An image on Google Maps showing the stretch of road where Stephen Smith’s body was discovered in Hampton County, SC. Investigators said they believe his death was a homicide, not a hit-and-run as initially reported.
Google Maps/Screenshots of NPR
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Google Maps/Screenshots of NPR
An image on Google Maps showing the stretch of road where Stephen Smith’s body was discovered in Hampton County, SC. Investigators said they believe his death was a homicide, not a hit-and-run as initially reported.
Google Maps/Screenshots of NPR
Stephen Smith was 19 years old when his body was discovered on a two-lane road in rural South Carolina in 2015. His family never accepted the medical examiner’s verdict that Smith died of an accident. hit the car and ran away. They allege foul play is involved — and state agencies agree.
“The Stephen Smith case is being investigated as a homicide,” Renée Wunderlich, director of public information for the South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement, told NPR Wednesday.
“We believe it was a homicide,” as South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Director Mark Keel said Government newspaper. “We don’t believe it was a hit-and-run incident.”
Interest in Smith’s case spiked because of where he died: in Hampton County, not far from Moselle, the hunting ground where Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot dead, in a case that became an international sensation. SLED agents opened an investigation into Smith’s death in June 2021 — the same month the couple died.
Smith’s family is exhuming his body
SLED issued an update when Smith’s mother, Sandy, doing new actions to learn more about his death in July 2015. That includes arranging for a private exhumation and autopsy. The girl has raised about $90,000 to fund her endeavours.
“Stephen is in the process of discovering himself and his sexuality,” Sandy Smith tell the local news outlet Bluffton today months after her son died. “He’s gay. There were rumors that he might have a man stalking him, the authorities asked me about it, but I’ve heard other stories that I believe more.”
Smith went on to say that her son would be on the lookout for any approaching car on a dark road – and she thinks some of Stephen’s old classmates had something to do with his death.
Smith said: ‘One of the alleged perpetrators, Stephen told his twin sister he had ‘feelings’ for the boy. “He also told me that he and the boy had planned a deep sea fishing trip in July. Stephen died on July 8.”
The initial report recorded no signs of a car crash and then ran away
When he died, Smith was returning home from night classes at a technology college in Orangeburg, where he was studying nursing.
A 911 caller alerted police after seeing Smith’s body in the early morning hours of July 8, near downtown Sandy Run. His car was later found not far away, with the fuel cap open, suggesting he may have run out of gas.
Smith suffered a head injury but no other injuries were immediately apparent. Initial reports mentioned the possibility that Smith’s grand jury chief could have been a gunshot wound, according to police documents posted online by FITSNews website.
Both Smith’s family and officers at the scene said there were no telltale signs of a hit-and-run crash where he was found, particularly as there was no vehicle debris. Police noticed that Smith’s shoes were still on his feet, despite being loosely tied. They also found no slips near where Smith’s body was found in the middle of the road.
So why was murder initially ruled out?
In her preliminary autopsy report, Dr. Erin Presnell, a medical examiner, concluded that Smith died from being hit by a motor vehicle — possibly from the rearview mirror.
“Due to the medical examiner’s decision, the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office requested the South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) to investigate Mr. Smith’s death,” not SLED, the agency said today. Wednesday.
Determining the cause of death is important, as Smith’s death becomes an issue for the highway patrol, which investigates vehicle deaths, rather than SLED, which helps agencies. Local authorities investigate the murders.
Ronnie Richter, the attorney for the Smith family, told NPR on Wednesday: “We don’t believe it has ever increased to call SLED’s full investigative authority. “Now yes.”
The Murdaugh case spurred interest in Smith
This phase of the Smith case is taking place in the wake of the Murdaugh murder, which took place about eight miles from where Smith’s body was found.
The spotlight on those murders has drawn renewed attention to Stephen Smith’s death, in part because police reports mentioned the Murdaugh surname multiple times, including their cite news Local rumors that Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s surviving son, may be involved.
Smith knew the Murdaughs; he went to Wade Hampton High School with Buster. Just a few weeks ago, Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife and youngest son at their properties in the area.
Smith’s attorneys said that with Murdaugh’s murder trial, SLED can focus more resources on solving the 2015 case. The agency is also asking anyone with relevant information. Call 803-737-9000 and ask for Investigative Services.
Buster Murdaugh says rumors are baseless
This week, Buster Murdaugh release a statement through his attorney, Jim Griffin, said he had nothing to do with Smith’s death. He also said he has been “targeted and harassed by the media and those who follow this story.”
“This has been going on for too long,” Murdaugh said. “The baseless rumors about my involvement with Stephen and his death are untrue. I categorically deny any involvement in his death and my heart goes out to the Smith family. “
Murdaugh said he had previously refrained from speaking out about Smith’s “tragic death” as he was trying to maintain his privacy while grieving for his mother and brother, as well as after the criminal trial. of his father.
