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,. 9 a.m. SCHP: Booker meets at Peeples Rhoden Funeral Home with Moore, Duncan, Rowell and Burke to examine the body. The 19-year-old nursing student who had been a classmate of Buster Murdaugh at Wade Hampton High School was found dead with a head wound on Sandy Run. His death was ruled a. According to the autopsy, Greene was responsible for evidence transfer in the case. However, his mother, Sandy, told the the Hampton County Guardian, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2015. Randy declined to comment on the statement Stephanie made to investigators regarding his alleged phone call. 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. 8:22 p.m. SCHP: Moore calls Burke. 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. You become invincible in a way and you get a little liquor and you think youre untouchable.. He doesnt deserve that. 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. In the 20/20 documentary, Stephanie claimed shortly after the coroner called regarding her brothers death, her father received another call. Stephen's murder was ruled a hit-and-run with no one arrested for the crime, but in 2021, the case was reopened. You go back to the Murdaugh name and their ties in that community, and that dont matter to me What weve done is take that investigation out of that and their reach I dont care what your name is and how much money you got., He then said Im not saying that the Murdaugh boy did it., But if were going to be throwing out names, Im not going to be withholding names, Proctor wrote. We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! 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. 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. 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. He tells them to meet him at the funeral home. He was in school for nursing at the time of his death. 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. He was found dead in mysterious circumstances in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. The victims hands were bagged. Send your tips tomandy@fitsnews.com. Proctor also wrote in his report that Greene was fired sometime between July 22 August 18 2019. The victim was covered with a sheet., A hole in the skull was located above the victims right eye, SLED agents wrote. 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.. Death of Stephen Smith, July 8, 2015. August 18, 2015, SCHP: The coroner tells Proctor that he did not agree with the final autopsy results in the Stephen Smith case. On Thursday, Sandy Smith said she received a call from an official with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). They found engine oil in the vehicle but could not get the car to start. "As any investigator [does],you go off of the evidence. 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. Got a tip for a story? Moore instructs him to immediately stop their preparations on the body and cover him up. Moore tells Rowell to go get the clothing. 4:15 p.m. SCHP: Sgt. The teens had been "grossly intoxicated," according to police, even though they were all underage and could not legally buy alcohol. 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.. CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) - In 2015, Stephen Smith was found dead with a head injury on a rural Hampton County road. They took him from his car; everybody knew his car because he had the ugliest little banana [car] in town. She tells police Stephen was going to school in Orangeburg and hung out at Bobcat Landing a lot recently. (wrongful death lawsuit updates). In January 2023, it was confirmed that the investigation is still ongoing. They search the area for cartridge cases. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is now streaming on Netflix, telling the story of the wealthy Murdaugh family in South Carolina. Then it turned out it was a hit and run. Allen tells Duncan that the only injuries to the victim were around the head area.. Cr. Stephens murder was ruled a hit-and-run with no one arrested for the crime, but in 2021, the case was reopened. In September 2016, Stephens mother Sandy Smith wrote a letter to lawmakers and police agencies pleading for help and claiming corruption in the investigation. Earlier this week, the agency opened up a tip line exclusively for the high-profile case. Prior to leaving the scene, agents discussed their findings and completed a walkthrough with Inv. Whoever did this to Stephen should go to prison. Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team, told Fox News in an exclusivetelevisioninterview, Maggie Murdaugh's Cellphone Was Found Near Roadside Away From Crime Scene, Sources Reportedly Say, SLED Will Investigate Stephen Smith 2015 Death, Citing Emerging Details in Paul and Maggie Murdaugh Killings, New Redacted Report on Murdaugh Homicide Case Released. I wouldn't put shit by wealthy, corrupt, powerful, relatively young or barely "mature", highly intelligent men, privileged in every way. "At that point, I hadbeen working highway patrol for 15 years, I've worked several hit and run collisions, and nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run," Inv. So Moore calls Smalls again and gets voicemail. Investigators had said at the time that it appeared Smith was hit by a . 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. Rowell did not make a note of the Murdaugh tip in his written notes. Frantic Families Trapped in Their Homes and Running Out of Food After Massive Snowstorm Cripples California, 3 Female Bodybuilders Say League Owner's Son Sexually Exploited Them While Their Careers Hung in the Balance, Innocent Michigan Man, 71, Walks Free After 2 Decades in Prison Thanks to True Crime Coverage of His Case, Lindsay Clancy: Timeline of Events in the Case of Massachusetts Mom Accused of Killing Her 3 Children, Abby Choi Case: Police Scour Landfill Searching for Dismembered Model's Missing Torso, Hands and Arms, 2 Missing Women Found Alive by Maine Game Wardens After Being Stuck in Their Car in Freezing Temperatures. 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. Additional counties and states will be added to this database as time and funding permit. Stephen Smith's body was found along Sandy Run Road in Hampton County in July 2015. The killings also led the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to open a new inquiry into the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old whose body was found on a rural road in the area in . And before too long, some of them including the Murdaugh family stopped cooperating at all, he said. After his autopsy, however, Smith's death was ruled a hit-and-run. The family has now offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run, Proctor said. . Rowell calls later and tells him he could find no debris at all., Altman goes to the scene and calls him back stating he could find nothing.. As people of interest in the case come up and you try to get them to speak with you they shut down, Proctor explained. That's not even the end of the story. The Murdaugh name was mentioned over 40 times throughout the course of the investigation which went cold less than a year after Smith was killed. The man says that Stephen was harassed in his town and said people screwed with Stephens car battery. Sandy told FITSNews shes still clinging to hope even after Thursdays heart-wrenching news. Officially, Smiths death was classified as a hit and run. Cold Cases Database. (Center) Alex Murdaugh in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. 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 . It doesnt matter what his sexual preferences were, he was still my son and he was not messing with anybody and was going to school to better himself.. No homicide investigation was ever opened, and no referral was ever made to the agency in the case. "That no family, no community, no friends, no one had come to help her try to get a headstone. 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. That did not happen to my friend. At the time, investigators said it appeared he was killed in a hit-and-run collision while walking. In August 2015, the coroner told Proctor that he did not agree with the final autopsy results in the Stephen Smith case. Here's what we know. SCHP: Duncan talks to Stephens family and they reject the ruling that Stephen would have been hit by a car. No arrests have been made in Smith's death. Then, the coroner ruled the death a shooting homicide forcing investigators to search the rural road carved between a tree line and a corn field. According to court documents, Alex . Moore, of SCHP, gets a call from Cpl. Smith was released on bond and now faces six felony charges in the shooting of Alex Murdaugh. A SCHP flyer is made asking for tips in the case. Thank you, God!. 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 4:30 a.m. Tuesday: Sandy Smith, mother of Stephen Smith, who was found dead on a rural Hampton County road in 2015, is feeling vindicated, finally, for her instincts. And while South Carolina investigators havent said what evidence prompted them to open the investigation into Smiths death, Proctor told Fox that the Murdaugh name came up during the investigation and that the family was not particularly cooperative. To get a little liquor and you get a headstone at all, he said note of the evidence story., you go off of the wealthy Murdaugh family stopped cooperating at,! 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