Alex Murdaugh to be sentenced tomorrow after court hears victim impact statements

Friends and family members of disgraced heir could head back to court for sentencing

Sentencing will take place Friday for Alex Murdaugh, the legal scion who was just convicted of murdering his wife and son in 2021.

The South Carolina man could face up to life in prison.

Proceedings will begin at 9.30am ET on Friday after the court hears victim impact statements.

It is unclear who will read victim statements ahead of sentencing, but recollections could come from family members of the disgraced heir to a legal fortune, including Marian Proctor, the sister of Murdaugh’s wife Maggie.

Ms Proctor testified for the prosecution during the high-profile trial, as did her husband and friends of Murdaugh’s slain son Paul.

Other members of the family, including Murdaugh’s siblings and his surviving son, stood by him throughout the trial and thus are unlikely to give statements. His son Buster and brother John Marvin both testified for the defence.

Officials celebrated the guilty decision.

“We had no doubt that if we had a chance to present our case in a court of law, that they would see through the one last con that Alex Murdaugh was trying to pull. They did, and we’re so grateful for that," prosecutor Creighton Waters said on Thursday in a news conference after the verdict.

Following the jury’s unanimous decision to convict, Murdaugh’s defence sought a last-minute acquittal, on the grounds that the state failed to bring enough evidence to prove guilty.

Judge Clifton Newman, citing the “overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence” that had been put before the court, shot down the request.

“The jury has now considered the evidence for a significant amount of time, and the evidence of guilt is overwhelming, and I deny the motion,” Judge Clifton said.

Earlier this month, Murdaugh’s defence asked for a directed verdict, claiming once again the state had failed to provide enough evidence in the crime, calling its claims “exclusively circumstantial” and “merely” suspicious, and pointing out how Murdaugh wasn’t found covered in blood and no murder weapon was found.

"There is evidence to derive at a guilty verdict, if the jury agrees," Judge Newman said at the time, denying the request.

Murdaugh admitted he lied for months about his alibi the night of the murder, and jurors saw cellphone video captured by Paul just before the killings, where Murdaugh’s voice can be heard.

The disgraced legal scion also admitted to stealing millions from his family’s law firm and orchestrating a botched hitman plot.