In a case that captivated the nation for over two years, a South Carolina jury convicted Richard “Alex” Murdaugh guilty of murdering his wife and son on Thursday.

Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and youngest son Paul, 22, at close range near the dog kennels on their family estate on June 7, 2021. Two gun convictions followed.

Murdaugh showed no expression as the jury foreperson read the judgment after three hours of deliberations. Instead, he left the courtroom handcuffed.

His counsel promptly requested a mistrial, which the court refused.

“The guilt is tremendous,” South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Clifton Newman remarked.

Murdaugh, the scion of an important legal family west of Charleston, pled not guilty but confessed to lying about his alibi and committing various financial crimes, damaging his credibility with the jury.

Murdaugh will be sentenced on Friday to 30 years to life for his two murder convictions.

The family’s political strength in Colleton County, where the trial occurred, has garnered media attention. Family members prosecuted the region until 2006, and Murdaugh was a notable Deep South personal injury attorney.

Prosecutors called Murdaugh a chronic liar and said that only he could have committed the murders. Instead, authorities alleged he shot his wife and son to cover his financial crimes, including stealing millions of dollars from his legal partners and clients to fund a decades-long opioid addiction and a lavish lifestyle.

Last week, Murdaugh testified that he lied about being at the dog kennels before the murders. However, Murdaugh altered his story when the jury heard audio evidence placing him at the murder scene minutes before the deaths.

“It doesn’t matter who your family is or how much money you have,” lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said following the verdict. “South Carolina will avenge wrongdoing, lawbreaking, and murder.”

Murdaugh’s attorneys portrayed him as a wonderful family guy who, despite financial struggles and an opioid addiction that caused him to lie and steal, would never hurt his wife and kid.

Murdaugh said that someone furious at Paul’s fatal 2019 boating accident likely wanted revenge on his son.

In his final statement on Thursday, defense attorney Jim Griffin called the state’s motivation ridiculous, suggesting that the killings would have attracted more attention to Murdaugh’s financial wrongdoing.

Griffin also accused detectives of manufacturing evidence and frequently underlined the high legal hurdle in criminal cases of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, highlighting the difficulties that prosecutors who relied on circumstantial evidence faced.

Jurors rejected Murdaugh’s story.

Instead, prosecutors often cited Murdaugh’s admission that he lied about where he was when his wife and kid were slain.

Judge Newman commended jurors.

“Circumstantial evidence, direct evidence — all of the evidence pointed to just one conclusion, and that’s the conclusion you all reached,” he added.