ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (Court TV) — Nearly one year after he was convicted of murdering his wife and son, Court TV has obtained video showing Alex Murdaugh‘s arrest in Florida.
Body-worn camera shows a deputy helping Alex Murdaugh take medication during his arrest in 2021. (Court TV)
Murdaugh, once a prominent attorney in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, is serving two life sentences for the murders as well as an additional 27 years for financial crimes.
Murdaugh was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 14, 2021, months after his wife, Maggie, and youngest son, Paul, were shot to death on the family’s property in Moselle. In the wake of the murders, it was revealed that Murdaugh was addicted to narcotics and had been stealing money in order to finance his growing drug habit. Murdaugh was arrested outside of the Evolve Recovery Center in Florida, where he received treatment for drug and alcohol abuse.
The video shows deputies arriving to find Murdaugh standing outside of the building drinking a bottle of water. The deputies allow him to chug the water before he approaches with his arms out and is handcuffed.
In the video, a deputy who searches Murdaugh’s pockets is seen pulling out several items, including tobacco and a box of Benadryl. Off-camera, another officer can be heard counting prescription bottles that were inside a bag Murdaugh had been holding when they arrived.
As Murdaugh sits in the backseat of the cruiser, he sees a deputy holding the bag of his medications and asks, “Can I take one of those?” Murdaugh specifies that he wants Dicyclomine, which he described as a blue pill prescribed for his upset stomach. According to the National Library of Medicine, Dicyclomine is commonly prescribed to treat symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
The deputies discuss whether to give him the medication among themselves, noting, “He’s coming out of a facility,” and “It’s fine, it’s his prescription,” before a deputy takes him out of the car and helps him take the pill before giving him water.
The video ends before Murdaugh is transported to jail.
Murdaugh’s attorneys have said they are working to appeal his conviction and sentence, and are expected to file an appeal of a recent decision denying him a new trial over concerns of jury tampering by Clerk of Court Becky Hill.
