Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of a rural road in Hampton County, South Carolina, in the early morning hours of July 8, 2015. He was 19. The initial autopsy and death certificate concluded it was a hit-and-run; investigators later questioned that finding. Stephen’s mother, Sandy Smith, never believed her son had been struck by a car and spent years pressing for answers.
Circumstances that raised alarms
– Stephen’s body was on the roadway about three miles from his parked car. His shoes were still on, his clothing intact, and his car keys and cell phone were found in his pocket and undamaged.
– A wallet and the car were located locked on the shoulder of a different road with the gas cap hanging open. Investigators and family members described the scene as inconsistent with a typical hit-and-run.
– Witnesses and rumors circulated in the small county linking the case to the Murdaugh family, a powerful legal dynasty long influential in Hampton County. The family name repeatedly surfaced in local conversation and in the MAIT (Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team) audio notes from 2015.
Early investigation and the Murdaugh link
– Hampton County Highway Patrol’s MAIT handled the original investigation. Corporal Michael Duncan and others expressed doubt that Stephen had been struck by a vehicle. Investigators noted trauma primarily to the head and believed the death looked more like an assault.
– Rumors claimed several young men in a truck had encountered Stephen on the road; one account named Buster Murdaugh. MAIT attempted to follow leads, but some calls and interviews did not develop in 2015.
– Sandy said Alex and Randy Murdaugh appeared at or near the scene shortly after the body was discovered, and Randy called the family offering pro bono assistance. Randy later said he contacted law enforcement on behalf of the family and did not visit the scene with Alex, though family members disputed some of those accounts.
The case went cold
– Despite tips, an FBI letter-writing campaign by Sandy, and local concern, Stephen’s case largely stalled. By late 2016 the investigation had cooled and Stephen’s death remained a cold case. Sandy persisted, petitioning agencies and asking for the body to be reexamined.
– Sandy also said Stephen had been concerned for his safety in the days before he died; a friend tightened a battery cable on his car the day before because the cable had been loosened, and Stephen reportedly refused to leave his car to do the repair.
Murdaugh murders revive attention
– The 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh and the subsequent investigations into the Murdaugh family’s conduct reopened attention on other unsolved matters in Hampton County.
– As SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) investigated the Murdaugh murders, investigators said they uncovered a new lead in Stephen Smith’s 2015 death and took over the case. SLED did not disclose the nature of that lead publicly.
– The Murdaugh scandals prompted renewed scrutiny. Sandy secured pro bono legal representation from Ronnie Richter and Eric Bland and, with funds raised via GoFundMe (about $130,000), financed private investigative and forensic work.
Exhumation and independent forensics
– In April 2023, Stephen’s body was exhumed for independent examination. Dr. Michelle DuPre, a forensic pathologist who has performed thousands of autopsies, oversaw the review. Crime scene expert Dr. Kenny Kinsey also examined the case.
– The independent forensic team concluded Stephen’s fatal trauma resulted from a single, massive blow to his forehead that fractured his skull. DuPre reported a large gash across the brow and a linear skull fracture, consistent with a high‑force impact to the head.
– The pathologists did not find pattern injuries that would indicate a baseball bat or similar patterned object; they also found no fractures elsewhere in the body that would be consistent with a vehicle striking him head-on. Road rash consistent with being on pavement was present, but otherwise the injuries were limited to the head.
– DuPre and Kinsey said the injuries were consistent with a heavy, fast, protruding object striking him — something large, moving quickly, possibly attached to a vehicle, and striking from the passenger side as the vehicle passed. Kinsey described the strike as involving a fast, large object — “whatever hit him was fast, and it was large.”
– Their work also disputed early suggestions that Stephen’s body had been staged; both Dr. DuPre and Kinsey concluded the injuries and the blood pattern indicated Stephen had been struck at the location where he was found.
Possible vehicle-related scenario
– Kinsey and others posited a plausible scenario in which something attached to a passing vehicle — a ladder hanging off the back of a work truck, an extended side mirror on a farm vehicle, or another large protruding object — could have hit Stephen with extreme force without leaving typical vehicle debris or broken headlight fragments in the immediate area. In such a case, if the object detached or the driver did not realize or stopped elsewhere, debris might not be at the scene.
– The case file includes tips from 2015 that referenced a vehicle’s mirror being fixed after an incident, but investigators could not verify or fully develop those leads at the time.
Legal and investigative developments
– Sandy’s lawyers turned their independent findings over to SLED. They said a grand jury had been impaneled and subpoenas issued as SLED “honed in on specific individuals.” The lawyers believed SLED had identified a small set of people they considered to have information about the death.
– Buster Murdaugh has denied any role or knowledge of Stephen’s death. In public statements and interviews he has denied involvement and provided alibis for the night in question.
– The Murdaugh family’s legal unraveling — including Alex Murdaugh’s guilty verdict for the 2021 murders of his wife and son and his separate financial crimes — helped propel renewed attention to other unsolved cases in the area, including Stephen’s.
Family and aftermath
– Sandy Smith, who describes herself as having “fought this battle alone” since 2015, persisted in pressuring authorities and seeking independent review. After the 2021 Murdaugh revelations, she had more resources and legal support to press for answers.
– In 2023 the independent examiners’ findings were publicly shared: that Stephen died from a single, massive blow to the head; that the injuries were not consistent with a bat; that there was no evidence of other body fractures; and that a fast-moving, large object — possibly attached to a vehicle — striking him from the passenger side was a plausible explanation.
– The independent experts emphasized they could not say whether the fatal blow was accidental or intentional, but they stressed the serious felony of leaving someone to die in the roadway.
What investigators reportedly have
– SLED has said it is treating Stephen Smith’s death as a homicide and has gathered evidence, including Stephen’s phone and tablet, and materials from the exhumation and independent examination. The specific items that prompted SLED’s renewed interest have not been publicly revealed.
– Sandy’s legal team said they turned over their private findings to SLED and urged witnesses to come forward. Sandy also established a scholarship in Stephen’s name and offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Where the case stands
– SLED has indicated ongoing investigation and a grand jury process; public statements have been limited. The independent forensic work produced conclusions that contradict the original hit-and-run ruling and point to a massive hand/implement or an object attached to a vehicle that struck Stephen at speed.
– Sandy Smith continues to seek answers and justice for her son and has kept his story in the public eye, while awaiting potential developments from law enforcement and legal proceedings.
