CHARLESTON – A South Carolina jury on Thursday found Richard “Alex” Murdaugh guilty of killing his wife and son, convicting the once-influential attorney in a grisly and complex case that has gripped the nation’s attention for nearly two years.

The 12-person jury declared Murdaugh, 54, guilty on two counts of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son, Paul, 22, who were executed at close range near the dog kennels on their family estate on the evening of June 7, 2021.

Murdaugh, the scion of an influential legal family in an area west of Charleston, had pleaded not guilty, though he admitted to lying about his alibi and to an array of financial crimes in confessions that dented his credibility with the jury.

With the guilty verdict, Murdaugh faces up to life in prison on sentencing.

The case has drawn intense media coverage given the family’s immense political power in and around Colleton County, where the trial took place.

For decades until 2006, family members served as the leading prosecutor in the area, and Murdaugh was a prominent personal injury attorney in the Deep South state.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors sought to portray Murdaugh as a serial liar and argued that only he had the means and the opportunity to commit the murders.

Prosecutors said Murdaugh gunned down his wife and son to distract from a litany of financial crimes, including the theft of millions of dollars from his law partners and clients – money used to feed a years-long addiction to opioids and support an expensive lifestyle. REUTERS