Stephen Smith’s body was exhumed and examined after the Murdaugh case
The Collision of Stephen Smith and a Vehicle that Spent a Second Day Afterwards on July 8, 2015, reportedly in Hampton County, South Carolina
Early in the morning of July 8, 2015, a motorist discovered Smith’s body in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County and reported it to authorities, according to the case file from the South Carolina Highway Patrol’s Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT.
Eric Bland, the attorney who is representing the family, said in a Sunday statement that this weekend was “bittersweet” and a time of trying time. Bland said that Stephen could rest at ease because the investigation was underway and the second autopsy had finished.
Buster Murdaugh, a former classmate of Smith’s, released a statement last month denying any involvement in Smith’s death and requested the media “immediately stop publishing these defamatory comments and rumors about me.”
Sandy Smith was aided in her efforts to have her son’s body reexamined by speculation that followed the life sentence given to the disbarred lawyer.
The family of Smith said in the file that he would never have been walking in the middle of the road where his body was found.
The report stated that his vehicle was found with a gas tank open and a gas cap hanging from the side of the car. The battery was working but the car wouldn’t start, according to the report.
The Second Autopsy of Alex Murdaugh, a 19-Year-Old Stupidity Murdock, in South Carolina
That murder investigation eventually led to the trial of patriarch Alex Murdaugh, who was found guilty last month and sentenced to life in prison for killing Maggie and Paul on the night of June 7, 2021. Murdaugh has appealed his convictions.
In an audio recording from a witness interview, the trooper says thatBuster was on their radar. The Murdaughs know that.” But why he was on investigators’ radar is unclear. Neither Buster Murdaugh nor anyone else has been charged in the case.
The second autopsy of Alex Murdaugh’s body was performed this weekend, after the public attention around the teenager’s murder.
Bland’s law firm announced Monday that Sandy Smith is offering a $35,000 reward for information leading to the identification and conviction of anyone responsible in her son’s death. The announcement directed people to contact South Carolina Law Enforcement Division with any tips.
According to a press release, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel has assigned an extra agent to the homicide investigation in hopes of getting knowledgeable parties to speak.
Stephen Smith and his 19-year-old son, Alex, died on a Hampton County road in 2015 after he was found with a broken arm
Sandy Smith has long held that her son’s death was no accident but the result of a brutal beating. Bland has said being young and gay in the South Carolina Lowcountry could not have been easy for Stephen Smith.
The 19-year-old nursing student was found dead with head injuries and a dislocated arm bent behind him in the middle of a two-lane Hampton County road on July 8, 2015. Police said it appeared he was walking for help after running out of gas. His car was found close by the body, with the gas cap removed and his wallet still inside.
Bland has said Stephen Smith didn’t make any calls on his cellphone, and his loosely tied shoes remained on his feet. People are often left without their shoes due to car wrecks. The road also contained no skid marks or nearby debris, according to Ronnie Richter, another lawyer for the Smiths.
Stephen Smith went to the same high school as Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster — prompting rumors that the Murdaugh family was involved in Smith’s death. The legal team did not have any evidence linking the death to Buster Murdaugh, who has denied any involvement amid claims that he called baseless.
