And now a retired South Carolina state trooper, who led the investigation into Smiths death, told Fox News he had long suspected the case to have been a murder. Then it turned out it was a hit and run. Singleton tells Moore he wasnt at his desk and would call him back in 30 minutes. We've made no secret about what our goal is. Singleton took the wallet, according to the report. After his autopsy, however, Smith's death was ruled a hit-and-run. He would have seen headlights coming and got off the road. SLED is investigating every angle in the Murdaugh case something that Sandy wishes they would have done with Stephens death six years ago. "I just couldn't believe it," she said. Stephens massive head wound along with the lack of other significant injuries on his body stumped investigators on scene. "He's on my side . 9:20 a.m. SLED: Agents then responded approximately 3 miles to the victims vehicle on the side of Bamberg Highway. However, a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina ruled the death caused by "blunt head trauma sustained in a motor vehicle crash," according to the final autopsy report. Nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run, Proctor said. Sandy Smith didnt reveal who she thought killed her son. So they can play that card like they care about everyone else. Investigators found Smiths car three miles away on the side of Bamberg Highway. Moore, of SCHP, gets a call from Cpl. A wooden memorial erected for Stephen Nicholas Smith, 19, who was found dead on a country road in 2015. Allen, of the SCHP, telling him about a possible hit and run on Sandy Run Road. She said they were adamant it was a gunshot wound, so they mapped the scene and began to gather evidence as they would normally do.. He said he would take Stephens case free of charge. Mom and Son, Authorities Open Investigation into Teen's 2015 Death, 'Somebody's in Danger': 2 Months After Deaths of Prominent S.C. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? At nearly $29 million, Clark is set to have the third-largest cap hit in 2023 of any defensive end. They just throw their cases on a shelf to collect dust.. However, his mother, Sandy, told the the Hampton County Guardian, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2015. His car was discovered three miles away with the gas cap off. Law enforcement officers believed Smith ran out of gas and started walking home before he was killed. "She now has more people than she knows what to do with," says Andrews. . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Myth? All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. CLICK HERE. Like the probe of the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, the 2015 investigation into Smiths death was chaotic from the beginning clouded by jurisdictional confusion and suspicions of investigative interference. Murdaugh is on trial for murder for the deaths, Murdaugh Murders: Did Alex Murdaugh hire someone to kill him? Were not classifying this as anything other than a murder, Proctor said in an audio recording. All advice, including picks and predictions, is based on individual commentators opinions and not that of Minute Media or its related brands. She told me it was not her job to figure that out, it was mine., 6:14 p.m. SCHP: Brock notifies Booker that the victim did not have a gunshot wound according to the autopsy. Booker contacts Burns and Moore to gather further information. No other evidence was located at the scene, the SLED agent wrote. Moore instructs him to immediately stop their preparations on the body and cover him up. Moore tells Rowell to go get the clothing. MAIT takes photos of the body and Smiths clothes. The worst part is that some of the individuals responsible were Stephens classmates.. It was also reported that Alex and another family member took to Paul's rescue as legal counsel while he was detained. Stephen's death is one of several mysterious or accidental deaths that have swirled around the Murdaugh family in recent years. 6:00 a.m. SCHP: Duncan, on the way to the scene, calls Booker said he was told it appeared to be a homicide and SLED was taking it over. Booker says he was advised there was a possible gunshot wound to the victims head. The family has now offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. According to court documents, Alex . Cops investigating the double murder have also reopened the case into a 2015 hit-and-run of teen Stephen Smith Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Sattlerfield dies Mallory Beach, 19, died in . On July 8, 2015 Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road with a 7.25-inch gaping hole on the right side of his forehead and no other major injuries. New details in the investigation of 19-year-old Stephen Smith's death in 2015 show that while initial reports from S.C. Highway Patrol indicate his death was caused by a hit-and-run car crash . To what historical information she possessed, I am unaware.. To what historical information she possessed, I am unaware.. MAIT investigators cited multiple times in case notes and incidentreports obtained by Inside Edition Digital that Smith's death appeared to be a homicide and said the wound on his skull to be consistent with a gunshot wound. Whoever did this to Stephen should go to prison. I then reminded him that earlier that morning they were certain it was a gunshot wound and he told me he had to go by the opinion of the doctor. Moore asks where Smiths body is. Whoever they are, she tells Duncan. Investigators theorized that the mirror of a semi-truck hit Stephens head. "Sandy and I both believe that this was a murder. If anyone helped cover up what happened, they should be held accountable.". Stephen Smith, 19, died on a rural road in Hampton County, S.C., in 2015 in a controversial homicide that was officially ruled a hit-and-run. It was also clear from the report that there was tension between Presnell and SCHP. Beach died when a 17-foot center console fishing boat allegedly driven by an inebriated Paul Murdaugh slammed into a pylon near theArchers Creek bridge on February 24, 2019 around 2:25 a.m. Murdaugh was charged with three felony counts of boating under the influence (BUI) in the aftermath of that crash. She tells him they located Smiths car on US 601 and that the gas cap was off. HAMPTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The mother of a 19-year-old found dead in 2015 said the grand jury indictment of former Lowcountry attorney Alex Murdaugh in the killings of his own wife and son gives her hope for justice for her son's case. She has been searching for answers ever since. The timeline (below) shows a sketch of how officials came to the decision to rule the death a hit and run and how that decision appeared to confuse nearly everyone involved. According to the investigation file, Buster was rumored to have been linked to Stephen intimately but detectives never proved this connection. Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, werefound shot to death June 7 at their familys hunting lodge in Colleton County, South Carolina, as CrimeOnline has previously reported. Smalls said hell call right back but doesnt. As SLED begins its probe into Stephens death, its important to look back on the 2015 investigation to see what went awry. 5:57 p.m. SCHP: Moore calls King to advise him what was occurring.. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. "My son will be 18 in November, and I just couldn't imagine in six years that no one had come to Stephen's mom's aid for memorializing her son," Andrews says. Its also unclear if the MAIT team ever examined Stephens phone, which was tossed between agencies before it was finally unlocked by the FBI several years after his death. Or an issue youd like to address proactively? In the summer of 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of a rural highway in South Carolina. SLED is simply looking at anyone who may have had a possible motive in the case including the survivors of a high-profile February 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-oldMallory Beach. Or "king's ransom" waiting to be found A Slap In the Face: Update In The Stephen Smith Case And Murdaugh Murders, Murdaugh Murders: The Latest On The Boat Crash Lawsuit And Obstruction Of Justice Investigation, Boat Crash Lawsuit: Murdaughs Refuse To Settle, Withhold Financial Records From Victims Family, Apparent Human Trafficking Raid Jolts Coastal South Carolina Neighborhood, Murdaugh Murders: South Carolina Attorney General Must Step In And Remove Rogue Solicitor, Powerful Storms, Tornadoes Sweep Through SC: Photos From The Upstate to Lowcountry, SC State House: Speaker Of The House Livid After Close Friend Loses Primary Fight, Mark Powells Palmetto Past & Present: Lost Confederate Gold, Ron Paul: The Anti-War Movement Roars Back To Life, LIVE FEED Murdaugh Murders Trial: Day Twenty-Six. According to our sources, all of the boat crash survivors and Beachs family members voluntarily submitted to questioning and volunteered to provide their DNA as a part of the double homicide investigation. Tallon and Burke take photos and notes and make a sketch with measurements (see below). "While the many questions about my son's death remain, this action gives me hope that we will get justice for my Stephen," she said. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Michael Hemlepp, attorney for Smith's family, joins NewsNation's "Banfield."#Banfield #AlexMurdaugh Stephen Smith, 19, died on a rural road in Hampton County, S.C., in 2015 in a controversial homicide that was officially ruled a hit-and-run. State police reopen hit-and-run death investigation from details gathered in Murdaugh case. Stephens family member didnt seem to believe this at the time. We have got to keep the light on his story and to keep the fire underneath other people's behinds to get it solved. To be fair, police appeared to be pursuing other persons of interest as well and never named anyone as a suspect. July 10, 2015, SCHP: Stephens Clothes and iPhone sent to SLED, 5 p.m.: Stephens wake is held at the Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home chapel in Hampton on Mulberry Street East. The mother of the 19-year-old Stephen Smith has told news outlets for the past six years that she thought her son was beaten to death and not hit by a vehicle in Hampton County and she. Investigators reported he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident, despite police reports . The family of Stephen Smith wants more investigation into his death, which was declared a hit-and-run. The teens had been "grossly intoxicated," according to police, even though they were all underage and could not legally buy alcohol. A NEW 20/20 documentary about the mysterious Murdaugh family includes claims by the twin sister of a teenager who died under strange circumstances in rural South Carolina. For more than two decades, she had served as the family housekeeper and nanny. "That no family, no community, no friends, no one had come to help her try to get a headstone. Cuts and bruises dotted his right hand. Investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol (SCHP) received multiple tips in the aftermath of Smiths death linking his untimely demise to the Murdaugh family. SLED opened the investigation based on information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby told FITSNews. Sandy says shes skeptical of the man claiming to be Stephens boyfriend. Additionally, the episode will reveal new details in the death of Stephen Smith, who was found dead in 2015 after an alleged hit and run. His death was ruled a. 3 Stephen Smith's body was found in the middle of a rural road Credit: Facebook 3 Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex, all members of the prominent Murdaugh family Credit: Facebook Smith died on a rural road in Hampton County in 2015, in what was ruled a hit-and-run. (Center) Alex Murdaugh in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Also buried close by is Stephen's brother, who died as a baby. The case of Stephen Smith a 19-year-old man from Hampton, S.C. who was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. Maybe there's even manufactured evidence in this case. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is now streaming on Netflix, telling the story of the wealthy Murdaugh family in South Carolina. Stephen was found dead in the middle of a rural road outside of Hampton. Rumors have swirled about a possible relationship between Stephen Smith and Buster Murdaugh. Im just sitting here like why? It makes no sense, she said. The final autopsy report said that Stephens cause of death was blunt head trauma, motor vehicle crash, pedestrian vs. vehicle. SCHP: Moore writes I turned the clothing over to Duncan and after a discussion by all parties as to why this did not appear to be related to a motor vehicle.. On June 22, 2021, SLED said it was . On July 8, 2015 Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road with a 7.25-inch gaping hole on the right side of his forehead and no other major injuries. Rumors and speculation have surrounded Stephen Smith's death on July 8, 2015, when the 19-year-old's body was found on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County with deep gashes to the head just. Now, police investigating the shooting deaths of. Moore tells him to make sure that the coroner and HCSO are also ruling it a homicide. Stephens murder was ruled a hit-and-run with no one arrested for the crime, but in 2021, the case was reopened. Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. 8:25 a.m. SLED: Tallon and Burke arrive at the scene. The vehicle doors were locked. All victims have been submitted by law enforcement or the victims' families. King World Productions Inc. 2023 Inside Edition Inc. and CBS interactive Inc., Paramount companies. 8:53 a.m. SLED: Burke meets with Moore at Peeples Rhoden Funeral Home in Hampton to provide documentation from the original crime scene and to transfer evidence. He would not let a car, let alone a truck, get close enough to hit him. Smalls called him and told him that the autopsy showed Smiths death a result of a hit and run. Then he was beat up, so the story just kept changing over and over," said Sandra Smith, Stephen's mother, this week. Smith was released on bond and now faces six felony charges in the shooting of Alex Murdaugh. She said that it was not a gunshot wound and no bullet or fragments were found during the X-ray and that it didnt look like a bullet wound in her opinion and that since the body was found in the roadway, she could only theorize that it had to be a motor vehicle that caused the death, Moores note said. He was an openly gay young man in the small town of Hampton, South Carolina, which wasnt easy, but he made the best of it, his friends told FITSNews. Editors Note: The timeline below is an outline of an investigation shared for the purpose of full disclosure as the case is getting attention from sleuths across the country. Washington tells him its been taken to the funeral home per the familys wishes at the time of the death notification.. The gas tank door was open and the gas cap was hanging on the side of the vehicle. They called me back and said they were looking into Stephens case because they have to see if my family is involved in the shooting of Paul and Maggie (Murdaugh), Sandy Smith said. Detectives speculated a truck had side-swiped him with a rearview mirror as Smith walked along the dark road, according to incident reports. SCHP: Moore calls Presnell to try and understand what made her decide Stephen was killed in a hit and run. I just dont believe my son would have been walking in the middle of the road like that. Ive been waiting on this day for 2,174 days, Sandy told FITSNews. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Proctor then spoke withKelly Greene, Hampton County deputy coroner and a SLED agent who both attended the autopsy and said they didnt make any reference to the pathologist about the victim being struck by a vehicle, only that he was found in the road. After interviewing several sources who knew the Murdaugh brothers, SCHP detective Proctormade some significant assessments of the family. 8:22 p.m. SCHP: Moore calls Burke. CLICK HERE. SLEDs inquiry into the Smith family does not mean its agents believe they had anything to do with the deaths of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? In early June, a sonand mother, both members of a prominent South Carolina family were slain at their family's home in a horrific double murder. It looked like it was more staged like possibly the body had been placed in the roadway.". And before too long, some of them including the Murdaugh family stopped cooperating at all, he said. Stephen Smith, a teenager from Hampton . It has been apparent from the first week of the investigation that authorities are covering up critical evidence and we no longer know who to trust, Smith wrote. Rowell did not make a note of the Murdaugh tip in his written notes. His body was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8 with deep gashes to the head. Earlier this week, the agency opened up a tip line exclusively for the high-profile case. Got something youd like to say in response to one of our articles? At the time of his death, Paul was awaiting trial after being charged with several felonies in connection to the deadly crash, including boating under the influence. The19-year-old was found lying in the middle of the roadway with severe head traumain the early morning hours of July 8, 2015. For the latest true crime and justice news,subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast: Attorney for Kristin Smarts Convicted Murderer Challenges Conviction 2 Weeks Before Sentencing, 4 Dead, Including 13-Year-Old Boy, in Suspected Murder-Suicide, Soft Swinging Mormon Mom TikToker Threw a Chair That Hit Her 5-Year-Old Daughter in Argument With Boyfriend, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. Alex Murdaugh called 911 Saturday and said he had been shot as he stood at the side of a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, according to a statement from the state police. She also said she believed that the Murdaughs influence extended to all realms of the investigation and was initially tainted when it was ruled a hit-and-run incident (see below for part of Sandy Smiths letter). Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of a country road 15 miles from the Murdaugh family's Islandton hunting lodge on July 8, 2015. In early June, a son and mother, both members of a. The investigation was opened "based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh," a SLED spokesperson said. Despite the lack of tire marks or automobile debris, investigators ruled his death a hit-and-run accident. He doesnt deserve people to think that.. Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. 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