The Murdaugh Murders: IN COLD BLOOD

Alex Murdaugh's trial for the horrific slaying of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, takes a shocking turn

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During his intense two days on the witness stand, a sobbing Alex Murdaugh confessed to a litany of offenses, including stealing money to fuel his rampant drug addiction, cheating his legal clients and lying to police. But there are two crimes he swore he didn’t commit: the brutal 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. “I didn’t shoot my wife or my son, anytime, ever,” he insisted during his emotional Feb. 23 testimony, reiterating the next day, “I would hurt myself before I would hurt one of them.”

The facts of the case strongly suggested otherwise. The sensational double-murder trial exposed years of scandal — including a slew of serious financial crimes and three other tragic deaths — that brought down the

South Carolina Lowcountry’s most powerful legal dynasty of the past century. “There are facts that don’t add up and bodies tied to this family,” says Hampton, S.C., reporter Michael DeWitt Jr. Because of Alex’s notoriety, adds a source, “the Murdaugh name has been permanently tainted. The question is: Why did he do the things he did?”

THE MOTIVE