Disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh pleads not guilty in murders of wife, son

The disbarred and disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the new bombshell murder charges accusing him of the double killing of his wife and younger son in June 2021.

Last week’s long-waited announcement from the South Carolina attorney general’s office confirmed a suspect in the June 7, 2021, double homicide of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh. 

Court documents say the mother and son were found shot to death by separate weapons – a shotgun and a rifle – by dog kennels on the family’s sprawling 1,772-plus acre Moselle estate straddling Colleton and Hampton counties in a region known as South Carolina’s Low Country after authorities responded to a frantic 911 call from Alex Murdaugh himself.

Positioned between his lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, Alex Murdaugh -- notably handcuffed and donning a freshly shaven haircut, white button-down shirt and slacks – stood for a formal arraignment requested by the defense Tuesday, removing his mask and raising his right hand.