On Friday, March 3, Alex Murdaugh finally received sentencing for crimes he committed nearly two years ago. The story of the mysterious deaths surrounding the Murdaugh family in Hampton, South Carolina, has captured the media. Netflix recently released a three-part docuseries on the subject called Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. The series, however, dropped before Alex’s sentencing. Here’s what you need to know about what happened in court.
‘Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal’ explores the deaths surrounding the Murdaugh family
Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal details the deaths surrounding the Murdaugh family in Hampton, South Carolina. In 2015, a boy named Stephen Smith was found dead on the road in Hampton County. Rumors later began to circulate that the Murdaugh family’s oldest son Buster had something to do with Stephen’s death.
In 2018, the Murdaugh family’s housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, suffered severe injuries after falling down the steps of the family home. She died in the hospital a few weeks later from her injuries.
The following year, the family’s youngest son Paul Murdaugh allegedly crashed a boat into a bridge while driving intoxicated. The impact threw 19-year-old Mallory Beach from the boat, causing her to drown. In June 2021, Alex Murdaugh met a grisly scene. He discovered both his son Paul and wife, Maggie, dead of gunshot wounds at the family’s hunting lodge.
Alex Murdaugh was charged with murdering his wife and son
Alex Murdaugh, the patriarch of the Murdaugh family, was a wealthy and powerful attorney in Hampton County. In 2022 Alex faced charges of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the deaths of his wife, Maggie, and his son Paul.
He also faced a slew of so-called “white collar” crimes. According to CNN’s tally, the charges are made up of “32 counts of embezzlement, 21 counts of computer crime, 14 counts of money laundering, 11 counts of obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, nine counts of tax evasion, seven counts of conspiracy, three counts of false statement or misrepresentation and two counts of forgery.”
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Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing revealed
On January 25, 2023, Alex’s trial for the murders of Maggie and Paul began, with Alex pleading not guilty to the crimes. NBC News reports that on March 2, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on all four counts. The following day, Alex Murdaugh’s sentencing was announced. He received the maximum two consecutive life sentences for the killings.
Why didn’t Alex Murdaugh get the death penalty?
Notably, state prosecutors sought life in prison without parole for Alex, which allowed him to escape the death penalty in South Carolina. Alex continues to proclaim his innocence and plans to appeal the conviction, but his sentencing is opening up a bigger discussion.
Judge Clifton Newman, who presided over Alex’s trial, noted his lack of remorse and “duplicitous conduct here in the courtroom,” wrote NBC News. He also made sure to point out that Alex’s crimes could have awarded him the death penalty.
“This case,” Newman said, according to USA Today, “qualifies under our death penalty statute based on the statutory aggravating circumstances of two or more people being murdered by the defendant by one act or pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct.”
The outlet points out that Alex’s racial and class privilege likely helped him avoid a harsher punishment for his crimes, a point that Judge Newman drove home in the trial’s final days.
All episodes of Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal are currently streaming on Netflix.
