Stephen Smith homicide investigators say witnesses could be ‘more willing to speak freely’ after Murdaugh case

SLED opened a new investigation into Stephen Smith’s death in June 2021 – days after Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son

The South Carolina law enforcement agency investigating Stephen Smith’s homicide has said that witnesses might be “more willing to speak freely now” than back in 2021 – when it first opened an investigation days on from the Murdaugh murders.

SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) released a lengthy – and somewhat cryptic – statement on Wednesday suggesting that people may be more likely to come forward with information than they were in the past.

“SLED Chief Mark Keel has assigned additional SLED Low Country Regional Agents to work this case in the hopes that those who may know what happened to Mr Smith are more willing to speak freely now than they may have been in 2015 or 2021,” the agency said.

The agency did not elaborate on why it believes people may be more likely to speak out now – with the statement coming just weeks after Alex Murdaugh was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul.

It was just days after the 7 June 2021 murders of the mother and son that SLED announced it had launched a fresh investigation into Smith’s 2015 death.

Smith, a nursing student and a classmate of Murdaugh’s only surviving son Buster, had been found dead on a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, in the early hours of 8 July 2015 – not far from the prominent family’s estate.

Smith, a 19-year-old openly gay teenager, had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his car was found around three miles down the road.

There were no skid marks around his body, no vehicular debris, and the victim’s loosely tied shoes were still on his feet. Police reports also revealed that some of Smith’s injuries were inconsistent with being struck by a car.

Despite the evidence, his death was ruled a hit and run – a ruling that his mother, investigators on the original case and members of the local community disputed.

This week, SLED made the bombshell announcement that the teenager’s death is finally being investigated as a homicide – almost two years after the fresh investigation was launched and almost eight years after he was killed.

In the statement – released on Wednesday “in the interest of accuracy, understanding, and the continued mission of seeking justice for victims of crimes” – SLED claimed that it was never asked to investigate Smith’s death back in 2015.

“On July 8, 2015, the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office requested SLED’s Crime Scene Unit to process a death scene involving a body that was found on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County,” the agency said.

Stephen Smith was found dead in a road back in 2015 (Sandy Smith/GoFundMe)

SLED Crime Scene Agents responded to the scene and processed it, but this “does not automatically indicate a SLED investigation”.

When agents attended Smith’s autopsy, medical examiner Dr Erin Presnell ruled that he died from being struck by a motor vehicle.

Because of this ruling, the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office requested the South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) to investigate Smith’s death.

“SLED was not requested by the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office or the South Carolina Highway Patrol to investigate Mr Smith’s death in 2015,” the agency said.

Six years later – on 23 June 2021 – SLED opened an investigation into Smith’s death after it said “agents received information about his death and subsequently reviewed the SCHP investigative file”.

“From SCHP case notes it was apparent that the SCHP did not believe Mr Smith’s death was a hit and run by a motor vehicle. SLED’s investigation into the death of Mr Smith was never closed – it remains a homicide investigation,” the agency said.

“Progress has been made, and SLED’s investigation is active and ongoing. Since the beginning of SLED’s investigation, the goal has been to find out how Mr Smith died and find the person(s) responsible for his death.”

As well as SLED’s homicide investigation, Ms Smith and her attorneys announced the launch of an independent investigation into his death – after she raised more than $70,000 through a GoFundMe campaign.

The funds will now be used for an exhumation of the 19-year-old’s body and a private autopsy.

No one has ever been charged in connection to Smith’s death and investigators have never announced any connection between any member of the Murdaugh family and his homicide.

But the case was thrown into the national spotlight following the high-profile murders of Maggie and Paul and subsequent trial of disgraced legal scion Alex Murdaugh.

During the initial investigation into Smith’s, the Murdaugh name had cropped up 40 times in official documents in the case and there has long been murmurings in the community that a “Murdaugh boy” may have been involved, Live5News reported.

Stephen Smith’s mother Sandy Smith speaks out as death is ruled a homicide (CNN)

Murdaugh’s now only surviving son Buster and Smith were classmates and there were rumours – albeit unsubstantiated – that the two had been in some sort of relationship around the time of his death.

Those rumours were collated in a bombshell letter penned by Smith’s mother Sandy Smith to the FBI in 2016.

The letter – which pointed to several witness accounts – resurfaced this week, just as Buster issued a statement denying any involvement in Smith’s death.

In the letter asking the FBI to investigate her son’s death, Ms Smith named Buster as the prime suspect in her son’s murder and claimed that there was some sort of cover-up protecting him.

She wrote that an alleged witness told a family member that Buster had murdered her son – by beating him to death with a baseball bat.

The unidentified witness – who claimed they were present during the murder – was then allegedly coerced into silence by Buster who threatened to kill them if they spoke up about what had happened.

The bombshell letter also claimed that Randy Murdaugh – Buster’s uncle and Alex Murdaugh’s brother – contacted Smith’s parents hours after his body was discovered offering to represent them.

Ms Smith said that Randy then quickly stopped answering the family’s calls.

Ms Smith’s attorney Ronnie Richter told The Independent on Tuesday that the letter was “written by a grieving mother who was starved for information and had only the rumour mill as a source so we’re trying to get better information this time”.

He added that the new independent investigation into Smith’s death will “not be influenced by the letter”, saying that the probe will take a fresh approach and start from scratch.

Buster’s attorney Jim Griffin acknowledged the receipt of The Independent’s email asking for comment about the letter and said he would be in contact if or when Buster decided to comment.

One day before the letter came to light, Buster, now 26, broke his silence over Smith’s death to address the “vicious rumours” about his potential involvement for the first time.

Alex Murdaugh is led to the Colleton County Courthouse by sheriff’s deputies for sentencing on 3 March (AP)

“I have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to be published in the media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my mother and brother. I love them so much and miss them terribly,” he said in the statement.

“I haven’t spoken up until now because I want to live in private while I cope with their deaths and my father’s incarceration.

“Before, during and since my father’s trial, I have been targeted and harassed by the media and followers of this story.

“This has gone on far too long. These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false.

“I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family. I am requesting that the media immediately stop publishing these defamatory comments and rumours about me.”

Ms Smith’s attorneys have insisted that the independent investigation into Smith’s death is not about any member of the prominent legal dynasty – but about taking a new look at the case from scratch.

“This is not an Alex Murdaugh 2.0 or any other Murdaugh 2.0. This is a Stephen Smith 2.0,” Ms Bland said at Monday’s press conference.

“This is about Stephen.”