barack sift through the evidence. they became more confident they were on the right track. with they study even these two seasoned investigators. for over a month, danielle had spied on both them and diane. totally obsessed with what sam was doing. this went beyond anything investigations. what s more, it appeared to them that daniel had persuaded michael to help her. they had basically stalked them. they had a tracker on their vehicles. correct. discovered in the wheel well of sam s police also found evidence that danielle and michael were taking surveillance photos of sam and dianne. this is a photo taken of them on sam s boat. this one there on giants balcony. michael would have across the lake there that s where he would have been hiding
cnn s dianne gallagher joining us from charlotte, north carolina. dianne, why is the murdaugh family linked to this case despite no connection made by police? reporter: so that s important, that no direct connection has been made by police. in part the reason why they re linked to it is because of a statement from the state law enforcement division they put out in june of 2021 where they said they were opening the death investigation into the killing of stephen smith because of new information that was gathered during the course of this double murder investigation of paul and maggie murdaugh. now, look, from that point on, we ve seen rumors and innuendo. a lot of it has found its way into documentaries and podcasts and social media where rabid followers of that murdaugh murder trial began to talk about the stephen smith case. buster murdaugh, the only surviving son of alex murdaugh was a classmate of stephen smith
going forward that are dealing with alec murdaugh. so some of the people coming out, they are coming in from the area, and their fascination with the fall from power. i spoke with an attorney who represents ten of the alleged financial victims, and he said it is not a fall from grace or power, but it is a jump. just to see how quickly this has unraveled with alec murdaugh admitting on the stand with a decade of lying and stealing on the stand. it is important to note that he has been convicted and that he has never hurt maggie or paw-paw, and obviously, the jury is not convinced by the testimony. yeah. such important context, dianne. and we appreciate the excellent reporting over the days and
the stories, and he said, that you seem to be lying still here. i want to get to dianne gallagher outside of the courtroom, and you have been following this case for some time, and what is the reaction there? well, silence and some gasps. i wanted to add some context here, and you heard him say, i am sure that you loved your son very much. i am sure that you have to see paul and maggie in your sleep. and then he said, all day and every night. and he said, i am sure that you have to see them in your eyes. and he is known for being even
can bring them justice. today s verdict proves that no one no one, no matter who you are in society is above the law. that is the attorney general of south carolina. let s go to south carolina where our dianne gallagher is live. you ve been covering this trial. dianne, wow. beyond a reasonable doubt guilty in less than three hours. unanimous decision by those 12 jurors taking less than three hours. and what you heard the attorney general talking about there, accountability. the fact that no one is above the law. that s the reason why there were already members of the public lined up outside the courthouse to get to see alex murdaugh get sentenced for killing his wife and son. guilty verdict. verdict, guilty. verdict, guilty. verdict, guilty. reporter: alex murdaugh, a prominent local family of lourz and solicitors found guilty of murdering his wife maggie and son paul after just three hours