The body of a teen who was found dead near the Murdaugh estate in 2015 is reportedly set to be exhumed. The South Carolina Murdaugh family has been under the spotlight in recent months after Alex Murdaugh, 54, was convicted and <a href="https://vt.co/news/us/alex-murdaugh-is-sentenced-to-life-in-prison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole</a> for murdering his wife Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, in 2021. The mother and son were found dead near the dog kennels at their 1,700-acre Moselle hunting estate in Islandton, South Carolina. The two victims had been fatally shot, with Murdaugh refusing responsibility for killing them throughout his trial. During sentencing on earlier this month, the judge told Murdaugh, per <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/alex-murdaugh-court-latest-prominent-us-lawyer-who-featured-in-netflix-series-to-be-sentenced-for-murdering-son-and-wife-12824323#:~:text=The%20judge%20tells%20Murdaugh%3A%20%22You,hurt%20his%20wife%20and%20son.">Sky News</a>: "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. <img class="wp-image-1263198477 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/2P18KPN-1-scaled.jpg" alt="" width="2560" height="1706" />[[imagecaption|| Alex Murdaugh being led into a Hampton County court during his trial this year. Credit: Zuma Press / Alamy]] Now, the family of Stephen Smith, an openly gay 19-year-old who went to school with the now-26-year-old Buster Murdaugh - the eldest Murdaugh child - have revealed that his body is to be exhumed for a further independent investigation. The high schooler was found dead in the middle of a remote country road - not too far from the Murdaugh estate - with his vehicle located less than three miles away. According to <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/alex-murdaugh-buster-stephen-smith-b2297612.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Independent</a>, Smith was discovered to have suffered severe blunt force trauma to his head, and initially his death was ruled as a hit-and-run. 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 the recent trial and a damning Netflix documentary that Buster may have been involved, but these have so far all been dismissed by authorities as nothing more than rumors. Mere days after the Murdaugh family murders, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) revealed that it was reopening its investigation into Smith's death following some new information that has come to light, but it did not reveal what new information prompted this. <img class="wp-image-1263201289 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/03/Screenshot-2023-03-17-at-16.15.50.png" alt="" width="1750" height="872" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: GoFundMe.com]] Smith's mother Sandy set up a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/independent-exhumation-and-autopsy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> that aimed to raise $15,000 for an independent autopsy. So far, that number has exceeded $43,000, with Sandy revealing: "Our family is so very grateful to all of you who came together to help us in our fight for justice for Stephen. "I could not have imagined when we began this fundraiser that it would take off the way that it did. Thank you for not allowing Stephen's story to be swept under a rug." <h6>Featured image credit: Newscom / Alamy</h6>

Body of teen found dead near the Murdaugh estate to be exhumed

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