Alex Murdaugh to appeal his murder convictions
Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty last week of murdering his wife and son, intends to appeal his convictions, according to documents filed Thursday by his legal team.
The disgraced former South Carolina attorney was convicted on four counts: the 2021 murder of his wife Maggie Murdaugh, the murder of his son Paul Murdaugh, and two counts of possession of a weapon during a crime.
Murdaugh, 54, was sentenced to life in prison for the two murder convictions, to be served consecutively. He was not sentenced on the possession charges.
The jury deliberated for about three hours before returning the four guilty verdicts.
Murdaugh faces multiple other accusations that were not part of the murder trial — including allegedly trying to arrange his own death for an insurance payout. He faces nearly 100 charges against him for various financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering, tax evasion and forgery. He admitted to many of these crimes on the stand in this trial but legal proceedings on the other charges wouldn't proceed until after the conclusion of the murder trial.
Prior to his sentencing, Murdaugh spoke briefly in court and denied that he had ever hurt his wife or son.
"I respect this court, but I'm innocent," Murdaugh told Judge Clifton Newman. "I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife Maggie, and I would never under any circumstances hurt my son."
"And it might not have been you," Newman responded. "It might have been the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person."
Sarah Lynch Baldwin, Allison Elyse Gualtieri and Alex Sundby contributed reporting.