The body of a 19-year-old whose death in 2015 sparked suspicion during Alex Murdaugh's murder trial last month has been exhumed and will be re-examined, it has been confirmed.
On March 2, Murdaugh was convicted on double murder charges in connection with the shooting deaths of his wife Margaret, 52, and son Paul, 22. He was handed two life sentences following the dramatic six-week trial.
Prosecutors on the trial said Murdaugh ended the lives of his wife and son to take any attention away from his financial crimes after his now-deceased son found himself in trouble with the law.
Paul had been accused of causing the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach after he crashed a boat into a bridge more than three years ago while intoxicated. The young woman's family had been pursuing legal action against the Murdaughs.
During the case, other suspicious deaths - allegedly linked to the disgraced family - were looked into.
This includes 19-year-old Stephen Smith who was found dead in the road near the South Carolina property where Murdaugh later fatally shot his wife and son.
Attorney Eric Bland confirmed that the body had been successfully exhumed, writing on Twitter: "My partner, Ronnie Richter, and I, as attorneys for Sandy Smith, and on behalf of Steven Smith, would like to thank everyone who contributed in the Exhumation, Transporting Stephen, protecting and guarding Stephen while he was being re-examined, and the second autopsy being done, transporting him back and then putting him back to his final resting place this past weekend."
Concluding the post, he wrote: "I now believe that Stephen can really rest at ease because SLED and our team are going to do everything possible to find out just how he died. Thank you so much."
It was revealed towards the latter half of last month that the young man's passing - initially regarded as a hit-and-run death - had now been ruled a homicide by authorities.
Smith, who was found with severe blunt force trauma to his head, was wounded and positioned in such a way that has now been deemed inconsistent with an accidental collision.
Over the last few weeks, rumors began circulating that Murdaugh's eldest son, Buster, was responsible for the teen's death.
The 26-year-old denied the accusations in a statement released by a family attorney on March 20.
He said: "I have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to be published in the media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my mother and brother. I love them so much and miss them terribly.
"I haven’t spoken up until now because I want to live in private while I cope with their deaths and my father’s incarceration."
