paul that day and when he called 911 – though the defense suggested the change wasn’t unusual for him.
Bodycam footage from Colleton County Sheriff Sgt. Daniel Greene, who was first on the scene, shows Greene's encounter with Murdaugh.
(SLED)
The alibi: The prosecution argued that Alex Murdaugh was “manufacturing an alibi” by calling and texting his wife and son, among others, after they were killed. The prosecutor also noted the kinds of questions Murdaugh asked law enforcement after the murders. He said one of the first things Murdaugh did was point out to police how many phone calls he made that night.
