Stephen Smith called Homicide after the Murdaugh case
Stephen Smith, an LGBTQ activist and nursing student, died in suspicious circumstances in July 2015.
The body of a teenager found along a South Carolina road whose death was reinvestigated after renewed public interest during the Alex Murdaugh case has now been ruled a murder, the family’s attorney says.
The extraordinary disclosure of Stephen Smith’s death investigation came in a phone call between attorney Eric Bland and Mark Keel, chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Bland called it a “shocking announcement after eight years of being ruled the manslaughter of a highway vehicle.”
Smith family attorneys and SLED authorities will join efforts and share information and resources if the state plans to exhume Smith’s body, Bland said in a new release.
“We have a chance to right eight years of wrongs, and we intend to do just that,” Bland said. “SLED officials have also welcomed a partnership with Bland Richter in this investigation. They believe that working together will help unearth new leads and information and ultimately lead to a resolution in this case.”
A spokesman for SLED told Law&Crime Tuesday night that the investigation into Smith’s death had always been a homicide investigation and that now that the Murdaugh case is closed, the agency can focus more resources on the case.
Questions about Smith’s death were raised during the investigation into the 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, Bland said.
Police reopened the case in 2021 after new evidence was uncovered during the double homicide investigation, Bland said.
In March, Smith’s mother, Sandy, started a GoFundMe page to raise money for an independent autopsy.
Police initially said Smith was hit by a car and died on a road near Murdaugh’s estate in 2015. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head resulting from a car accident. The manner of death was unclear.
“Smith’s family believes he was murdered and wants an unbiased look at his body and an accurate determination of his cause of death based on facts,” Bland said.
Bland said law enforcement would be present if the family plans to exhume and re-examine Smith’s body.
“We are committed to finding out what really happened and getting the peace and justice that the Smith family deserves,” Bland and Ronnie Richter said in a joint statement.
SLED also said they would wait until the Murdaugh trial was over before breaking the news out of concern that witnesses under the “Murdaugh sphere of influence” would be less forthcoming, Bland said.
“SLED publicly supports us, Sandy Smith, and your efforts to find out what really happened to your son,” Richter said. “They have sent their condolences to the Smith family and will continue to work diligently to bring those responsible for Stephen’s death to justice. We are proud to be your partner in seeking justice.”
Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to two life sentences for killing his wife and son earlier this month.
On Monday morning, Alex Murdaugh’s attorney, Jim Griffin, released a statement on Twitter on behalf of Buster Murdaugh, who was a high school classmate of Stephen Smith and knew each other.
Despite the lack of evidence, the investigative file into Smith’s death includes some individuals who report unsubstantiated rumors they had heard that Buster Murdaugh was somehow implicated in Smith’s death. However, Buster Murdaugh was never named as a suspect or person of interest in the case. On Monday morning, Buster Murdaugh released a statement saying, “I clearly deny any involvement in his death and my heart goes out to the Smith family.”
Buster Murdaugh added: “I have tried my best to ignore the malicious rumors of my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to circulate in the media as I mourn the brutal murders of my mother and brother. I love her so much and miss her terribly.”
Eric Bland said Monday they were not aware that Buster Murdaugh was in any way involved in Smith’s death.
“As we sit here today, Buster is a victim. He lost a mother, a brother, and now his father is in prison. Buster, as we know, has nothing to do with it,” Bland said.
Angenette Levy from Law&Crime contributed to this report
Do you have a tip we should know? [email protected]
https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/teen-found-on-side-of-road-now-deemed-homicide-after-murdaugh-case-reignites-interest-family-attorney/ Stephen Smith called Homicide after the Murdaugh case
