How tall is Alex Murdaugh? Convicted South Carolina attorney is too tall to have shot his wife and son, expert says
| Real Name | Richard Alexander "Alex" or "Alec" Murdaugh |
| Date of Birth | June 17, 1968 |
| Age | 54 (as of 2023) |
| Place of Birth | Hampton County, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m/193 cm) |
| Weight | 94 kg (207 lbs) approx. |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Spouse | Maggie Murdaugh (died 2023) |
| Children | 2 (Paul & Buster Murdaugh) |
| Parents | Randolph Murdaugh (father) and Elizabeth Alexander (mother) |
| Charge | Murder (2 counts); Possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime (2 counts) |
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA: Disgraced South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh is reported to be 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m or 193 cm) tall and 207.2 lb (94 kg) in weight.
However, a recent breakthrough in his notorious double-murder case raised the possibility that Alex's wife Maggie's killer was far shorter than the attorney who was convicted in the case.
Alex is listed as being 6 ft 4 in tall on the website of his former legal firm, making him one of South Carolina's tallest lawyers and one of the tallest convicted killers in the state's recorded history.
The 54-year-old Alex Murdaugh's family has ruled the South's legal system for nearly 100 years.
In March 2023, a jury convicted him of killing his wife, Maggie, and their youngest son, Paul, while failing to cover up his own financial crimes. Alex was given a life sentence by the judge.
Defense witness said Alex Murdaugh's height made him an 'unlikely' suspect
During Alex's high-profile double-murder trial, a defense witness claimed that Maggie, 52, was shot by a person who was only 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m or 157 cm) tall, much shorter than her 6 ft 4 in husband accused of her murder, as per The Independent.
As per the testimony, it seemed implausible for a person of Alex Murdaugh's height to have shot his wife and youngest son, Paul.
Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer from North Carolina, stated that it would be "very unlikely" for the tall Alex to have been Maggie's shooter who left bullet holes in the dog kennels' walls on the evening of June 7, 2021.
Alex Murdaugh Was Found Guilty Of Murdering His Wife And Son—Here’s What Legal Experts Say Led To His Conviction https://t.co/vWDDhNssAq pic.twitter.com/yOBpKMJD0B
— Forbes (@Forbes) March 3, 2023
Sutton testified that he thinks the shooter who shot Maggie with an AR-15-style rifle had to be between 5 ft 2 in and 5 ft 4 in tall based on the projection of one of the rounds at the crime scene.
However, the disgraced attorney is a staggering 6 ft 4 in tall.
Sutton further added that based on Alex Murdaugh's height, the disgraced lawyer could not have fired the shots that killed his wife.
Sutton testified at the time: "In my opinion, it’s very unlikely that he fired that shot."
"You would have to be bending over and have your shooting hand down at or below your kneecap. It just makes it very unlikely that a tall person made that shot."
Who are Alex Murdaugh's wife and youngest son?
However, former attorney Alex was found guilty of killing his wife and son Paul to evoke sympathy and divert attention away from financial irregularities that threatened to ruin his career.
Paul Murdaugh, 22, was the youngest son of Alex Murdaugh and Maggie Branstetter. He was a student at the University of South Carolina when he died.
On June 7, 2021, Paul and his mother Maggie's bodies were found shot to death close to their South Carolina home.
How much was Alex Murdaugh worth?
As per Exact Net Worth, convicted South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh has a net worth of roughly $1 million, and he earned $250,000 annually as a lawyer.
Background, career and legal expertise of Alex Murdaugh
Alex was one of the partners in the 1910-founded Hampton County law firm Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick, which his great-grandfather Randolph Murdaugh Sr had established.
Alex belongs to the prestigious family whose three consecutive generations served as circuit solicitor (the elected prosecuting attorney) for South Carolina's 14th judicial district between 1920 and 2006. Their influence on the area's judicial matters led the locals to call the five-county district "Murdaugh Country".
Alex Murdaugh was born on May 27, 1968. He graduated from University of South Carolina in 1990 and from USC's School of Law in 1994.
Soon after his graduation from the Law School, he joined PMPED and started volunteering part-time in the 14th circuit solicitor's office.
He was soon admitted to the South Carolina Bar, the Hampton County Bar and the American Bar Association.
Following his forefathers' footsteps, Alex Murdaugh then joined the family firm where his father and brother were already working.
The Murdaugh family law firm, which was known as Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED), before being renamed to The Parker Law Group in 2022, specifically deals with personal injury litigation.
Due to the type of the cases Alex Murdaugh worked, he was able to launder and steal at least around $12 million from his clients.
Recap of shocking double murder and unexpected twist in the case
In March 2023, Alex Murdaugh was convicted for the double murders of his wife Maggie and his younger son Paul.
It all started when Alex Murdaugh called Maggie on June 7, 2021, asking her and their younger son to meet him at the family lodge in Islandton, South Carolina. He told them that the family would go from there to see his father Randolph Murdaugh III, who is terminally ill.
Maggie was, however, skeptical of Alex's intent as she texted a friend saying her husband was sounding "fishy", per The Independent. Nevertheless, Maggie parked her car and went inside the property to the dog kennels, where she found her son Paul.
At around 10 pm, Alex called the police saying he discovered the dead bodies of Maggie and Paul from the dog kennels. Both of them were shot multiple times.
Alex claimed he did not learn about their deaths earlier as he was with his mother, who has dementia. His cellphone data and video containing his voice, however, pointed that he was present at the shooting place even before Maggie and Paul.
Following the double homicide, investigation started with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) identifying Alex Murdaugh as the person of interest.
He was arrested in July 2022 after the Colleton County Grand Jury issued an indictment that charged him with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon. The indictment further stated that he shot his wife and son with separate weapons.
While he used a rifle for his wife, he used a shotgun to kill his son. After the indictment, Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the two murders and the trial started on January 25, 2023.
Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin acted as Murdaugh's defense lawyer while Creighton Waters, the chief prosecutor for the state grand jury, led the prosecuting team against him.
Judge Clifton Newman oversaw the trial that ran for six weeks and involved over 70 witnesses and around 800 exhibits, per WLOS.
A Colleton County jury of seven men and five women deliberated for around three hours before convicting Murdaugh on all the four charges of murder and possession of weapons during a violent crime. He was given two life sentences for the murder of his wife and son.
Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters said after the announcement of the verdict, “Justice was done today,” before adding, “It doesn’t matter who your family is. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or people think you have. It doesn’t matter how prominent you are. If you do wrong, if you break the law, if you murder, justice will be done in South Carolina.”
Judge Newman denied defense attorneys’ request for a mistrial saying the “evidence of guilt is overwhelming," per The Post and Courier. He also added, “The circumstantial evidence, direct evidence — all of the evidence pointed to one conclusion, and that’s the conclusion that you all reached."
Alex Murdaugh received 27 years for financial crimes
Adding to his woes, Alex Murdaugh has also been found guilty of nearly two dozen state financial crimes, including money laundering, breach of trust, conspiracy, forgery and tax evasion, per CNN.
In November 2023, Murdaugh was sentenced to another 27 years of prisonhood, which lead prosecutor Creighton Waters of the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office said would make Murdaugh remain “in state prison for a very long time.”
Alex, who has been convicted of stealing almost $12 million by duping his clients and robbing them of their money, said to his victims during the trial, "I want each of you who spoke to know I listened to you. I heard you. Your pain and hurt is palpable. ... I promise you it resonates with me."
Latest twist in the Alex Murdaugh case
On March 9, 2023, after Alex Murdaugh was ruled guilty in the two cases of homicide, his attorneys filed a notice of appeal with the South Carolina Court of Appeals.
In September, Murdaugh's attorneys claimed that they had new evidence for filing a retrial in the murder case. Murdaugh's attorneys Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin accused the Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca 'Becky' Hill of jury tampering.
Hill also released a book on Alex Murdaugh's case, titled 'Behind the Doors of Justice: The Murdaugh Murders'.
The attorneys campaigned for an evidential hearing to determine whether there should be a new trial.
In October 2023, Chief Judge H Bruce Williams of the South Carolina Court of Appeals granted Alex Murdaugh's motion to suspend his conviction appeal. The new order also allowed the case to be sent back to circuit court to consider allegations of jury tampering by Hill.
Judge Clifton Newman recused himself from the new trial. In December 2023, it was also revealed that former state supreme court justice Jean H Toal would take over the retrial.
Recently, it has been revealed that Toal would be holding an evidentiary hearing in Alex Murdaugh's conviction charges in late January 2024, per WLOS. The three-day hearing is expected to begin on January 29.
Controversies over Alex Murdaugh’s height
During the first trial in 2023, the defense lawyers put forward the theory that the shooter had to be shorter than Alex's 6 foot 4 inch frame. However, the prosecutors rejected the idea citing numerous variables including likely chaos at the scene and the probability of firing from the kneeling position.
The Attorney General Alan Wilson was told by the state's final rebuttal witness, forensic expert Kenneth Kinsey, that the defense's theory that the killer had to be shorter than Alex's height was "preposterous," per NPR.
What does Buster Murdaugh do for a living?
Following the death of his mother and brother, Buster Murdaugh, the elder son of Alex, withdrew from law school. Per Women's Health, he is currently living in a condo with his girlfriend, Brooklynn White, on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
How much weight has Alex Murdaugh lost?
Alex Murdaugh has lost a significant amount of weight since he was convicted of the two crimes. His mental stress and life behind bars can be held responsible for the drastic weight loss.
Does Buster Murdaugh support his dad?
Buster Murdaugh has always maintained his father's innocence and even testified in court supporting him, per Women's Health.
In August 2023, in an interview with Fox for the docuseries 'Fall of the House of Murdaugh', he said, “I do not think that he could be affiliated with endangering my mother and brother,” before adding, "I think I hold a very unique perspective that nobody in that courtroom ever held."
How big is Alex Murdaugh's firm?
The firm has renamed to the The Parker Law Group in 2022. It's current earnings is unknown.
Do Murdaugh brothers support Alex?
Alex Murdaugh's older brother Randy appeared to have supported him as, in an interview after the judgment, he said, “He knows more than what he’s saying,” before adding, “He’s not telling the truth, in my opinion, about everything there.”
He added, "The not knowing... is the worst thing there is," per New York Times.