How Alex Murdaugh, Convicted of Killing His Wife and Son, Hid His Secret Life for 11 Years

In late May 2021, Alex Murdaugh celebrated his 53rd birthday with family and friends at his 1,770-acre hunting property in South Carolina’s Lowcountry.

In a video clip later shown during Alex’s 2023 murder trial, his youngest son Paul, 22, is seen presenting his father with a cake lit with flickering candles as his wife, Maggie, 52, stands in the background beaming.

“Thank y’all so much!” Alex yells out amid a chorus of friends and family singing happy birthday. “Thank you, baby!” he shouts to Maggie.

Nothing seemed amiss with the personal injury attorney who looked relaxed and carefree during the festivities. 

However, his smiles and merriment belied a secret life he was leading, rife with lies and betrayal. The truth began seeping out after a series of tragic and bizarre events that began with Maggie and Paul’s violent shooting deaths on June 7, 2021 — eleven days after Alex's birthday — which Alex was found guilty of in March 2023. He was sentenced to two life sentences in prison for their murders.

After the murders came even more allegations against Alex, including more than 100 financial crime accusations.

In April, Alex, now 55, was sentenced to 40 additional years in federal prison for 22 financial crimes stemming from 2011.

He was previously sentenced to 27 years in state prison for a slew of other financial crimes, including money laundering, breach of trust and fraud.

Here are some of the ways Alex concealed his dark truths from his family and business partners:

He Stole Money to Fund His Secret Drug Habit

In Sept. 2021, after Alex survived his own staged suicide, he entered rehab for what his lawyers admitted was a years-long addiction to opioids. During his 2023 murder trial, shocking details about his drug habit were revealed, including testimony from his dealer of 18 years who said that Alex spent up to $50,000 a week on opioids.

Alex kept his habit hidden from his family as long as he could, but they eventually learned the truth, prosecutors revealed during the murder trial. On May 6, 2021, Paul left a message for his father saying he was at their Edisto Beach house and that “when you get here we have to talk. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag,” CNN reported.

That same day, Maggie searched online for “white pill 30 on one side rp,” -- a 30 mg Oxycodone Hydrochloride pill, prosecutors said, CNN reports.

On May 7, 2021, Alex texted Maggie saying, “I am very sorry that I do this to all of you. I love you.”

To fund his drug habit and comfortable lifestyle, Alex quietly began stealing from clients and his own law firm, who forced him to resign over allegations of misused funds. In April, Alex admitted to engaging in three different schemes to obtain money and property from his clients, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina.

He Created Fake Bank Accounts to Conceal Embezzled Funds

In September 2015, he created a bank account he named “Forge,” which “looked like a legitimate corporation for structuring insurance settlements,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. From May 2017 through at least July 2021, he funneled stolen personal injury settlements through the fake  account. For this particular scheme, Murdaugh pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and 14 counts of money laundering.

"What a tangled web we weave," Murdaugh said on the stand during his murder trial, PEOPLE previously reported. "Once I told a lie — then I told my family — I had to keep lying."

He Attempted to Cover Up His Family's Involvement in Fatal Boat Crash

In 2019, Paul crashed his family’s boat after a night of drinking, killing his friend Mallory Beach, 19. Alex, witnesses said, showed up at the hospital where Paul and his injured friends were being treated to try to muddy their recollections about Paul’s involvement, court documents show.

Connor Cook said in a deposition that Alex told him he "didn't need to tell anyone who was driving,” CBS News reports. To further protect his son and try to keep his deadly actions under wraps, Alex was also accused of displaying his solicitor’s badge on the night of the crash. During his murder trial, Alex claimed that “he did not recall” doing that.