The death of a South Carolina man found on a country road about 15 miles from the home of now-convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh has been investigated as a homicide, a state law enforcement agency said Tuesday.
Lawyers for the family of 19-year-old Stephen Smith said the homicide investigation was a major breakthrough. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said he has been investigating it since 2021.
“SLED is investigating the 2015 death of Stephen Smith as a homicide and has been investigating it since 2021,” agency spokeswoman Renée Wunderlich said Tuesday.
The confirmation, which lawyers for the family say came in a phone call with SLED boss Mark Keel, came nearly three weeks after Murdaugh was found guilty of killing his wife and adult son in a highly charged case. advertised.
No one has been arrested or charged in Smith’s death. Her body was found around 4 a.m. on July 8, 2015, on a rural road in Hampton County, about 15 miles from Murdaugh’s home.
An autopsy report at the time indicated that the cause of death was struck by a vehicle when Smith was a pedestrian, apparently walking after running out of gas.
Smith’s family members do not believe it was a hit-and-run.
Smith’s death received renewed attention in 2021 when SLED said it was opening an investigation into his death «based on information gathered during the course of the investigation into the double murder of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.»
The agency did not say what that information was.
Alex Murdaugh, a lawyer for a prominent South Carolina family, was convicted March 2 of murder and other charges for the murder of his wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old youngest son, Paul.
Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison without parole. He has also been accused of financial crimes.
Wunderlich, the SLED spokesman, said Tuesday that the investigation into Smith’s death is ongoing.