I still don't totally get it even though I do believe that he did it. I don't get the amount of money that he needed to get by illegal means when you consider that some years he made a million dollars legitimately.
An OxyContin addiction couldn't cost more than he made or almost no one would be (could afford to be) addicted to it. We never heard anything about his drug provider in any of the investigations that went on.
His financial crimes had already come into the open so I don't see how blowing the head off his son helped.
I guess he just got used to a lifestyle that even his salary couldn't keep up with plus the drug addition plus the potential liability that he would have due to his son's boat accident and I believe he and his wife were largely living apart. Maybe it was just a case of killing two birds with one stone? Kill the son and the boat liability would go away? Kill the wife to do avoid the messiness of divorce?
Maybe his need for public attention will result in a book deal, detailing what really was going on in his head will come up in the future?
From what I’ve read about the case, it sounds like his wife was completely in the dark about his financial crimes. She was aware of all of the allegations against the family but perhaps she thought they weren’t “real.” Once she realized that she literally had no money because their combined assets were being frozen as the boat civil suit started to take shape, she separated from him and wanted a divorce. He was at that time, the beneficiary of the estate, should she die. As far as Paul goes, I think he killed him to make it look like it was a vigilante/revenge type murder from people who hated them in the town or drug dealers.
At this point, he seemed like a desperate man willing to do anything to regain his financial power and his reputation in the community. Maybe he was paying other people off to go away so they wouldn’t bring a lawsuit against him for the money he stole from them. Personally, I don’t believe he had a drug habit. There was really no proof of this, rather, I think he was selling drugs.
He lured Maggie to the estate property the night of the murder and his son happened to be there, babysitting his friend’s dog. So, I honestly think the more I’ve read about this now, that he felt like he had to shoot Paul to make it look like crazy vigilantes were seeking revenge. And he also knew, the boat trial would simmer down when these murders took center stage in the town.
His defense lawyers said earlier today that they plan to appeal the verdict in ten days. It won’t change anything. It’s very hard to win an appeal, especially with such a violent crime like this one.
Did you watch the judge’s sentencing today? His speech to Alex Murdaugh? If not, you should check it out. That judge is a class act, but of course Alex spoke up and said “I respect the court, but I’m innocent.” The judge spoke about how he remembers the Murdaugh family running the legal system for decades in the “Low Country,” and how he respected him (Alex). It really is moving, and many judges wouldn’t have bothered. But, it shows that the judge wasn’t only presiding over a case but he was also watching someone he knew for years, spiral out of control.
Personally, I think something is mentally wrong with him in addition to his personality disorders. Such a sad, crazy story.