The bodies of Stephen Smith and Sandy Smith: a South Carolina highway patrol investigation of a 2015 homicide on a North Carolina road
The body of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in the middle of a South Carolina road in 2015, was exhumed over the weekend for an independent autopsy, according to attorneys for the family.
Bland said in a video that it was not so much at peace in Stephen’s grave. “He was pounding on his coffin, saying that he was not killed by a car but by someone intent on killing him.” We’ve told him that we hear his voice.
Thomas Moore, a trooper with the Highway Patrol, wrote in his notes that the county coroner immediately advised him that it was a homicides and that there was a gunshot wound to Smith’s head. Separate reports show two other responders – an EMS worker and a sheriff’s deputy – also believed Smith’s head wound was from a gunshot.
Sandy Smith raised more than $87,000 to have the body of her son re-examined because of speculation surrounding the case after the lawyer’s life sentence.
Smith would not have been walking in the middle of the road, his family said in an interview with the case file.
The report stated that the car with the gas tank open and the gas cap hanging out had been found three miles away. The vehicle’s battery was functional but the car wouldn’t start, the report added.
The Murdaugh Family Revealed: A New Autopsy and a $35,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the perpetrator of his son’s death
Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison last month after being found guilty of murdering his wife and brother-in-law on June 7, 2021. Murdaugh has appealed his convictions.
In one audio recording of a witness interview, the trooper is heard saying thatBuster was on their radar. The Murdaughs know that. Why he was on investigators radar is a mystery. Neither Buster Murdaugh nor anyone else has been charged in the case.
The lawyer for the family of Alex Murdaugh said a second autopsy was done this weekend on the body that was exhumed eight years ago.
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.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Chief Mark Keel has assigned extra regional agents to the homicide investigation in hopes that knowledgeable parties might be more willing to speak now, according to a March 22 press release.
Stephen Smith’s death in 2015 was not the result of a vicious beating: No evidence for any association with a South Carolina lowcountry lawyer
Sandy Smith believes that her son’s death was the result of a vicious beating. Being gay in the South Carolina Lowcountry could not have been easy for Stephen Smith according to Bland.
A nursing student was killed on July 8, 2015, when he was found dead in the middle of a two-lane road. Police said it appeared he was walking for help after running out of gas. His car was found close to the body with his gas cap removed and his wallet still inside.
Stephen Smith left his shoes on his feet, and Bland says he didn’t make any calls on his cellphone. People are often left without shoes when car wrecks leave them injured. The road also contained no skid marks or nearby debris, according to Ronnie Richter, another lawyer for the Smiths.
Rumors that the Murdaugh family was involved in Stephen Smith’s death began when he attended the same high school as Alex Murdaugh’s son. Richter emphasized last week that the legal team has no evidence connecting the death in any way to Buster Murdaugh, who has recently denied any involvement amid claims that he called baseless.