Stephens massive head wound along with the lack of other significant injuries on his body stumped investigators on scene. Proctor then spoke with Kelly 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. His phone and keys were still in his pocket. They just dont care about the poor people who cant afford to hire a big-time attorney or private investigators, Sandy said. Whoever they are, she tells Duncan. Additional counties and states will be added to this database as time and funding permit. 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. Hemlepp tells PEOPLE: "I know there are people who know what happened to Stephen. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Six years later, Sandy Smith Stephens mother is still grappling with the pain of not knowing what happened to her son. Is Outer Banks based on a true story? Earlier this week, FITSNews exclusively reported that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) opened an investigation into the death of Stephen Smith a Hampton County teenager whose death has been unsolved since 2015. Alex Murdaugh is currently in jail, on a $7 million bond that he has yet to meet, facing 51 charges for financial crimes, and multiple lawsuits. Law enforcement officers believed Smith ran out of gas and started walking home before he was killed. He would not let a car, let alone a truck, get close enough to hit him. (Is Outer Banks a real place?). At the time, her death was classified as an accidental slip and fall, but authorities have reopened the investigation. Officially, Smiths death was classified as a hit and run. 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. According to Live 5 News, the Murdaugh family is mentioned several times in the investigative files of Stephen Smith, who died by hit-and-run in July 2015. (Assisted suicide explained). "Stephen's getting his final resting place honored and recognized," says Andrews. RELATED | Murdaugh Murders: The Latest On The Boat Crash Lawsuit And Obstruction Of Justice Investigation. The late Stephen Smith with his mother . So why didnt they investigate Stephens death as a homicide? In the documentary, Randy said, I knew who Stephen Smith was and I knew his family.". As any investigator, you go off of the evidence there was no evidence that pointed towards this being a hit and run, or a vehicle even being involved in it. Stephens relative didnt believe the person who said they were dating Stephen and said the family was skeptical of him. That would be Stephen Smith, a gay teenager who was found dead in the street inHampton County. Stephen Smith's body was found on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County on July 8, 2015. Tallon and Burke take photos and notes and make a sketch with measurements (see below). "And it's amazing to be a part of that and to see it. 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. Cr. A spokesperson confirmed the investigation into the 2015 hit-and-run case, citing "the information gathered in the Murdaugh homicide investigation." Murdaugh's. His death was officially ruled a hit-and-run, but deep gashes to his head suggested to some he was beaten to death. "Sandy and I both believe that this was a murder. Moore tells him to make sure that the coroner and HCSO are also ruling it a homicide. Investigators reported he was the victim. His head was misshapen by blunt force. His loosely tied shoes were still on and his clothes appeared untouched. Hes never been around Stephen., When asked who told her that she said Stephens friend, another kid who she named, and a couple other people.. He said Stephen was harassed by Rednecks in a big truck with big mud tires.. The victims hands were bagged. SLED agents noted minor injuries to victims left arm, left hand and head. Moore describes Smith as there were no visible injuries to the deceased, other than his head wound and a small amount of road rash on both arms, Actual or presumed Date of Death: July 8, 2015, Cause of death: Blunt force trauma (probably pedestrian in motor vehicle accident possibly struck by side mirror). Prior to leaving the scene, agents discussed their findings and completed a walkthrough with Inv. No they dont they care about protecting themselves.. 8:25 a.m. SLED: Tallon and Burke arrive at the scene. He often had car troubles, but they had trouble imagining him walkingin the middle of the road, his family told Inside Edition Digital in an interview. She had no evidence other than that for the statement being put in the report., Proctor said that he explained to her that law enforcement officers had no evidence of this individual being struck by a vehicle.. At first, they thought it was a hit and run. His death was investigated by the South Carolina Department of Public Safety The gas tank door was open and the gas cap was hanging on the side of the vehicle. That did not happen to my friend. His body was found in the middle of Sandy Run. . Smith, 19, of Hampton, was found dead in the middle of a rural road in Hampton County in 2015, three miles from where his car had run out of gas, investigators said, WIS, The Augusta Chronicle,. But eight years later, a new investigation says otherwise, with Smith as the subject of the new docuseries Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. Source: YouTube/Law&Crime Network (video still) Buster Murdaugh 11:03 a.m. SCHP: Duncan travels to Hampton County and interviews a member of the Smith family at the DMV office (a substation for SCHP). After interviewing several sources who knew the Murdaugh brothers, SCHP detective Proctormade some significant assessments of the family. Stay tuned for part two of the investigation file. At the time, investigators said it appeared he was killed in a hit-and-run collision while walking. The case is being reexamined, partly because some Murdaugh family members were among those first on the scene. 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. There is no way that would happen to him. Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of the road outside of Hampton with a gaping head wound, his skull partially crushed and his shoulder dislocated. Tallon notes the weather was cloudy and 92 degrees. In a recording that features in the documentary, a South Carolina State Trooper tells an unidentified phone tipster that he received at least "nine phone calls" about a rumor connecting the Murdaugh family to Stephen's mysterious roadside death. 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 . Mallory and Paul were part of a group of six teenagers who went out on the boat in 2019. Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch said in a deposition under oath that any Fox News executives who knowingly allowed lies to be broadcast on the air "should be reprimanded" or "maybe got rid of," according to a new court filing on Monday by Dominion Voting Systems. Files with the state highway patrol showed that a Murdaugh family member - a. As I was leaving she stated that the report was preliminary and it was my job to figure out what struck him, not hers, Proctor wrote. At the time of his death, Smith was a 19-year-old Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College student who was studying to become a nurse. The teens had been "grossly intoxicated," according to police, even though they were all underage and could not legally buy alcohol. Two Murdaughs also work for the prominent Hampton, S.C. law firm of Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth and Detrick(PMPED). Sunday's vigil was held just days after news broke that disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was indicted by a grand jury on murder charges in connection with the June 2021 deaths of his wife Maggie, 52, and 22-year-old son Paul. In January 2023, it was confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing. Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. 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. Rowell did not make a note of the Murdaugh tip in his written notes. I wouldn't put shit by wealthy, corrupt, powerful, relatively young or barely "mature", highly intelligent men, privileged in every way. Years before Maggie and Paul were killed, there was another murder in South Carolina that also might have ties to the Murdaugh family. SLED is investigating every angle in the Murdaugh case something that Sandy wishes they would have done with Stephens death six years ago. The case was mysteriously bounced from investigator to investigator without reasons or notification, Sandy Smith wrote in the letter. All betting content is intended for an audience ages 21+. A mother knows her child, and my son would not do that," Sandy said. The family of Stephen Smith wants more investigation into his death, which was declared a hit-and-run. Stephen Smith, a teenager from Hampton . is not perfect, but the information is straight from the 100+ page case file. 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. This is about a child that deserves to be memorialized and commemorated, and a mother to have support that she hadn't had.". That's not even the end of the story. Smith was released on bond and now faces six felony charges in the shooting of Alex Murdaugh. An official autopsy had ruled the death as a possible hit-and-run, yet some authorities refuted that report after making their own observations at the scene. 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. Sandy told FITSNews shes still clinging to hope even after Thursdays heart-wrenching news. He said he would take Stephens case free of charge. The Hampton County Coroner's Office said the 19-year-old was hit and killed back in 2015 by blunt-force trauma to the head. However, Randy said in the 20/20 documentary that he knew of "no connection whatsoever" between the Murdaugh family and Stephen Smiths death. He stated he would have to go with the doctors ruling, Moore wrote. He also said SLED has not contacted Proctor to assist in their investigationat the time of the interview. They were very withdrawn with what they knew or thought.. Feb. 2, 2018: Gloria Satterfield, 57, falls at the Murdaugh family home on Moselle Road in Colleton County. 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Nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run, Proctor said. 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. Nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run.. The Murdaugh family has loomed large in the Lowcountry for nearly a century with three generations of its members serving as solicitor (South Carolinas version of a district attorney) over a five-county region between 1920 and 2007. Investigators found Smiths car three miles away on the side of Bamberg Highway. Investigation files revealed (part one). Now, police investigating the shooting deaths of. MAIT takes photos of the body and Smiths clothes. I just dont believe my son would have been walking in the middle of the road like that. Proctor made it clear in his reports that he didnt believe Stephens death was a hit-and-run. SCHP: Duncan talks to Stephens family and they reject the ruling that Stephen would have been hit by a car. "Here she is seven years later, still hanging in there, still going strong, still ready to do whatever it takes to find the answers," Smith family attorney Mike Hemlepp tells PEOPLE. Proctor told Fox News that was she said was true. More:Murdaughs killed in double homicide in Colleton County: What We Know 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. They believed he was walking home when the incident occurred, the report said. Sandy says that Stephen was smart and a study person who was typically serious about school. We have got to keep the light on his story and to keep the fire underneath other people's behinds to get it solved. Build your customFanSided TV email newsletter with news and analysis onNetflix and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. Even after the eight-year veteran enhanced his postseason legend with another prolific stretch . 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. Crime scene photos obtained by FITSNews are horrific Stephens entire face was covered in blood that cascaded from a 7.25-inch gaping hole on the right side of his forehead. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Were not classifying this as anything other than a murder, Proctor said in an audio recording. 4:07 a.m. HCSO: Michael Bridges, of the Hampton County Sheriffs Office, responds to scene first (although there are conflicting reports about what time he arrived). (latest case updates), Murdaugh Murders: Was Paul Murdaugh charged for Mallory Beachs death? This decision to rule his death a hit-and-run appeared to skew the investigation by SCHPs Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) who typically investigate accidents, not murders. SLED's reopened investigation was first reported by FITSNews Tuesday evening. The man says that hes done a lot of drugs and had brain injuries. The family member says that Stephen was recently acting secretive and started coming home late. Currently, Murdaugh is on trial for murder for the deaths of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and their son, Paul Murdaugh. 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