“A good liar, but not good enough”: Alex Murdaugh juror reveals reason behind rapid verdict

Murdaugh had also been linked to multiple other deaths (image via The Associated Press/Joshua Boucher)
Murdaugh had also been linked to multiple other deaths (image via The Associated Press/Joshua Boucher)

On Thursday, March 2, 54-year-old disgraced former lawyer Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of the murder of his wife, Maggie, and younger son, Paul. According to juror Craig Moyer, the verdict took less than an hour to reach.

In an interview with ABC news, Moyer said that the evidence against Alex Murdaugh left no doubt among jurors about his guilt.

Moyer said:

“[Murdaugh is] a good liar, but not good enough."

Alex Murdaugh was convicted of two counts of homicide and two counts of weapon possession, and has been given two consecutive life sentences.


The evidence that led to Alex Murdaugh's guilty verdict

According to Craig Moyer, a crucial piece of evidence in the case was a cellphone video that contradicted Alex Murdaugh's alibi.

People News reported that on June 7, 2021, Alex Murdaugh called authorities and claimed that he found the bodies of Paul and Maggie near the dog kennels. He told officials that on the night of the murders, he hadn't been near the kennels before his wife and son were shot.

In fact, he told them that he was with his sick mother at the time of the killing. Murdaugh's mother suffers from dementia.

Authorities discovered a cellphone video that allegedly proved that the Murdaugh patriarch was lying. The video, which was taken at the dog kennels right before Maggie and Paul were killed, had a voice that reportedly sounded like Alex. This indicated to authorities that he had been at the kennels just moments before his wife and son were shot.

Moyer said that both jurors and witnesses were certain that the former lawyer's voice had been heard in the video.

He said that he was certain that the voice in the video was Murdaugh's voice. Moyer said that within 45 minutes, the jurors had come to a unanimous decision that Murdaugh was guilty.

He said:

“You start deliberating, going through the evidence and everybody was pretty much talking(...) About 45 minutes later, after all our deliberating, we figured (out that he was guilty). The evidence was clear."

In an interview with Today News, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson discussed the jury's decision.

Wilson also agreed that he was certain that it was Murdaugh's voice heard on the video. He continued:

“It was basically Paul speaking from beyond the grave that yes, Alex Murdaugh was there, just moments before Maggie and Paul were brutally murdered."

In an attempt to defend himself, Murdaugh said that he had lied about his whereabouts. He claimed he was paranoid that authorities would unjustly implicate him in the killings if they found he had been at the scene of the crime moments before the shooting.

Wilson said:

“I think that was fatal for him ultimately. Obviously, he had created a web of lies for over a decade that led to this culminating point in this trial. Obviously, he had lied. He had been lying his way out of things for so long he had forgotten what it was like to tell the truth.”

Murdaugh is currently under the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

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