“The evidence will show”: Prosecutors allege Alex Murdaugh killed his family to cover financial crimes

On Thursday, December 8, South Carolina prosecutors accused former attorney Alex Murdaugh of killing his family in order to divert attention from his alleged financial crimes.

Prosecutor Creighton Waters claimed:

“The evidence will show Murdaugh accrued substantial debts over a period of years and to uncover those debts began engaging in illicit financial crimes."

Murdaugh, who has also been accused of money laundering and stealing almost $9 million from clients, reportedly shot his wife and younger son on June 7, 2021, in their family hunting lodge in Islandton, South Carolina.

As per The New York Post, prosecutors claimed that Alex Murdaugh had committed the murders in order to garner pity after he realized news of his supposed financial crimes was about to surface. He faces over 100 charges, including double homicide and drug offenses.

Alex Murdaugh was also accused of attempting to organize his own death so that his surviving son, Buster, would receive $10 million in insurance.

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Details of the Alex Murdaugh case

As per CNN, State Grand Jury Chief Prosecutor Creighton Waters claimed that Murdaugh had conducted various illegal financial schemes to deal with his rising debts.

Waters summed up Murdaugh's fall from grace in a filing. Prosecutors said that on the day of the double homicide, Murdaugh's law firm was attempting to question him about the money he had reportedly embezzled from the organization.

"The evidence will further show these financial crimes were about to come to light at the time of the killings, more specifically on the date of the killings."

Waters said that the murders initially served Murdaugh's intended purpose, as his firm halted their attempts to recover the suspected embezzlement scheme.

“Ultimately, the murders served as Murdaugh’s means to shift the focus away from himself and buy himself some additional time to try and prevent his financial crimes from being uncovered, which, if revealed, would have resulted in personal legal and financial ruin for Murdaugh.”

As per the Associated Press, Waters claims that despite his alleged illegal activities, Alex Murdaugh had to continue borrowing money, causing him to descend into a vicious cycle. He added that these issues were exacerbated by the embattled former attorney's drug addiction, which reportedly led to him running an illegal painkiller operation.

Waters wrote:

"(Murdaugh was) constantly having to borrow and earn and steal just to keep kicking the can down the road and to stay above water. (It was an) exhaustive hamster wheel. A slow burn that was heating up and heating up."

On Friday, December 9, Waters told Circuit Judge Clifton Newman that the financial schemes were key to understanding the case, as they were ultimately a major driving force in the homicides.

He said:

“This is a white collar case that culminated in murders."

Alex Murdaugh is currently being held on a $7 million bond.