A man serving in the 12-person jury in the Alex Murdaugh double homicide trial has revealed how they were so quick to find him guilty, after the former lawyer received life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Murdaugh, 54, is part of a powerful and influential family in Hampton County, South Carolina, and served as a lawyer for the majority of the local community as part of a law firm his great-grandfather founded. Over the past few years, however, the family has been embroiled in several scandals that involve a range of alleged financial crimes and murder cover-ups.
In June 2021, Murdaugh's wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, were found dead near some dog kennels on the family's sprawling Southern estate. They were shot at close range but no weapon has been recovered. Murdaugh has consistently denied any responsibility for the deaths, telling authorities varying accounts of how he was either visiting his parents or asleep at home on the couch.
Craig Moyer - a carpenter who has been involved in the jury for the past six weeks - revealed to ABC's Good Morning America that just one piece of evidence sealed the 54-year-old former lawyer's fate.
According to Moyer, the swift verdict was down to the existence of a Snapchat video that Paul recorded just minutes before being brutally murdered, in which Murdaugh's voice is heard in the background.
"I was certain it was [Murdaugh's] voice," he said, adding: "Everybody else could hear [Murdaugh's voice] too."
In a risky move, Murdaugh had taken the witness stand in his own defense - something that Moyer stated came off ungenuine and rehearsed. "He knew what he wanted to say. I mean he is a lawyer," he said. "I didn't see any true remorse or any compassion or anything."
Throughout the trial, Murdaugh admitted to lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murders, with CBS News reporting that he blamed his constant lies on a previous addiction to painkillers and opioids. "I'm not quite sure how I let myself get where I got. I battled that addiction for so many years. I was spending so much money on pills," Murdaugh had said.
Moments before the highly-publicized sentencing, Judge Clifton Newman said (via CNN): "Amazingly to have you come and testify that it was just another ordinary day. 'My wife and son and I were out just enjoying life.' Not credible. Not believable. You can convince yourself about it but obviously you have the inability to convince anyone else about that."
"I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the night times when you're attempting to go to sleep. I'm sure they come and visit you, I'm sure," Judge Newman told Murdaugh during the trial.
"Every night," Murdaugh responded.
The father-of-two reportedly faces up to 700 years in prison for various other crimes - including innumerable financial crimes - that he admitted to throughout the trial.
