Inside the Day Alex Murdaugh Killed His Wife and Son, and How Alibi Unraveled

With Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family reigniting public fascination with the case, new audiences are revisiting the shocking June 2021 night when disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son — and the digital evidence that shattered his alibi.

On June 7, 2021, at the family’s South Carolina hunting estate, Paul, 22, was shot in the chest and head with a shotgun at close range. Maggie, 52, was shot multiple times, including one shot in the back and additional shots while she was lying on the ground. She had been struck with 300 Blackout ammunition from an AR-style rifle. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

More than a year after the bodies were discovered, Alex, the once-prominent attorney, was indicted for the killings. Authorities said Alex killed his wife and son as personal and financial struggles became overwhelming.

During a highly publicized six-week trial, a cellphone video Paul took on the night of the murders was shown to the jury that placed Alex at the murder scene.

The video — which was taken near the dog kennels on the Islandton, S.C., property — featured the voices of Paul, Maggie and Alex. Alex had initially denied being near the dog kennels on the night of the murders, but when he was testifying in his own defense, he admitted to lying about his whereabouts that evening.

Prosecutors said that Alex committed the murders at approximately 8:49 p.m. that night, just minutes after the video was taken. Then, he called his wife’s phone and sent a text message after her death in an effort to create an alibi.

Alex claimed he left his house at approximately 9 p.m. to visit his ailing mother. When he arrived back at the home around 10 p.m., he called 911 and told the dispatcher that he had found his wife and son’s bodies. He later testified that he lied about his whereabouts but denied killing Maggie and Paul.

“I could never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them,” he said on the stand. “Not ever.” He testified that the reason he lied about where he was that evening was because of the paranoia he claims he was experiencing due to his drug addiction at the time.

Alex’s surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, testified in his father’s defense, telling the jury he “knew a little bit” about his father’s drug use and claimed that his father was “heartbroken” following the deaths.

At the time of the murders, the Murdaugh family was facing a lawsuit filed by the family of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who was killed in a February 2019 boating accident while Paul was driving; he was under criminal indictment. Prosecutors said that Alex was worried his multiple financial schemes — which included stealing money from clients — would have been exposed during Paul’s upcoming trial.

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In March 2023, Alex was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime for Maggie and Paul’s killings. He was subsequently sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in prison without parole. Alex was also handed down state and federal sentences for financial crimes.

The Murdaugh case has received extensive media coverage, including several docuseries and, most recently, a scripted series on Hulu titled Murdaugh: Death in the Family, which premiered on Oct. 15.