Alex Murdaugh murder trial: Jury urged not to ‘conflate one family tragedy with another’ by finding him guilty

Jurors in the trial of Alex Murdaugh, a South Carolina lawyer accused of murdering his wife and son, were urged not to “compound one family tragedy with another” in finding him guilty as the defense finished its closing arguments and the jury was dismissed . to reconsider.

Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of either count of murder.

Investigators said his 22-year-old son Paul was shot twice with a shotgun and his wife Maggie, 52, was shot four or five times with a shotgun outside the kennels on their property.

On Thursday, the defense finished its closing arguments, with lead attorney Jim Griffin saying, “In this case, justice requires two words, and those two words are ‘not guilty.’

“On behalf of Alex, on behalf of Buster, on behalf of Maggie and on behalf of my friend Paul, I respectfully ask you not to confuse one family tragedy with another,” he said.

Buster, Mr Murdaugh’s second son, who was not at the family’s Colleton County property the night his mother and brother were killed on June 7, 2021, previously defended his father in court.