Police had initially said Smith died of “highway vehicular manslaughter,” the Bland Richter Law Firm, who is representing Smith’s mother as of this week, said in a press release on Tuesday. Lawyers said the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s (SLED) Chief Mark Keel disclosed the information during a phone call.
“We have a chance to right eight years of wrongs, and we intend to do just that,” said attorney Eric Bland.
Smith was found dead on a South Carolina road in 2015, according to the release, “and questions were raised about his death during the investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in 2021.”
Alex Murdaugh was convicted of his wife and son’s deaths earlier this month andhanded two life sentences. While investigating their murders, authorities found new evidence connected to Smith’s death andreopened his case in June 2021.
Smith’s mom Sandy Smith launched a GoFundMe campaign last week hoping to raise money toexhume his bodyfor an independent autopsyto prove that he did not die of a hit-and-run.
Stephen Smith.Facebook
The GoFundMe has raised nearly $85,000 as of Tuesday evening.
“SLED officials have revealed that they did not need to exhume Stephen Smith’s body to convince them that his death was a homicide. However, they will be present and participate in any exhumation of Stephen’s body to gather more evidence. We are committed to finding out what really happened, and getting the peace and justice the Smith family deserves” said Bland and Ronnie Richter in a joint statement.
The law firm added that during its phone call with SLED, the police agency revealed they wanted to wait until after Murdaugh’s trial to announce that they were ruling Smith’s death a homicide “out of concern that witnesses would not be as forthcoming under the Murdaugh sphere of influence.”
Now that the disgraced lawyer’s trial is over, Bland Richter Law Firm said more “resources have been devoted and will be devoted to Smith’s case.”
Richter added that SLED is publicly backing Smith’s mom Sandy in her “efforts to find out what really happened to her son. They have expressed their condolences to the Smith family and will continue to work diligently to bring those responsible for Stephen’s death to justice. We are proud to be their partner in finding justice.”
SLED did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
RELATED VIDEO: S.C. Teen Died Mysteriously in 2015. His Case Was Reopened When Investigators Looked into Murdaugh Murders
“Stephen never would have been walking in the middle of the roadway,” the family told investigators, saying he was “skittish,” perCNN.
Sandy later reiterated the same point to theHampton County Guardian. “I just don’t believe my son would have been walking in the middle of the road like that,” she said.
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But in June 2021, nearly six years after Smith was found dead, South Carolina’s top law enforcement agency announced that they wereopening an investigation into his death. SLED revealed in a statement that the investigation was launched “based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.” However, SLED did not specify what information had led them to open the investigation.
On Monday,Buster Murdaugh, Alex’s only surviving son,vehemently deniedhe had anything to do with the mysterious death.
“I have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to be published in the media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my mother and brother,” Buster, 27, said in a statement on Monday released through his attorney, Jim Griffin.
“I love them so much and miss them terribly,” he wrote.
source: people.com
