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. July 22, 2015, SCHP: Proctor visits Presnell at MUSC to get some sort of clarification on the Smith case. He said he would take Stephens case free of charge. As if all of the foregoing wasn't wild enough, apparently, information gathered from the Murdaugh double murder investigation has prompted law enforcement to reopen a case regarding the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith. Sandy has been begging law enforcement officials for years to open an investigation into her sons unsolved death. RELATED | Murdaugh Murders: The Latest On The Boat Crash Lawsuit And Obstruction Of Justice Investigation. The former S.C. Highway Patrol trooper had recently told several media outlets that Stephen Smith's 2015 death was likely a murder staged to look like a hit-and-run. She told FITSNews this week that SLED came to her house to tell her they were opening an investigation. 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. His death was first. No other evidence was located at the scene, the SLED agent wrote. June 7, 2021: Alex Murdaugh, 53, calls 911 and reports he found his wife Margaret, 52, and son Paul, then 22, shot dead outside of their home in Islandton, a small community about an hour north of . He instead calls Smalls to see if he can get the information. No homicide investigation was ever opened, and no referral was ever made to the agency in the case. The coroners report on Smiths death said he was most likely hit in the head by the mirror of a passing tractor trailer truck as he walked along the dark, two-lane road after he ran out of gas. Cr. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Shortly after 1 p.m. SCHP: Duncan calls Stephen Smiths mother Sandy Smith. MAIT takes photos of the body and Smiths clothes. Also buried close by is Stephen's brother, who died as a baby. Mother and son were gunned down on their 1,770-acre estate in the small town of Islandton. The family has now offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. It began June 7, when the pretty, college-sweetheart wife and son of Alex Murdaugh, a prominent and powerful lawyer who knows everyone in town, were brutally gunned down at their hunting lodge in . This decision to rule his death a hit-and-run appeared to skew the investigation by SCHPs Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) who typically investigate accidents, not murders. He also said SLED has not contacted Proctor to assist in their investigationat the time of the interview. Is Mother and Son Murder Connected to Death of Woman in Drunken Boat Crash. Singleton took the wallet, according to the report. Nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run.. The final autopsy report said that Stephens cause of death was blunt head trauma, motor vehicle crash, pedestrian vs. vehicle. Ive been waiting on this day for 2,174 days, Sandy told FITSNews. These boys were coming from a baseball game and I think that they were right behind him, so when he had to pull over, they were right there. No additional details were provided. CLICK HERE. He often had car troubles, but they had trouble imagining him walkingin the middle of the road, his family told Inside Edition Digital in an interview. (wrongful death lawsuit updates). For more than two decades, she had served as the family housekeeper and nanny. They called me back and said they were looking into Stephens case because they have to see if my family is involved in the shooting of Paul and Maggie (Murdaugh), Sandy Smith said. King World Productions Inc. 2023 Inside Edition Inc. and CBS interactive Inc., Paramount companies. Smith's case had gone cold in the months following his July 2015 death, which was officially ruled a vehicular hit-and-run despite strong objections from the South Carolina Highway Patrol. You go back to the Murdaugh name and their ties in that community, and that dont matter to me What weve done is take that investigation out of that and their reach I dont care what your name is and how much money you got., He then said Im not saying that the Murdaugh boy did it., But if were going to be throwing out names, Im not going to be withholding names, Proctor wrote. Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. 7:28 p.m. SCHP: King calls Moore and tells him that Brock with MAIT would be calling and tells Moore to get in touch with someone from SLED to get them to come out the next day. I guarantee you that Stephen was not in that road, she said. Even after the eight-year veteran enhanced his postseason legend with another prolific stretch . Got a tip for a story? Cops investigating the double murder have also reopened the case into a 2015 hit-and-run of teen Stephen Smith Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Sattlerfield dies Mallory Beach, 19, died in . Allen, of the SCHP, telling him about a possible hit and run on Sandy Run Road. Sandy Smith told FITSNews that SLED is investigating her sons death as a homicide which is something she wishes they did six years ago. All victims have been submitted by law enforcement or the victims' families. 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Alex Murdaugh called 911 Saturday and said he had been shot as he stood at the side of a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, according to a statement from the state police. 1:43 p.m. SLED: Agents leave MUSC and take evidence to their forensic laboratory. Sandy says that Stephen was smart and a study person who was typically serious about school. 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. She said that it was not a gunshot wound and no bullet or fragments were found during the X-ray and that it didnt look like a bullet wound in her opinion and that since the body was found in the roadway, she could only theorize that it had to be a motor vehicle that caused the death, Moores note said. SLED's reopened investigation was first reported by FITSNews Tuesday evening. The case was mysteriously bounced from investigator to investigator without reasons or notification, Sandy Smith wrote in the letter. I wouldn't put shit by wealthy, corrupt, powerful, relatively young or barely "mature", highly intelligent men, privileged in every way. His car was discovered three miles away with the gas cap off. Its also unclear if the MAIT team ever examined Stephens phone, which was tossed between agencies before it was finally unlocked by the FBI several years after his death. In a report (below) by Todd Proctor, a MAIT detective for SCHP, it was clear that investigators didnt agree with the pathologists conclusion to rule the death a hit and run. Im just sitting here like why? It makes no sense, she said. In the summer of 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of a rural highway in South Carolina. (WTOC/Provided) Initial reports indicated he died from blunt force trauma to the head. SCHP: Moore calls Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home and speaks with a funeral home director. 9 a.m. SCHP: Booker meets at Peeples Rhoden Funeral Home with Moore, Duncan, Rowell and Burke to examine the body. His body was found in the middle of Sandy Run. The two were shot and killed in June 2021. When asked if theyve had been contacted by a lawyer, the family member tells police that Randy Murdaugh was the second person to call Stephens father after the coroner on the day of Stephens death. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Todd Proctor, S.C. Highway Patrol's lead investigator in the 2015 Stephen Smith case, tells multiple news outlets that he still doesn't believe Smith died as a result of a hit-and-run. MAIT is a division of the South Carolina HighwayPatrol unit that initially responded to the scene. At the time of his death, Smith was a 19-year-old Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College student who was studying to become a nurse. He said Stephen was harassed by Rednecks in a big truck with big mud tires.. She was hoping to hear that they had opened a case in her sons unsolved death. 6:25 a.m. SCHP: Moore arrives at the scene and speaks with Hampton County Coroner Ernie Washington, who tells him it is a homicide. Names and stories of the Murdaugh family surfaced six years ago regarding the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a young gay man found dead in the middle of a lonely rural road with several deep gashes in his head, but investigators said they were never able to directly connect anyone in the family to the incident. They search the area for cartridge cases. 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. As any investigator, you go off of the evidence there was no evidence that pointed towards this being a hit and run, or a vehicle even being involved in it. This database currently consists of unsolved homicides from 50 Florida counties, 46 U.S. states, and 3 international countries. In fairness, SLED didnt investigate Stephens case because it was dubiously ruled a hit and run. "He wouldve called somebody.. There, they listened to gospel songs, speeches and unveiled a new headstone for the 19-year-old's grave, which is close to the spot where his father, who died three months after his son, is buried. . Stephens friends and family also disputed the autopsy report. Randolph "Randy" Murdaugh is the older brother of Alex Murdaugh, a member of the influential Hampton family. Tallon and Burke take photos and notes and make a sketch with measurements (see below). Murdaugh Murders: What happened to Gloria Satterfield? The death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith was originally ruled a hit-and-run in 2015 when his body was found in the middle of a road 15 miles from the Murdaugh hunting cabin. Paul Murdaugh,Alex's son and Randy's nephew, pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges related to Mallory Beach's death. The Murdaugh family (/ m r d k / MUR-dok) is an American legal family in the Low Country region of South Carolina.From 1920 to 2006, three members of the family consecutively served as solicitor (i.e., district attorney), in charge of prosecuting all criminal cases in the state's 14th circuit district, leading locals to call the five-county district, "Murdaugh Country". Im tired of them putting Stephen on the back burner, Sandy Smith told FITSNews. I asked her why she stated that in the report and her answer was because he was found in the road, Proctor wrote. Stephen Smith's body was found on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County on July 8, 2015. 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. Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders and the Ongoing Drama Surrounding Dad Alex Murdaugh, Hampton County Detention Center/AP/Shutterstock, Alex Murdaugh Allegedly Lured Wife to Cabin On Night She Was Killed and She Texted Friend It Seemed 'Fishy', Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders, Including Details of Allegations Against Alex, Alex Murdaugh's Slain Son Paul Allegedly Strangled Ex-Girlfriend in 2017, She Says in Netflix Documentary, Investigators Will Exhume Body of Murdaugh Family Housekeeper Who Died Under Mysterious Circumstances. Stephen died on the eighth of July. We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! That would be Stephen Smith, a gay teenager who was found dead in the street inHampton County. 4:30 a.m. Tuesday: Sandy Smith, mother of Stephen Smith, who was found dead on a rural Hampton County road in 2015, is feeling vindicated, finally, for her instincts. Proctor wrote that Presnell spoke in a negative tone and basically called (him) a liar when he said that hed already spoken to Hampton County CoronerErnie Washington. To what historical information she possessed, I am unaware.. So Moore calls Smalls again and gets voicemail. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. "I just couldn't believe it," she said. I think its a situation when you grow up and your family is kinda high-profile and you get away withsome things because of your family name, Proctor said in 2015. Six years later, Sandy Smith Stephens mother is still grappling with the pain of not knowing what happened to her son. As people of interest in the case come up and you try to get them to speak with you they shut down, Proctor explained. The killings also led the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to open a new inquiry into the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old whose body was found on a rural road in the area in . Sandy mentions that a man at Bi-Lo was giving Stephen trouble, but they became friends. His death was ruled a. HAMPTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A new headstone for Stephen Smith was unveiled at the Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County Sunday. Smith died on a rural road in Hampton County, in 2015 that was ruled a hit-and-run.. Smith's mother, Sandy, told the the Hampton County Guardian, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2015 that she believed her son's death was the result of foul play and a possible hate crime because her son was gay. In early June, a son and mother, both members of a. State police reopen hit-and-run death investigation from details gathered in Murdaugh case. The three-part series chronicles the string of deaths that the family is connected to, including a teenager named Mallory Beach who tragically died in a boating accident. Moore is called by Cpl. Stephen's twin sister, Stephanie Smith, remembered the moment the coroner called her home about Stephen's death. It has been apparent from the first week of the investigation that authorities are covering up critical evidence and we no longer know who to trust, Smith wrote. "Stephen's getting his final resting place honored and recognized," says Andrews. Sandy Smith didnt reveal who she thought killed her son. Officials couldnt nail down a cause or manner of death. Kurt Busch might have received a proper sendoff this weekend in Las Vegas, where his hometown track treated him cruelly over 21 tries until he broke through for a win in 2020. In the letter, she said that they were told that the Murdaugh brothers were involved in her sons death. 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