CLICK HERE. Smith died on a rural road in Hampton County in 2015, in what was ruled a hit-and-run. Sandy has been begging law enforcement officials for years to open an investigation into her sons unsolved death. Whoever they are, she tells Duncan. Since the murders of Paul Murdaugh, 22, and Maggie Murdaugh 52, the State Law Enforcement Division, the agency that has been investigating the homicides, announced that it will now be investigating the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith. On July 8, 2015 Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road with a 7.25-inch gaping hole on the right side of his forehead and no other major injuries. Tallon notes the weather was cloudy and 92 degrees. The spokesperson did not say what information SLED had gathered that led the agency to open its own investigation into Stephen's death. They were very withdrawn with what they knew or thought.. He was bright and determined to make a better life for himself. The mother of the 19-year-old Stephen Smith has told news outlets for the past six years that she thought her son was beaten to death and not hit by a vehicle in Hampton County and she thought someone in the area covered up the crime. Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. And before too long, some of them including the Murdaugh family stopped cooperating at all, he said. Im just sitting here like why? It makes no sense, she said. In early June, a son and mother, both members of a. He also told me that he and the boy had a deep sea fishing trip planned for July. She had no evidence other than that for the statement being put in the report., Proctor said that he explained to her that law enforcement officers had no evidence of this individual being struck by a vehicle.. there was no evidence that pointed towards this being a hit and run or a vehicle even being involved in it," he continued. Well keep you updated if and when we hear anything. Someone just left him in the middle of the road to die . He was taken to a . She is working writing an official letter to SLED. Six years later, Stephens case is still unsolved. The victim was covered with a sheet., A hole in the skull was located above the victims right eye, SLED agents wrote. 9:20 a.m. SLED: Agents then responded approximately 3 miles to the victims vehicle on the side of Bamberg Highway. "He's on my side . Investigators found Smiths car three miles away on the side of Bamberg Highway. All victims have been submitted by law enforcement or the victims' families. To what historical information she possessed, I am unaware.. The 19-year-old nursing student who had been a classmate of Buster Murdaugh at Wade Hampton High School was found dead with a head wound on Sandy Run. She said shortly after Stephens death that believes her son was beaten to death and the crime covered up. Stephens murder was ruled a hit-and-run with no one arrested for the crime, but in 2021, the case was reopened. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. The key is turned over to HCSO personnel. Then he was beat up, so the story just kept changing over and over," said Sandra Smith, Stephen's mother, this week. Got a tip for a story? The case of 19-year-old Stephen Smith is often mentioned in the same sentence on social media. Additionally, the episode will reveal new details in the death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in 2015 after an alleged hit and run. In early June, a sonand mother, both members of a prominent South Carolina family were slain at their family's home in a horrific double murder. No other items were taken from the vehicle, the report says. New details in the investigation of 19-year-old Stephen Smith's death in 2015 show that while initial reports from S.C. Highway Patrol indicate his death was caused by a hit-and-run car crash . But a former state trooper who worked on Smith's case told Fox News last week that he still believes Smith's death might have been a homicide,and not a vehicle collision like the autopsy report said. Stephen Smith's body was found along Sandy Run Road in Hampton County in July 2015. Moore, of SCHP, gets a call from Cpl. Is Outer Banks based on a true story? Then it turned out it was a hit and run. Smith's body was found nearly three miles from where his car was left and case notes said that "the gas tank door was open and the gas cap was hanging on the side of the vehicle.". While reporters from all over the nation contacted her last week about her sons story, she just wants the official call from law enforcement telling her they reopened the case. David Rowell, of the SCHP, who tells him that Hampton County Sheriff T.C. "Stephen's getting his final resting place honored and recognized," says Andrews. After Paul and Maggie Murdaugh's murders, SLED announced that their investigation had led them to look into Stephen's death. Smith was found dead on July 8, 2015, on Sandy Run Road near Joe Miley Road in Hampton. In July 2015, a 19 year old man named Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of the road in Hampton County, South Carolina. That's not even the end of the story. Two Murdaughs also work for the prominent Hampton, S.C. law firm of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick(PMPED). Proctor then spoke withKelly Greene, Hampton County deputy coroner and a SLED agent who both attended the autopsy and said they didnt make any reference to the pathologist about the victim being struck by a vehicle, only that he was found in the road. Smalls called him and told him that the autopsy showed Smiths death a result of a hit and run. The19-year-old was found lying in the middle of the roadway with severe head traumain the early morning hours of July 8, 2015. Got something youd like to say in response to one of our articles? He offers to give the officers his phone and take a lie detector test. Investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) received multiple tips in the aftermath of Smiths death linking his untimely demise to the Murdaugh family. Hours later, a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Dr. Erin Presnell ruled that Stephen was killed in a hit-and-run accident, a decision which was met with confusion and skepticism by investigators and those who knew Stephen. SLED is investigating every angle in the Murdaugh case something that Sandy wishes they would have done with Stephens death six years ago. The doctor ruled out a gunshot wound and said it was possible the injury was a result of the impact from theside-view mirror of a semi-truck. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Maybe there's even manufactured evidence in this case. And when you dont have enough evidence to compel someone legally to speak with you you have to go off their willingness to speak to you.. One theory posits that Stephen ran out of gas and decided to walk home when he was clipped by a semi truck, but Stephen's mother Sandy Smith discounted that hypothesis in the 20/20 documentary. Stephen was found dead in the middle of a rural road outside of Hampton. She has been searching for answers ever since. "I know that they're working hard and that this is not a cold case," he says. Stephen was classmates with the eldest Murdaugh son, Buster, and witnesses at the time of the initial investigation suggested they might have had a relationship. An official autopsy had ruled the death as a possible hit-and-run, yet some authorities refuted that report after making their own observations at the scene. He stated he would have to go with the doctors ruling, Moore wrote. Hampton County Coroners Office: The first of 3 death certificates for Stephen Smith was issued by Washington to the family. A SCHP flyer is made asking for tips in the case. Now, police investigating the shooting deaths of. Like the probe of the2019 boat crashthat killedMallory Beach, the 2015 investigation into Smiths death was chaotic from the beginning clouded by jurisdictional confusion and suspicions of investigative interference. No homicide investigation was ever opened, and no referral was ever made to the agency in the case. The victims hands were bagged. She said there appeared to be missing evidence in the case such as the DNA under Stephens fingernails, the clothes he was wearing, and the rape kit. According to Live 5 News, the Murdaugh family is mentioned several times in the investigative files of Stephen Smith, who died by hit-and-run in July 2015. At the time, her death was classified as an accidental slip and fall, but authorities have reopened the investigation. Last Sunday afternoon, family and friends of Stephen Smith, a South Carolina teen who died under mysterious circumstances in 2015, traveled to the Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County, S.C. In the documentary, Randy said, I knew who Stephen Smith was and I knew his family.". State investigators have released scant information on the case including an 18-page redacted report with nearly 8 pages fully redacted. Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of the road outside of Hampton with a gaping head wound, his skull partially crushed and his shoulder dislocated. Moore then Walked the scene and saw no evidence of any car parts or pieces and then had all units clear the scene.. In the letter, she said that they were told that the Murdaugh brothers were involved in her sons death. Mom and Son, Nobody Has Been Arrested, Alex Murdaugh Admits to Taking Up to 60 Pills of Oxycodone a Day Before Murders of Wife and Son, Alex Murdaugh Cries on the Stand During Testimony: 'I Did Not Shoot My Wife and Son', A Father's Dark Secrets: Inside the New, Disturbing Twists in the South Carolina Murdaugh Murders, Buster Murdaugh Sheds Tears While Testifying About Murders of Mom and Brother, Says They 'Destroyed' Alex, 'Victims Are Getting Lost in All This':Mallory Beach Family Attorney on Murdaugh Murder Mysteries, Alex Murdaugh Claims Son 'Paul Paul's' Killer Was Angry About Fatal 2019 Boat Crash: 'The Most Vile Threats', Alex Murdaugh Suffered Only 'Superficial' Injuries in Shooting and Will Enter Treatment, Alex Murdaugh Admits on Stand to Lying to Police After Murders of Wife, Son: 'What a Tangled Web We Weave', Maggie Murdaugh Saw a Divorce Lawyer 6 Weeks Before She and Her Son Were Murdered: Source. 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