Buster Murdaugh puts his head in his hands as his father is found guilty – while killer’s sister Lynn sits impassively
- Alex Murdaugh’s family looked stony-faced as they reacted to his conviction
- Son buster put his head in his hands while sister Lynn showed little emotion
- Jurors unanimously convicted Murdaugh of his wife Maggie and son Paul on June 7, 2021
Alex Murdaugh’s family looked stony-faced as they reacted to news of his conviction on Thursday night.
Youngest son Buster, 26, put his head in his hands after the verdict was revealed while Murdaugh’s sister Lynn showed little emotion driving away from Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, on June 7, 2021, after a sensational six-week trial that has gripped the country. He now faces 30 years to life in prison.
Neither the disgraced attorney’s younger brother John Marvin, who testified earlier in the week, or his elder sibling Randy were in court to witness the verdict.
It left Lynn and Buster as the sole members of the family to watch on as jurors unanimously found the patriarch guilty after deliberating for less than three hours.
Buster Murdaugh sat with his head in his hands as his father Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering Maggie and Paul
Lynn Murdaugh is pictured looking stony-faced as she drove away from Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Thursday night
In other shots, Lynn appeared to look glum as she stood outside the courthouse following the conviction of her brother
Lynn, pictured, has not spoken publicly about her brother’s trial though she has been frequently pictured in court watching it unfold
Murdaugh turned to face them both as he was cuffed and taken away by officers.
Buster had sat diligently behind his father every day of the dramatic trial, often expressing little emotion as the court discussed how his mother and brother were shot and killed.
But on Thursday night he finally appeared to break, placing his hands over his eyes – a contrast to his father and aunt’s more stoic reaction.
The convicted killer, who wept throughout the trial as the jury were told in gruesome detail how his wife and son were brutally executed and shown harrowing images of the crime scene, gave a blank expression as the judge spoke to the court.
The Murdaugh family wielded immense judicial power in South Carolina for three generations.
But their empire came crumbling down after Murdaugh shot dead his wife Maggie, 52, and younger son Paul, 22, at the family’s 1,800-acre hunting estate in Moselle on the night of June 7, 2021.
The disbarred attorney lied to cops about his alibi before making the sensational decision to take the stand where he changed his story to fit the damning evidence.
Buster appeared stony-faced and sat with his hand covering his mouth beside his girlfriend Brooklynn White who looked down at the ground
His sister Lynn can be seen just rows away from him after the verdict was announced
Murdaugh is led out of the court by sheriff’s deputies after being found guilty of murdering his wife and son
Prosecutor Creighton Waters was cheered by the public as he addressed a press conference outside the court, proclaiming: ‘Justice was done today. ‘It doesn’t matter who your family is, it doesn’t matter how much money you have or people think you have, it doesn’t matter how prominent you are. If you do wrong and break the law and if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina’
But the State convinced jurors with a video which proved he was at the scene just moments before he blasted Paul’s brains out with a shotgun and mercilessly turned an assault rifle on his wife of 27 years, shooting Maggie five times.
He will return for sentencing at 9.30am Friday. He was convicted of two counts of murder and two weapons charges.
He fiercely denied executing his wife and son when he sensationally took the stand to defend himself last week against his own lawyers’ advice.
The patriarch wept as he admitted to jurors that he had lied about being at the crime scene minutes before they were slain – but blamed his paranoia brought on a crippling opioid habit and a mistrust of the police.
Murdaugh said: ‘I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either of them. Ever. Ever,’ he sobbed. ‘I didn’t shoot my wife or son, ever.’
‘Oh what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie, and I told my family, I had to keep lying,’ he added.
But Creighton Waters, prosecuting, exploded Murdaugh’s ‘new story’ by playing bodycam footage from the local cop who was first on the scene in which he was seen already lying about the last time he saw Maggie and Paul.
Waters yesterday told jurors in his closing argument: ‘The pressures on this man were unbearable and they were all reaching a crescendo the day his wife and son were murdered by him.’
Waters joined ex-clients of Murdaugh – who claim he stole millions from them – in celebrating the news of his guilty verdict as he declared ‘justice’ had been served.
Paul, Margaret, Alex and Buster (from left to right). Jurors took less than three hours to reach a guilty verdict
Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh in a photo the mother posted for Father’s Day in 2020
‘If you do wrong and break the law and if you murder, then justice will be done in South Carolina,’ he said.
Meanwhile Justin Bamberg, who represents several victims who were reportedly exploited by Murdaugh, said ‘today is a good day.’
‘Those of us who have been dealing with Alex‘s shenanigans for the last year and a half two years knew that he was a liar,’ he told Fox News.
‘I think that the jury made it very clear that we’re not buying what you’re selling.
‘We think that it’s been proven that you are a liar, that you have lied to any and everybody including those you care about most.
‘If you watch Alex’s face when that verdict was read the tears we saw on trial, the snot we saw on trial – there was none.
‘You know why? Because tears and stuff weren’t going to help him.’
WHERE MAGGIE DIED: A pool of blood outside the kennels where Maggie Murdaugh was shot dead with two AR bullets to the head
WHERE PAUL DIED: Blood spatters on the floor inside the storage room at the kennels where Paul Murdaugh was shot dead. He was killed with a shot to the chest and a second to the head
WHERE PAUL DIED: Blood spatters on the floor inside the storage room at the kennels where Paul Murdaugh was shot dead. He was killed with a shot to the chest and a second to the head
Maggie’s body was found a few yards to the right of a doghouse, while Paul’s was by the doorway at the end of the kennels
The court case opened up a can of worms for the Murdaugh family, exposing a litany of criminal allegations dating back to 2015.
He is accused of at least 99 financial crimes in 19 different indictments, among other offences.
These will be dealt with at a later trial but reports suggest he could face more than 700 years being added to his sentence.
As he took to the stand over the double homicide case, he admitted: ‘What I can tell you is that in all of these financial situations, I stole money that was not my money, I misled people I shouldn’t have misled, and I did wrong. I can tell you that.’
Other scandals discussed in the trial include a 2019 boat crash involving his late son Paul which killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach.
Paul was facing criminal charges after being accused of driving the boat while drunk before he was shot dead. The girl’s family were suing Murdaugh for a reported $30m at the time of Paul and Maggie’s murders.
The death of his housekeeper Gloria Satterfield – who the Murdaugh family claimed tripped over the dogs and fell down the stairs while working at their hunting lodge – was also raised during the case. Her son Tony called to give testimony on the stand about the $4 million wrongful death payout Murdaugh allegedly stole.
Buster Murdaugh, his girlfriend Brooklynn White and Lynn are pictured arriving in court earlier in theday
Buster and Lynn both appeared in court most days to watch Murdaugh’s trial, once being apprehended by guards and told to move a few rows back in the court
Lynn showed little emotion throughout the trial. Pictured listening to the closing statements on Thursday
Murdaugh is also facing separate charges in connection to a September 2021 botched suicide attempt, designed to gift his only surviving son Buster a $12 million insurance payout.
On top of that, the South Carolina Attorney General’s office allege that Murdaugh stole almost $7 million from the bank account of his law firm, then called Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrick.
He is reported to have evaded less than half a million dollars in taxes as well as stealing settlement money from extremely ill, vulnerable and bereaved clients and families – including a quadriplegic client who was swindled out of $1million.
Earlier on in the trial Murdaugh shed tears and displayed dramatic emotions in the court. But on Thursday his reaction was markedly toned down as he was found guilty
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