Summary:
-
Prosecutors say Alex Murdaugh killed Maggie and Paul on June 7, 2021 to distract from and cover up long-running financial crimes and mounting legal pressure.
-
Evidence at trial included a Snapchat video placing Murdaugh near the dog kennels within the time of the killings and testimony about his lies and motive; he was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to two consecutive life terms.
-
Murdaugh later pleaded guilty to 22 federal financial crimes and received an additional 40-year federal sentence; his story is dramatized in Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family (Oct. 15, 2025).
The murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh shocked South Carolina and launched a cascade of criminal investigations that toppled a powerful legal dynasty. Prosecutors argued Alex Murdaugh killed his wife and younger son to hide years of theft, opioid addiction and looming civil exposure.
Why did Alex Murdaugh kill his wife and son? What motive did prosecutors present?
According to People, Prosecutors presented a clear, fact-based motive at trial: Alex Murdaugh allegedly murdered Maggie and Paul to prevent exposure of his decade-long thefts and to distract from legal and financial pressures that threatened to collapse his life. Over the better part of ten years, investigators say, Murdaugh siphoned roughly $12 million from clients, victims and his law firm stealing settlement and trust funds that weren’t his. Those missing funds and an increasing number of questions about his accounting put him at immediate risk of discovery.
Two practical pressures converged the summer of 2021. First, PMPED’s finance chief confronted Murdaugh about irregularities the morning of June 7, according to testimony used in his murder trial. Second, the family faced a looming wrongful-death civil trial related to the 2019 boating death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, in which Paul had been charged; that trial could have produced discovery that exposed Murdaugh’s financial schemes. Prosecutors argued those pressures supplied motive: a violent, self-destructive attempt to distract from and bury the truth.
READ MORE: Frankenstein Ending Explained: Del Toro’s Modern Update
How did the evidence link Alex Murdaugh to the scene?
At trial, the state relied on a combination of physical evidence, witness testimony and digital records. Alex initially told investigators he had not been near the family kennels the night of the killings; he said he discovered the bodies after returning from visiting his mother. That account unraveled when a Snapchat video recorded by Paul placed Alex near the kennels at 8:44 p.m. within the estimated time of death. Prosecutors used that inconsistency, alongside other testimony about his behavior and false statements, to argue he lied about critical facts.
Ballistics evidence presented at trial showed Paul was shot at close range with a shotgun and Maggie was shot multiple times with an AR-style rifle. The state argued the combination of opportunity, inconsistent statements, and motive established a timeline placing Alex at the scene when the killings occurred. He was indicted, tried in early 2023, found guilty on two counts of murder and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole.
READ MORE: Why Guillermo del Toro Says Frankenstein Isn’t a Horror Movie?
What other crimes were connected to his downfall?
The murders were only one thread in a much larger picture of financial crime and deception. In September 2023 Murdaugh pleaded guilty to 22 federal counts including conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering for schemes that prosecutors say targeted his own clients and vulnerable victims. The U.S. Attorney’s Office later sentenced him to 40 years in federal prison for those offenses. State prosecutions also resulted in additional prison time tied to separate financial charges.
One particularly notable scheme involved insurance settlement funds meant for the family of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaughs’ longtime housekeeper who died in 2018; prosecutors say Murdaugh stole millions from that family. The cumulative weight of client thefts, breached trusts and falsified records underwrote the prosecution’s narrative that his financial crimes provided motive for murder.
READ MORE: Black Phone 2 Ending Explained: What Really Happens?
What about the attempted assisted-suicide and other post-crime acts?
After the June 2021 killings, Murdaugh attempted to stage his own death in September 2021 by arranging for a former client to shoot him. Prosecutors described the episode as an attempted assisted-suicide designed to secure a life-insurance payout for his surviving son Buster. The shooting was not fatal and Murdaugh survived with relatively minor injuries; his attorney later acknowledged the plot in court. That scheme, prosecutors said, further illustrated his state of mind and willingness to manipulate situations for financial ends.
Murdaugh’s post-murder conduct from inconsistent statements to the staged shooting was introduced during prosecutions and in federal proceedings to demonstrate consciousness of guilt and a pattern of deceptive behavior. These facts were part of the broader factual record used by state and federal authorities.
READ MORE: What’s the Real Story Behind Frankenstein (2025)?
What happened at trial and what were the sentences?
The murder trial, State v. Murdaugh, began in January 2023 in South Carolina’s Fourteenth Circuit. After less than three hours of jury deliberation, Murdaugh was convicted on March 2, 2023 of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The judge imposed two consecutive life sentences without parole. The verdict and sentencing were widely publicized and immediately followed by federal financial indictments and guilty pleas.
Following the state conviction, Murdaugh pleaded guilty in federal court to 22 counts tied to his theft schemes. In April 2024 a federal judge sentenced him to 40 years for the financial crimes. State courts also imposed additional prison terms for separate theft convictions. Taken together, the sentences leave him serving life plus decades in federal prison.
READ MORE: Who Stars in the Frankenstein Cast and Which Characters Do They Play?
What legal challenges and appeals followed?
Murdaugh has maintained his innocence for the murders and filed appeals after his 2023 conviction. His defense raised multiple claims, and in August 2024 the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to review certain aspects of his case, including allegations tied to jury and procedural issues. As of October 2025 the case has seen continued legal filings and scrutiny; additionally, the trial’s clerk, Becky Hill, was charged with misconduct and perjury in May 2025, matters that prosecutors say are part of ongoing post-trial reviews. Those developments form part of the appellate record and related criminal inquiries.
Hulu’s scripted series Murdaugh: Death in the Family premiered Oct. 15, 2025.
Stay updated with the Latest News and Stories, follow us on our social media platforms.
You can follow us on:
Stay Connected!! Join our Whatsapp Channel
