The eldest son of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has responded to rumors that he was involved in the hit-and-run death of one of his peers.
It's been more than two weeks since Alex's guilty verdict, and the Murdaugh family is continuing to dominate the headlines.
On March 2, the 54-year-old disgraced ex-lawyer 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.
Paul's elder brother, Buster Murdaugh, 26, is now speaking out after being hit with accusations that he had something to do with the death of a teenager nearly eight years ago.
The body of Stephen Smith, who died at just 19, is set to be exhumed several years after he was found dead in the road near the South Carolina property where Alex later fatally shot his wife and son.
Per CNN, this comes two years after authorities relaunched an investigation into the case after officials learned new information while carrying out a probe into the homicides of the two Murdaughs.
Denying involvement in Stephen's passing, Buster said in a statement released by a family attorney: "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."
He went on to say that he feels "harassed" and "targeted" by the media as well as ordinary people following news of the controversial family.
"This has gone on far too long," Buster said. "These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false."
"I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family," he added, before going on to request that the media refrain from perpetuating the "rumors".
A popular documentary about the Murdaugh family - Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal - saw participants in the doc speculate as to whether Buster and Stephen had a romantic relationship.
"There were so many rumors swirling around that Buster and Stephen were intimate together," said 23-year-old Morgan Doughty, who dated Buster's now-deceased brother, Paul.
"Being gay in the Murdaugh family would have been looked down upon," she added.
Stephen's mother, Sandy, had previously set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to exhume her late son's body and have an independent autopsy carried out.
"We feel it's critical to seek a new goal - an independent exhumation and autopsy - and we're launching Justice for Stephen N. Smith with that immediate goal in mind," she wrote as part of the fundraiser's description.
.jpg_SHJm3T?tr=h-184)
