An investigation into the 2015 death of Stephen Smith is now being treated as a homicide, lawyers for the Smith family have sadly confirmed.
Initially ruled as a hit-and-run, 19-year-old Smith - who was openly gay - was found dead in the middle of a remote country road in South Carolina with his vehicle located less than three miles away.
His body was found not too far from the Murdaugh estate. According to The Independent, he was discovered to have suffered severe blunt force trauma to his head, and his death was then ruled as highway vehicular manslaughter. Experienced investigators, however, have since stated that they believed the injuries and the positioning of Smith's body were inconsistent with a car accident.
There was subsequently gossip throughout the local community that "a Murdaugh boy" may have been involved, and there has been growing speculation in the wake of Alex Murdaugh's recent trial and a damning Netflix documentary that the family may have been involved, but these have so far all been dismissed by authorities as nothing more than rumors.
The Murdaughs have been under the spotlight in recent months after former lawyer Alex, 54, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, in 2021 - who were shot at close range at their 1,700-acre Moselle hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina. Alex has one surviving son, 26-year-old Buster.
During sentencing earlier this month, the judge told Murdaugh, per Sky News: "You have turned from lawyer to witness, and now have an opportunity to make your final appeal as an ex-lawyer". The former attorney repeated again that he "would never under any circumstances" harm his wife and son.
Now, it seems that Smith's passing eight years ago is being treated as a homicide, according to a statement from Bland Richter Lawyers - the firm representing his family. "After an extraordinary disclosure phone call with South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel [...] the death of Stephen Smith is now considered a HOMICIDE, a shocking announcement after eight years of being proclaimed a highway vehicular manslaughter," the statement read.
The firm's co-founder Eric Bland said: "We have a chance to right eight years of wrongs, and we intend to do just that."
Bland then revealed more details about the investigation, adding: "SLED officials have revealed that they did not need to exhume Stephen Smith's body to convince them that his death was a homicide. However, they will be present and participate in any exhumation of Stephen's body to gather more evidence. We are committed to finding out what really happened, and getting the peace and justice the Smith family deserves."
