Crime & Courts

Alex Murdaugh moved to protective custody unit at SC prison after double-murder conviction

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Alex Murdaugh Coverage

The Murdaugh family saga has dominated the news after another shooting, a resignation and criminal accusations — with Alex Murdaugh at the center of it all. Here are the latest updates on Alex Murdaugh.

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Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has been transferred to a protective custody unit in a maximum security facility within the S.C. Department of Corrections.

The department announced Murdaugh’s status in a Tweet Friday afternoon. The agency said it would not disclose exactly where Murdaugh is being held “for safety and security reasons.”

Murdaugh, 54, was found guilty in early March of killing his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, after a six-week trial in Colleton County. Judge Clifton Newman then sentenced him to two consecutive life terms. The state Attorney General’s office did not seek the death penalty.

Murdaugh will be housed in a single cell, 8 by 10 feet, that contains a bed, toilet and sink, a corrections department spokeswoman said.

A four-member prison board made the recommendation that Murdaugh be housed in his new cell after reviewing security and mental health concerns.

Corrections has more than a dozen prisons around the state. Six are maximum security, and they are located in five counties: two in Richland, and one each in Greenville, Lee, McCormick and Dorchester counties.

Murdaugh, a now-disbarred lawyer who worked at a prominent Hampton County law firm, PMPED, once made millions a year in his law practice, owned a 1,770-acre estate and was the fourth-generation scion of a prominent South Carolina legal, social and political family.

A state grand jury has indicted Murdaugh on numerous counts of financial fraud, including money laundering, forgery and embezzlement. He has yet to be tried on any of those.

Efforts to reach Murdaugh’s attorneys were unsuccessful Friday afternoon.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.

This story was originally published March 31, 2023 at 3:56 PM.

JM
John Monk
The State
John Monk has covered courts, crime, politics, public corruption, the environment and other issues in the Carolinas for more than 40 years. A U.S. Army veteran who covered the 1989 American invasion of Panama, Monk is a former Washington correspondent for The Charlotte Observer. He has covered numerous death penalty trials, including those of the Charleston church killer, Dylann Roof, serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins and child killer Tim Jones. Monk’s hobbies include hiking, books, languages, music and a lot of other things.
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Alex Murdaugh Coverage

The Murdaugh family saga has dominated the news after another shooting, a resignation and criminal accusations — with Alex Murdaugh at the center of it all. Here are the latest updates on Alex Murdaugh.