Alex Murdaugh's elderly mother Libby dies at home aged 85 - three years after being used his alibi in murders of wife and son

Alex Murdaugh's elderly mother Elizabeth 'Libby' Murdaugh has died at the age of 85 - three years after the disgraced lawyer tried to use her as an alibi in the murders of his wife and son.

Libby was in hospice care on Tuesday when she died, according to Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home in Hampton County. She is survived by her sons Alex, Randy and John Marvin, as well as her daughter Lynn.

The former librarian and teacher had been in declining health for years with dementia. Her health didn’t allow her to testify at her son’s trial last year.

Alex had just visited her in June 2021 when he arrived back to his home about 11 miles away and made a 911 claiming he found Maggie and Paul shot to death outside.

A jury decided last year that he drove to his mother's house after murdering his wife and son to arrange an alibi.  

Alex Murdaugh's elderly mother Elizabeth 'Libby' Murdaugh has died at the age of 85 

The disgraced lawyer tried to use his late mother Libby as an alibi in the murders of his wife and son. He is pictured with his wife Maggie and their two sons Paul (left) and Buster

Shelly Smith, Libby's caretaker told how jurors that Alex did not spend as much time as his mom's house as he had claimed on the night of the murders

Mobile phone data showed Alex was telling the truth about where he went, although he appeared to overestimate the time he spent there. 

But a video - taken by Paul just minutes before he and his mother were shot dead - showed Alex was with them.

She was married to former Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh III for 60 years. 

The elected prosecutor along with his father and grandfather oversaw criminal cases in Hampton County and surrounding areas for nearly nine decades.

The night of the killings, Randolph Murdaugh III was in the hospital. He died three days later.

Alex is serving two life sentences after being convicted of two counts of murder after prosecutors convinced a jury that he had enough time to kill Maggie and Paul, clean up evidence and get to his mother’s house and back. 

Shelley Smith, who spent four years taking care of the older Murdaughs in their home, testified at the murder trail that they were great people and like her own family.

Alex is serving two life sentences after being convicted of two counts of murder

Murdaugh’s fall from his role as an attorney lording over his small county to a sentence of life without parole has been exhaustively covered

However, she testified that Alex did not spend as much time as his mom's house as he had claimed on the night of the murders. Moreover, according to the caregiver, he was 'fidgety' during the short visit and periodically checking his phone.

Shelley wept on the stand as she described how he showed up to his parents' house three days later and pointedly told her that he was with his mother for 30 to 40 minutes on the night of the killings. 

She said this made her 'nervous' because she recalled he had only been there for 15 or 20 minutes. She was so concerned by the contradiction that she later told her police officer brother about the conversation.

In January, Alex was denied a new trial  after his defense team accused a clerk of court of tampering with a jury.

Judge Jean Toal said she wasn’t sure if Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill was telling the truth that she never spoke to jurors about the case, saying she was “attracted by the siren call of celebrity.”

But Toal said the 12 jurors who testified all said any comments did not directly influence their decision to find Murdaugh guilty.

Murdaugh’s fall from his role as an attorney lording over his small county to a sentence of life without parole has been exhaustively covered by true crime shows, podcasts and bloggers.