On Thursday, Richard "Alex" Murdaugh was found guilty by a jury of 12 of killing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and son, Paul Murdaugh, 22. Murdaugh, 54, a once-influential attorney from South Carolina, displayed no emotion as the verdict was read. Judge Clifton Newman denied a motion for mistrial after the jury reached its verdict following 3 hours of deliberation.

After two years of national intrigue surrounding this case, the verdict was evidence of the overwhelming amount of evidence of Murdaugh's guilt. Prosecutors argued that Murdaugh was a serial liar who had the means and opportunity to commit the double murder of his family on the evening of June 7, 2021. Murdaughs motive was reportedly to distract from his financial crimes, including stealing millions from his law partners and clients. This money was used to fund an addiction to opioids and support his expensive