The family of a teenager who was found dead eight years ago on a road near the hunting estate of Alex Murdaugh announced plans to exhume his body for an independent autopsy in the wake of the attorney’s murder conviction.
Family of teen found dead near Murdoch estate to exhume body for “unbiased” autopsy
On July 8, 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a nursing student, was found dead on a road near the hunting estate of disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh.
According to an incident report from the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Smith suffered blunt-force trauma to the head. The teenager’s death was ruled an unsolved hit-and-run.
Stephen’s mother always rejected that theory. She is hoping a new autopsy can help answer questions among the inconsistencies in reports about what really happened to her son, NPR reported.
Inconsistencies and conflicts in multiple reports
While the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) report did state that Smith appeared to have been struck by a vehicle, another report by the state highway patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team noted that there was “no vehicle debris, skidmarks, or injuries consistent with someone being struck by a vehicle.”
Additionally, both of Smith’s shoes were on and loosely tied, with investigators stating they saw no evidence suggesting he was struck by a vehicle, CNN reported.
Investigators theorized that Smith was standing outside of his car after it had run out of gas and was struck by a vehicle, NBC reported. A medical examiner wrote in a report that Smith died from being struck in the head by a car mirror. However, neither glass nor debris from a car was found where Smith’s body was located or in the immediate area, The Island Packet reported.
Among other inconsistencies in the reports was Smith being initially found with a “defensive wound” on his hand.
Nearly two years ago, state authorities reopened a probe into Smith’s death based on information investigators learned while digging into the murders of Margaret ‘Maggie’ Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh. However, SLED did not offer details on what information it had gleaned.
“SLED has made progress in the death investigation of Stephen Smith,” the agency said last Sunday. “However, this investigation remains active and ongoing.”
Family of teen raises money online to exhume the body for an independent autopsy
With many contributing factors, such as the above inconsistencies coming to light, SLED is reopening the investigation. In the wake of the murder conviction of Alex Murdoch, Smith’s family announced plans for Stephen’s body to be exhumed for an independent and “unbiased” autopsy.
Smith’s family established a GoFundMe page that had raised more than $60,000 to pay for having Stephen’s body exhumed.
“Thank you for not allowing Stephen’s story to be swept under a rug,” his mother wrote. “This is Stephen’s year.”
The family said it needed the funds in an effort to seek a “new, unbiased look at his body and an accurate determination of his cause of death based on facts,” according to the page.
