Prosecutors allege financial, insurance fraud crimes as possible motive in Murdaugh murders

SOUTH CAROLINA -- There are new revelations in the case of the disgraced South Carolina attorney accused of killing his wife and son.

Prosecutors in the trial of Alex Murdaugh say the once-prominent attorney alleged financial crimes as a possible motive in the killings.

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In new court documents obtained by ABC News, prosecutors said Murdaugh was simply running out of options to avoid not just accountability, but the certainty of long prison time and financial ruin.

Prosecutors are also linking a deadly boat crash involving Murdaugh's son Paul, which they believe could be, in part, behind the father's motive for murder.

"If this evidence is allowed in, this is going to be a trial with fireworks, and I think a lot of drama [and] a lot of information that we didn't have before, said attorney Channa Lloyd, a managing partner of the Cochran Firm.

Paul was accused of being under the influence in 2019 crashing a boat that killed a 19 year old passenger.

The prosecution writing, "Paul had become a significant liability to defendant and the boat case threatened to ruin him," bringing to light Murdaugh's alleged financial crimes.

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Days before a court hearing in the boat case, Murdaugh's wife Maggie and son Paul were shot to death at the family's home. When police arrived, prosecutors said Murdaugh allegedly mislead investigators, saying he thought the murders were tied to the boat case.

Prosecutors allege Murdaugh killed them to gain sympathy and shift the focus away from his alleged financial wrongdoings.

However, Murdaugh's defense team argued, saying, "the state's theory that Murdaugh murdered his wife and son in cold blood to distract the law firm from investigating financial improprieties is illogical, implausible, and unsupported by the evidence."

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"There is no evidence that Alex Murdaugh would have gained any financial benefit for murdering Paul and Maggie," Murdaugh's defense attorney said in court.

Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty in the murders. He is also accused of stealing almost $9 million from his clients and law firm, and faces nearly 100 charges.

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"The day of reckoning was upon him and he was out of cards to play after he has been playing every card he could for 10 years," the prosecutor said.