Before he gave Alex Murdaugh two consecutive life sentences for murdering his wife and younger son, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman admonished the former lawyer for his lack of remorse and said he must reckon with his conscience and the “monster you’ve become.”
“Remind me of the expression you gave on the witness stand … ‘Oh, what tangled web we weave.’ What did you mean by that?” Newman asked Friday in a packed Colleton County Courthouse.
“I meant when I lied,” Murdaugh, 54, said. “I continue to lie.”
Click here to follow live coverage.
Murdaugh spoke in court only briefly and did not address his role in what happened to his wife, Margaret, and their younger son, Paul, when they were fatally shot June 7, 2021, at the family’s estate.
He has proclaimed his innocence since a grand jury indicted him in the murders last year, and prosecutors alleged he killed them to gain pity before being exposed for a slew of financial crimes.
At his trial, Murdaugh took the stand and admitted lying repeatedly to investigators and said he was dishonest about his alibi on the night of the murders because of his addiction to pain pills and general paranoia.
“I respect this court, but I’m innocent,” Murdaugh, shackled in a tan jail jumpsuit, told the judge at his sentencing. “I would never under any circumstances hurt my wife, Maggie, and I would never under any circumstances hurt my son, Paul Paul.”
“It might not have been you,” Newman responded. “It might have been the monster you’ve become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 opioid pills. Maybe you become another person. I’ve seen that before. The person standing before me was not the person who committed the crime, though is the same individual.”
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters told the court Friday that there would be no victim impact statements ahead of Murdaugh’s sentencing.
Murdaugh’s defense lawyers told NBC News they planned to appeal the conviction. Throughout the roughly six-week trial, they objected to…
Read the full article here