Murdaugh Murders verdict - the killer of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh revealed

Netflix's hit docu-series, The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, focused on the tragic double homicide of mother and son, Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.

The release of this Netflix show synced up with the real-life trial of Alex Murdaugh, who was charged with the murder of his wife Maggie, and their son, Paul. The show explored the death of Mallory Beach which kickstarted a chain of horrific events that lead to the murder of Paul and Maggie. While the show concluded without and answer as to who killed Paul and Maggie, a verdict to the Murdaugh Murders has now been found...

What was the Murdaugh murders verdict? 

On March 2, the court finally discovered who killed Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. It was announced that Alex Murdaugh had been found guilty of murdering his wife and son. 

Despite pleading not guilty, and even taking to the stand at one point to make a plea about his innocence, the jury found Alex guilty of the two murders.

Per The Guardian, it was reported that South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson commented that he hope the findings of the trial would restore faith in the justice system as they provided 'a voice' to the victims. "No one, but no one, is above the law,” he said. “Our justice system gave voice to Maggie and Paul who were brutally mowed down by someone they loved and trusted.”

How long did the jury deliberate?

It has been reported that the jury deliberated for less than three hours before convicting Alex Murdaugh at the end of the six-week televised trial. 

Jury deliberations are unique to each case and can span anywhere from a few minutes, to a few weeks. The length of this deliberation indicates that the evidence the jury heard during the course of the six week trial, was enough for them to agree fairly quickly that Alex Murdaugh was guilty.

When did the Murdaugh murders occur? 

The series reveals that these events all took place relatively recently. The horrific incident that kicked off the problems for the Murdaughs, the death of Mallory Beach, took place on February 23, 2019. Her body was then found eight days after the drunken boat crash on March 3, 2019.

The deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh took place on June 7, 2021. On July 14, 2022, Alex Murdaugh was then indicted for the murders and has been in jail since October 2022.

The murder trial of Alex Murdaugh began in January 2023 and he was then found guilty of murdering his wife and son on Thursday, March 2, 2023.

What was the motive in the Murdaugh murders? 

It has been established by the jury that Alex's motive behind murdering his wife and son was to cover up and gain sympathy for a number of his other crimes. 

Alex Murdaugh had reportedly been stealing from clients at his law firm and was confronted about the missing funds on the night that Paul and Maggie were murdered. This was the trigger that caused Alex to kill, but there were a number of other issues including the suspicion that the lawsuit from Mallory Beach's parents threw onto the Murdaughs. 

Per CNN, prosecutor Creighton Waters said in his closing arguments, "The evidence that you’ve heard shows that the defendant became so addicted and so dependent on the velocity of money that the millions of dollars in legal fees that he was receiving was not enough and so he started to steal."

"The pressures on this man were unbearable and they were reaching a crescendo the day his wife and son were murdered by him," he conlcuded.

The murders of Paul and Maggie also brought to light and re-opened other murder cases associated with the Murdaugh family. This included the 2018 death of their housekeeper Gloria Satterfield and the unsolved 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, who was presumed to be having a sexual relationship with Buster Murdaugh.

Where to watch the Murdaugh Murders documentary

Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is available to view exclusively on Netflix. The series launched on February 22 and consists of three episodes lasting around 41 to 50 minutes.