Alex Murdaugh found guilty of murdering his wife and son

(CNN) — The jury in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh has found him guilty of murdering his wife and son, the grisliest and most severe of the allegations faced by the disgraced former South Carolina attorney.

Prosecutors have indicated they will seek life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders, sparing him the death penalty.

In a separate case yet to go to trial, Murdaugh continues to face 99 separate charges stemming from a horde of alleged financial crimes, including defrauding his clients, former law firm and the government of about $9 million.

[Original story, published at 12:01 p.m. ET]

The jury began to deliberate Thursday in the murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced attorney accused of fatally shooting his wife and son at their South Carolina hunting property in 2021.

The 12 jurors will deliberate until they come to a unanimous verdict on two counts of murder and two weapons charges. Murdaugh, 54, has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of his wife Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and son Paul Murdaugh.

Earlier Thursday, Murdaugh’s defense team delivered closing arguments and said law enforcement was too quick to pinpoint him as the main suspect in the killings by the dog kennels on the sprawling estate.

“We believe that we’ve shown conclusively that (the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) failed miserably in investigating this case,” attorney Jim Griffin said. “And had they done a competent job, Alex would have been excluded from that circle (of suspects) a year ago or two years ago.”

Over about two hours, Griffin also mocked the prosecution’s theory of motive, explained away Murdaugh’s lies, accused investigators of fabricating evidence and criticized the supposed timeline as unconvincing.