Alex Murdaugh: Disgraced lawyer pictured for first time since he was sentenced for murdering wife and son | US News
The first photo of South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh since he was sentenced for the murder of his wife and son has been released.
The new mugshot, from the South Carolina Department of Corrections, shows Murdaugh with a shaved head and wearing a yellow prison jumpsuit.
The department said he will stay in South Carolina’s Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Centre for 45 days while officials decide which maximum-security prison to send him to.
Alex Murdaugh
Murdaugh will undergo several tests on his physical and mental health as well as an educational assessment.
The corrections department told US media that it is standard procedure for new inmates to receive a haircut.
The former personal injury lawyer was handed a double life sentence on Friday for the murder of his wife Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son Paul on 7 June, 2021.
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The jury deliberated for less than three hours on Thursday after a high-profile trial that captured the US public’s attention.
Prosecutors said Murdaugh, 54, killed his wife and son outside dog kennels on their rural property to divert attention away from the fact he stole millions of dollars from the family’s legal firm and clients to fund his opioid addiction.
A family photo of Buster, Paul, Maggie and Alex was shown during the murder trial
During the six-week trial, the jury was shown almost 800 pieces of evidence and heard from more than 75 witnesses.
Read more on Alex Murdaugh:
Two murders, a suicide plot and mystery over a housekeeper’s death
Trial prompts reopening of investigations into other deaths
Murdaugh maintained his innocence during the sentencing, saying he “would never under any circumstances” hurt his wife and son.
The murders and several other controversies were linked to the lawyer in the popular Netflix series Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal.
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The controversies were spoken about in the trial and included: a failed attempt to stage his death so Murdaugh’s surviving son Buster could collect his multi-million dollar life insurance payout; a boat crash that killed a 19-year-old woman in which his son Paul was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol; and a housekeeper who fell to her death in their family home.
The murderer is also accused of 99 other charges for financial crimes dating back several years.
Alex Murdaugh led to the Colleton County Courthouse by sheriff’s deputies for sentencing on Friday
Murdaugh’s family are well-known names in the South Carolina legal system and have been for more than 100 years.
He was sentenced in the same courtroom his father, grandfather and great-grandfather tried cases as the elected prosecutor for more than 80 years.
A portrait of his grandfather which hung in the courtroom was removed before the trial.
