Crime

Alex Murdaugh 'Did Not Have Anything to Do with the Murders' of His Wife and Son, Attorneys Say

Murdaugh was charged Thursday in connection with the 2021 murders of his wife and son, but his lawyers say he's innocent

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Published on July 14, 2022 07:03 PM

murdaugh family — Maggie, Paul and Alex Murdaugh.

Alex Murdaugh's lawyers have spoken out after he was indicted in connection with the 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

On Thursday morning, Murdaugh, 54, was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Following the announcement of the charges, Murdaugh's lawyers, Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, maintained their client's innocence in a statement to PEOPLE.

"Alex wants his family, friends and everyone to know that he did not have anything to do with the murders of Maggie and Paul. He loved them more than anything in the world," their statement reads.

"It was very clear from day one that law enforcement and the Attorney General prematurely concluded that Alex was responsible for the murder of his wife and son. But we know that Alex did not have any motive whatsoever to murder them," it added. "We are immediately filing a motion for a speedy trial, we are requesting that the Attorney General turn over all evidence within 30 days as required by law and we demand to have a trial within 60 days of receiving that evidence."

RELATED VIDEO: Alex Murdaugh Indicted for Murders of Wife and Son

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In June 2021, the once-prominent South Carolina attorney's wife Maggie, 52, and their son, Paul, 22, were found shot and killed — with two different firearms — on their 1,770-acre estate in the small town of Islandton, South Carolina.

Murdaugh was named a person of interest in October 2021.

After the murders, Murdaugh allegedly tried to stage his own death so that his one surviving son, Buster, 26, could benefit from a $10 million life insurance settlement. He was criminally charged in connection with the alleged botched suicide-for-hire plot and is awaiting trial in that case.

Murdaugh already faces 81 other charges unrelated to the killings. Most of the charges are for alleged financial crimes, including misappropriating money from his law firm, defrauding clients of funds and computer crimes. Authorities allege that he also defrauded the family of his former housekeeper of a $4.5 million insurance settlement after she died in a mysterious slip-and-fall accident at his home.