Alex Murdaugh case among nation's top Google searches Thursday

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) -- People across the nation Googled "Alex Murdaugh" more than 100,000 times on Thursday, making it the 10th most-searched term that day.

The Murdaugh case, which has made headlines across the nation, saw perhaps its biggest update to date on Thursday, when a Colleton County Grand Jury indicted the former attorney with the June 2021 murders of his 52-year-old wife, Margaret, and his 22-year-old son, Paul.

The two were found dead near dog kennels on the family's estate after Murdaugh made a 911 call stating that he needed an ambulance because "My wife and child have been shot badly."

Authorities claim that Murdaugh shot his wife with a rifle, and his son with a shotgun.

The update was the newest development in a case that has included the family's proximity to multiple deaths and allegations that Murdaugh hired a man to kill him in order to secure a $10 million life insurance policy for his son, Buster. The investigation has uncovered a drug addiction and millions of dollars that were stolen from clients.

The majority of people searching for the case on Google were from South Carolina, according to Google Trends, followed by North Carolina and Washington D.C.

The top related search on Thursday was "alex murdaugh political affiliation." "alex murdaugh trump" saw an increase of 350% in searches.

Within the last month, the most related searches for the case were "alex murdaugh net worth," "alex murdaugh story" and "mallory beach," a teen who drowned after being thrown from a boat Paul Murdaugh was allegedly driving while intoxicated and underage.

Rounding out the top 10 searches nationwide are:

1. Ivana Trump

2. Tiger Woods

3. The Open

4. Cameron Young

5. Trump

6. Armie Hammer

7. Deandre Ayton

8. Constance Wu

9. Bastille Day

10. Alex Murdaugh