South Carolina AG: Alex Murdaugh has been weaving a web of lies for decades
South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson joins 'Fox & Friends' ahead of the sentencing hearing for Alex Murdaugh after he was found guilty of murdering his wife and son.
The South Carolina attorney general responsible for leading the prosecution’s case against Alex Murdaugh said Friday that a Snapchat video placing the disbarred lawyer at the scene moments before the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul "pretty much sealed his fate."
Alan Wilson made the remark on "Fox & Friends" before Murdaugh was sentenced Friday to life in prison after a jury found him guilty Thursday of gunning down his wife and son.
"I believe that when they saw him testify, they could see that this guy was a liar, a manipulator, and they weren’t going to have it," Wilson said following the conclusion of the six-week trial. "That video pretty much sealed his fate."
In an earlier interview with NBC’s "Today" show, Wilson said Murdaugh's decision to take the stand in his double-murder trial was "fatal for him."
ALEX MURDAUGH CONVICTED OF MURDER IN FATAL SHOOTING OF WIFE AND SON
Alex Murdaugh is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of his wife and son by Judge Clifton Newman at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Friday. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool)
"I think Alex Murdaugh was our biggest piece of evidence when he took the stand. I think that was fatal for him ultimately," Wilson said.
"He had been lying his way out of things for so long that he had forgotten what it was like to tell the truth," Wilson also told NBC.
"When he took the stand, that was basically in my opinion, Alex had made a career — a very successful career — of giving closing arguments to juries and winning major cases and making a lot of money. This was his closing argument to the jury," Wilson also said. "I believe in my mind that he believed that he could talk his way out of this."
During a grueling cross-examination that spanned two days, prosecutors had grilled an increasingly fatigued Murdaugh on his inconsistent statements relating to the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in June 2021.
The jury on Thursday found Murdaugh guilty of two counts each of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
ALEX MURDAUGH’S PROMPT GUILTY VERDICT CALLED ‘STUNNING’
Alex Murdaugh is led away at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Friday. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)
The disbarred attorney carried out the double slayings to stave off a devastating financial reckoning, Assistant Attorney General Creighton Waters had told jurors during the trial.
Murdaugh, the wealthy scion of a once powerful legal dynasty, has admitted he is a drug addict and thief who allegedly swindled his law firm and clients out of nearly $9 million.
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Alex Murdaugh is led out of the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, after receiving a double life sentence on Friday. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
"You have a family legacy that is over 100 years old. You have a man that has lived a lifestyle of privilege in a world that many of us will never know. And all of that was going to end eventually, and he was getting desperate," Wilson told NBC on Friday. "He was in survivor mode at this point."
"I believe he probably loved them in his own way, but he loved himself more and killing them was the price he was willing to pay in order to preserve his way of life," Wilson added.
Fox News’ Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.
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