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COLUMBIA, S.C. - Attorneys for Alex Murdaugh on Thursday filed a notice to appeal his convictions for the murder of his wife and son along with his life sentence.The trial in rural South Carolina lasted six weeks and included more than 75 witnesses, but culminated in a jury taking less than three hours to find the 54-year-old Murdaugh guilty last week.Murdaugh called 911 on the evening of June 7, 2021, saying he found his son and wife dead when he returned home from a one-hour visit with his mother, who has dementia.Authorities said Paul Murdaugh, 22, was shot twice with a shotgun, each round loaded with different sized shot, while Maggie Murdaugh, 52, was struck with four or five bullets from a rifle. A crime scene report suggested that both victims were shot in the head after initially being wounded near dog kennels on the Murdaughs’ sprawling rural property.Alex Murdaugh is taken to the Colleton County Courthouse for sentencing on March 3, 2023, in Walterboro, South Carolina.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh is facing federal charges for the first time after being indicted on 22 financial fraud charges over allegations that the disgraced former attorney schemed to steal settlement money from clients.The indictments unsealed Wednesday don't appear to reveal any new allegations against Murdaugh, a once prominent attorney in South Carolina who is serving a life sentence without parole for killing his wife and younger son. He is also awaiting trial on around 100 other state charges including insurance fraud, tax evasion and theft.But Murdaugh's lawyers indicated he is talking with federal prosecutors and added this part of his legal difficulties may be resolved soon.READ MORE: Murdaugh Moselle estate items sell for big bucks as buyers descend on South Carolina auction"Alex has been cooperating with the United States Attorneys’ Office and federal agencies in their investigation of a broad range of activities.

Alex Murdaugh listens to testimony about cellphones during his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Feb. 10, 2023, in Walterboro, South Carolina.

Alex Murdaugh stands during a break in his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023.

South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh says he will take the stand in his own defense at his double murder trial Thursday to present his version of events.Murdaugh, 54, is charged with fatally shooting his wife, Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, who were killed near kennels on their property on June 7, 2021. He faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Protesters show their support for legal abortion at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia on May 2, 2022. (Joshua Boucher/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina Senate committee voted Tuesday to remove exceptions for rape and incest from a proposed abortion ban setting up a showdown among Republicans wary of passing such a restrictive bill.Democrats helped set up the fight, choosing not to vote with three moderate Republicans who wanted to keep the exceptions in the bill.The same bill without the exceptions appeared to fail in the more conservative state House last week before some Republicans maneuvered through a series of votes to allow abortions for rape and incest victims up to the 12th week of pregnancy.RELATED: South Carolina House approves abortion ban with exceptionsThe Senate Medical Affairs Committee vote 9-8 with two Republicans joining all Democrats — to send the bill to the full Senate, where debate is expected to begin Wednesday morning.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was charged with murder Thursday in the deaths of his wife and younger son, who were fatally shot outside their home more than a year ago.Murdaugh is already jailed and faces dozens of criminal charges that have piled up in the months since his wife Maggie, 52, and their 22-year-old son, Paul, were killed. But until now he had not been charged in connection with his wife and son's deaths.The indictments handed up by a grand jury in Colleton County, where the shootings happened, contend Murdaugh killed his wife with a rifle and his son with a shotgun.