Alex Murdaugh
, a lawyer for a wealthy family in the southern United States, was sentenced Friday to
life in prison
for murdering his wife and son, in a case that kept the country on edge and even inspired a Netflix series.
Judge Clifton Newman sentenced Murdaugh, 54, the scion of a family of judges and lawyers, to
two consecutive life terms
for the 2021 murders.
In a calm but
firm
tone , the judge spoke for a long time addressing him before pronouncing the sentence.
He called the
disgraced attorney's claims "
not credible " and told him that he surely "sees Paul and Maggie at night when he's trying to get to sleep."
And he continued: "
I'm sure they're coming to visit him
," he blurted out.
Murdaugh, handcuffed and dressed in a prison uniform, again claimed
his innocence
.
His Buster's son was in the room.
"I respect this court, but I am innocent. I would never hurt my wife Maggie and my son," he said.
"The evidence of guilt
is overwhelming
," the magistrate said Thursday after the jury unanimously found him guilty.
Murdaugh listened to the verdict standing,
undaunted
, though constantly blinking.
In less than three hours of deliberation, the jury found him guilty of shooting to death his wife Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their son Paul Murdaugh, 22, on June 7, 2021 near the kennel on their sprawling estate. from South Carolina, named Moselle.
He is accused of stealing vast amounts of money from his law office, from friends and even from his housekeeper's son, and of having executed their relatives
to avoid discovery
.
The case fascinated the United States, where the documentary "
The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal
" is among the most watched on
Netflix
, with 40 million views last week.
Throughout the trial, news networks broadcast live the parade of defrauded colleagues and friends, who recounted how Alex Murdaugh
stole millions of dollars from them
.
Murdaugh acknowledged these frauds, which he attributes to bad investments and an addiction to opiates, and for which he will later be tried.
The shadows over Alex began after a young woman died in a boat accident piloted by her son under the influence of alcohol in 2019. The justice was interested in the state of the father's finances to find out if he could pay the possible damages and damages.
Prosecutor Creighton Waters claims that Murdaugh murdered his relatives to buy time before attempting suicide.
In early September, he asked an accomplice to kill him so his son would receive $10 million in life insurance.
But the bullet barely grazed him
.
According to the prosecutor, Alex Murdaugh used his professional experience to tamper with the crime scene, change his clothes and erase the conversation history, the prosecutor said.
He also "made an alibi" by visiting his senile mother and making calls right after the crime, Waters said.
But in a video recorded by his son minutes before he died, his father's voice can be heard, despite the fact that he always denied having been near the kennel that day.
Last week the defendant admitted to having lied, but said that it was due to a paranoia caused by his dependence on drugs.
With information from AFP
DB
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