South Carolina Department of Corrections Administration Building
Exterior view of the administration building in Columbia, S.C.. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital)
WALTERBORO, S.C. — Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina prosecutor who was found guilty of murdering his wife and son, was booked into South Carolina's Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center Friday evening.
The 54-year-old was completely shaved and wearing a yellow jumpsuit in the most recent mugshot after a judge sentenced him to a double life sentence.
He will be held in a single cell for now, a South Carolina Department of Corrections source told Fox News Digital.
"He will be assessed, and we will determine what his permanent placement will be," said the source, who noted haircuts are standard procedure.
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Alex Murdaugh's most recent mugshot (South Carolina Department of Corrections)
For the next 45 days, Murdaugh will be housed in the city of Columbia's Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center, which is a maximum-security, level-three facility that houses male offenders.
It's responsible for some of the state's most violent and dangerous criminals, according to the prison's website.
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This is where Murdaugh will spend the next 45 days during the inmate intake process, which includes medical tests, mental health and education assessments, the SCDC said in a statement.
Corrections will gather other pertinent information before the state department determines which one of the state's maximum-security prisons he will serve out his double life sentence, according to the SCDC.
Alex Murdaugh walks into the courthouse during his sentencing at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro on Friday, March 3, 2023 after he was found guilty on all four counts. (Andrew J. Whitaker/The Post and Courier/Pool)
There were just over 1,700 inmates in the facility, as of Friday, according to the SCDC.
Murdaugh's sentencing on Friday capped off the sordid and spectacular downfall of the scion of a once powerful Murdaugh family legal dynasty, as he continued to deny he killed his wife and son.
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Judge Clifton Newman called the evidence against Murdaugh overwhelming but said the murders may have been perpetrated by the "the monster you become when you take 15, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, opioid pills."
Murdaugh used a shotgun to kill his 22-year-old son Paul inside a feed room attached to the dog kennels at the family's hunting estate, known as Moselle, in Islandton, South Carolina, and a rifle to execute Maggie, 52, on June 7, 2021.
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After deliberating for less than three hours Thursday in the Colleton County Courthouse, the panel delivered their guilty verdict.
Jurors had endured a wearying six-week trial and testimony from 76 witnesses — for which they were paid just $20 a day. The trial, which drew global coverage, was originally supposed to last three weeks.
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The jury did not pose a single question to the judge or request clarification during their speedy deliberations.
The day of the killings, the chief financial officer of his former law firm confronted Murdaugh about missing fees, and he had a hearing scheduled later that week in a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from a deadly 2019 boat wreck.
Exterior view of the South Carolina Department of Corrections Administration Checkpoint in Columbia, South Carolina on Friday, March 3, 2023. (Larry Paci for Fox News Digital )
Paul Murdaugh had crashed his father's boat into a bridge, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach and injuring four other friends, and Murdaugh was facing a multimillion-dollar claim.
The murders, Waters argued, bought Murdaugh time, delaying an inevitable financial reckoning.
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He was later charged with stealing nearly $9 million from his clients and his law firm, which was founded by his great-grandfather, who served as the top prosecutor overseeing five counties in the Lowcountry.
Three generations of the Murdaugh family controlled the office for 87 years. The reign only ended with the retirement of Murdaugh’s late father, Randolph Murdaugh III, in 2005.
Murdaugh took the stand last week and admitted he's a drug addict, a thief and a liar — but adamantly denied killing his wife and son.
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Newman told Murdaugh that even if he continues to deny his guilt publicly, he'll have to deal with the haunting crimes he's committed in his own soul.
"I know you have to see Paul and Maggie during the nighttimes when you’re attempting to go to sleep. I’m sure they come and visit you. I’m sure," the judge said.
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