The Aftermath of Alex Murdaugh

With last week’s verdict and sentencing, a case that has lasted several years and ensnared the minds of not only South Carolinians but people all across America has come to an end. Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on all counts last Thursday for murdering his son, Paul, and wife, Maggie, in 2021. On Friday, he was sentenced to two life sentences without parole.

With this case so close to home, it’s no wonder that so many people in the Clemson area were following it closely. To give you an idea, a woman sitting in front of me at a Clemson baseball game was watching the trial on her phone on Opening Day, while I was asked to pause the bar trivia I was leading on Thursday to announce the verdict. It’s no wonder that Murdaugh’s name has been mentioned in media, social or otherwise, 818.9K times since the start of the year (460.9K mentions specifically from Twitter), with 27.8K of those coming from South Carolina Twitter users alone. Just since this article draft was started, there have been approximately 3,000 more posts, indicating people are still actively discussing the verdict and case.

In case you aren’t familiar with the case, it’s full of twists and turns that ultimately ended the more than a century-long hegemony of the Murdaugh family. Things began when the Murdaughs’ younger son, Paul, was involved with a boat crash in 2019 that killed a friend, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, and was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Investigations for Paul’s case led to inspections into Alex’s finances, which had been padded for years by fraudulent practices, including stealing money from the clients he would represent as a prominent lawyer.

Alex then arranged for a suicide-for-hire plot, attempting to distract from the crash. However, it was unsuccessful, and he survived, sparking distrust from lawyers. As suspicion built up, Alex’s wife, Maggie, and Paul were killed violently near the family’s kennels. The murders occurred just days before the original trial was meant to begin, and essentially ended that prosecution in its tracks.

In the end, though, Alex’s story he told investigators rapidly unwound, and he became the top suspect in the case. Not only did he seemingly kill his wife and younger son, but a variety of other unsavory activities came to light: the death of the family’s housekeeper several years ago, legal manipulations around the boat crash trial, fraud and embezzlement, and Alex’s addiction to opioid painkillers.

The sordid drama captivated the nation as this local scion’s story collapsed with every new twist and turn. Like with many other violent crimes, people were shocked how someone could do such heinous things. Buzzfeed News wrote about the psychiatric term “family annihilator,” and how it applied to Murdaugh and his sense of ownership over family members. The entire ordeal became an example of privilege and entitlement.

As the trial was ongoing, Netflix also made headlines for releasing a docu-series about “The Murdaugh Murders,” which was a top trend in social media discussions. Some top responses by users who watched the show discussed how they knew many people like the Murdaughs who used their privilege and money corruptly, as well as offering their condolences for the lives lost, including Mallory Beach, whose unfortunate death essentially kicked off the entire chain of events. A podcast of the same name has also gained popularity during the trial, and one of the hosts, Mandy Matney, shared a tribute to Beach.

While the sentiment surrounding Murdaugh’s name is overwhelmingly negative – 84.7% – there is relief that justice has been served to a man who, for so long, considered himself above justice. People are praising the prosecution, including lead prosecutor Creighton Waters, for their excellent work turning largely circumstantial evidence into a strong case about which the jurors needed only three hours to debate.

An overwhelming sense of pride in the underdog came through in news stories and social media posts alike. The jurors were praised for being able to halt what was a multi-generational legal dynasty before it exercised its power any further:

It will be many years before their community heals from the damage caused by Murdaugh’s actions, but at least we in South Carolina, and around the U.S., can rest assured that justice was served.

Original story on the SMLC Blog.