Alex Murdaugh appeals conviction and sentencing in murder of wife and son
Misty Severi
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Attorneys for disbarred lawyer Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife and son, filed a notice of appeal to his conviction and sentencing Thursday.
Murdaugh was found guilty of two murder charges one week before the appeal and was given two life sentences without parole the following day by Circuit Judge Clifton Newman. Murdaugh’s attorneys had moved to declare a mistrial directly after the verdict, but it was dismissed by Newman.
The notice of appeal did not give a reason for the filing, but one of his attorneys, Dick Harpootlian, claimed it was “the next step in the legal process to fight for Alex’s constitutional right to a fair trial.”
https://twitter.com/Harpootlian4SC/status/1633955884031254529
Harpootlian raised issues about the preservation of the crime scene during the trial.
Prosecutors claimed Murdaugh killed his wife, Maggie, and one of their sons, Paul, on their property in Islandton, South Carolina, on June 7, 2021. The motive was to distract from investigations into Murdaugh’s alleged financial crimes, according to prosecutors. Those alleged crimes included stealing millions of dollars from former clients.
Murdaugh has denied killing his wife and son, but he admitted to lying to investigators about his whereabouts on the night of the murder and stealing funds from clients.
Despite his denial, the jury reached a guilty verdict after under three hours of deliberation on March 2.
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In a different case that has not gone to trial, Murdaugh faces 99 charges that include embezzlement, computer crime, money laundering, and conspiracy. Even though he has been found guilty of murder, the prosecutor’s office said it still plans to try Murdaugh for his white-collar crimes, according to CNN.
He is also charged with filing a false police report after arranging for a former client to kill him so his surviving son could collect his life insurance. The plot failed, however, and Murdaugh told police that an unknown man had shot him in the head on Sept. 4, 2021. He later admitted to the conspiracy.