Why is the Alex Murdaugh murder trial attracting so much attention?
The public has been captivated by the dramatic trial of Alex Murdaugh, a high-profile lawyer accused of murdering his wife and son at their home in South Carolina.
It is a case full of surprises, including claims of corruption, drug addiction, and a series of other deaths linked to the same family.
Murdaugh, 54, has pleaded not guilty to the murders. The defense has rested its case and jury deliberations are expected to begin later this week, according to the BBC.
Allegations
Murdaugh reported finding his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, dead near the dog kennels on their estate in South Carolina on June 7 2021.
The heir to an influential legal dynasty said that he was not involved in the deaths, but prosecutors say he shot the pair at close range with a rifle and shotgun.
Police did not make any arrests for more than a year. Murdaugh was indicted last July on two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon while committing a violent crime.
He faces 30 years to life without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty.
Prosecutors are alleging that Murdaugh murdered his wife and son to distract from allegations he embezzled millions from his family-founded law firm, for which he is separately facing charges.
He has confessed to lying about his whereabouts on the evening of the deaths after video footage taken by his son surfaced in which Murdaugh can be heard in the background.
A murder weapon has not been found, but prosecutors argue there is circumstantial evidence including mobile phone data and gunshot residue.
Defense
Murdaugh’s defense attorneys argued that their client is a loving father and husband who fell victim to poor policing work.
Buster, Murdaugh’s surviving son, testified that his father was “destroyed” and “heartbroken” after the killings.
Lawyers also said that it was “not believable” that the defendant had enough time to commit murder, dispose of evidence, and then drive to where his alibi had placed him.
With no eyewitnesses, no hard proof and no blood found on any of Mr Murdaugh’s clothing that night, the state's case is nothing more than “a theory,” they argue.
Drug addiction and ‘paranoia’
Murdaugh took to the witness stand on two days last week in order to testify in his own defense.
He acknowledged that he had lied to investigators several times, and admitted that he was at the dog kennels the night his wife and son were killed.
An addiction to prescription painkillers had made him “paranoid” and led him to lie about his whereabouts, he said.
He also admitted to stealing from clients so that he could fund his opiate abuse, but argued that none of this proved that he murdered his wife and son.
Related incidents
A series of deaths linked to the Murdaugh family has further complicated matters in the case.
In 2018, the family’s housekeeper Gloria Satterfield died at their home in an apparent accident.
Murdaugh encouraged her children to file a wrongful death lawsuit, and his insurance company paid out $4.3 million.
But the Satterfield family said they never received the money, and Murdaugh later admitted to keeping it.
Police are still investigating Satterfield’s death, while the Murdaugh family maintain that she tripped over their dogs and fell down the stairs.
The following year, son Paul crashed a boat while drunk and killed a passenger: Mallory Beach.
He had been charged and was out on bail at the time of his death.
Three months after the deaths of his wife and son, Murdaugh himself was injured in a roadside shooting.
Authorities later revealed that he had staged a botched hit job on himself so that his son Buster could collect a life insurance policy.
Murdaugh is facing legal proceedings in all three investigations.