On the morning of July 8, 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of a rural Hampton County road in South Carolina. The initial autopsy and death certificate labeled the death a hit-and-run, but his mother, Sandy Smith, never accepted that conclusion and spent years pushing for a fuller investigation.
Unusual scene and lingering questions
Several details of the scene alarmed family and some investigators. Stephen’s body lay roughly three miles from his parked car. He still wore his shoes and intact clothing, and his keys and cell phone were found in his pocket and undamaged. A wallet and the vehicle were discovered locked on a different road shoulder with the gas cap open. Those circumstances, family members and some investigators said, did not fit a typical hit-and-run.
Rumors circulated in the small county linking the incident to the Murdaugh family, a prominent local legal dynasty. The family name appeared repeatedly in local conversation and in 2015 investigation notes. Some witnesses or tips mentioned young men in a truck encountering Stephen that night; one account named Buster Murdaugh. Investigators attempted to follow leads, but several calls and interviews did not develop at the time.
Early official investigation
The Hampton County Highway Patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) handled the original probe. Corporal Michael Duncan and others expressed skepticism that Stephen had been killed by a vehicle. They observed trauma concentrated to the head and said the injuries looked more like an assault than a typical motor-vehicle impact. Sandy Smith has said Alex and Randy Murdaugh came to or near the scene shortly after the body was found; Randy later said he contacted authorities on the family’s behalf and had not been at the scene with Alex, a point family members have disputed.
Case goes cold
Despite tips, Sandy’s attempts to involve the FBI, and local concern, the investigation largely stalled. By late 2016 the case had cooled and remained unsolved. Sandy continued to press for answers, petitioning agencies and seeking reexamination of her son’s remains. She also said Stephen had expressed worry for his safety in the days before his death; a friend supposedly tightened a battery cable on his car the day before because it had been loosened, and Stephen reportedly had been reluctant to step out of his car to make repairs.
Murdaugh scandals bring renewed scrutiny
The 2021 murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh and the ensuing investigations into the Murdaugh family’s conduct drew fresh attention to other unresolved matters in Hampton County. As state investigators probed the Murdaugh killings and related allegations, SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) told the Smith family they had uncovered a new lead in Stephen’s case and took over the investigation. SLED has not publicly disclosed the nature of that lead.
Sandy secured pro bono counsel—attorneys Ronnie Richter and Eric Bland—and, with roughly $130,000 raised on GoFundMe, paid for private investigative and forensic work.
Exhumation and independent forensic review
In April 2023, Stephen’s body was exhumed for independent examination overseen by forensic pathologist Dr. Michelle DuPre, along with crime-scene expert Dr. Kenny Kinsey. Their review concluded Stephen suffered a single, massive blow to the forehead that fractured his skull. DuPre described a large gash across the brow and a linear skull fracture consistent with a high-force impact.
The independent team found no pattern injuries that would match a baseball bat or similarly patterned implement, and they did not find fractures elsewhere that would be typical of a direct head-on vehicle strike. There was road rash consistent with contact with pavement, but injuries otherwise appeared limited to the head. DuPre and Kinsey said the damage was consistent with a heavy, fast, protruding object striking from a vehicle’s passenger side as it passed — a large object moving quickly could inflict massive trauma without leaving the typical vehicle-damage evidence often associated with pedestrian-vehicle collisions. Kinsey summarized the strike as involving ‘‘something fast and large.’’
They also concluded the body had not clearly been staged: blood patterns and injury distribution were consistent with Stephen having been struck at the location where he was found.
Possible vehicle-related scenarios
Investigators and experts have suggested plausible scenarios in which an object protruding from a vehicle — for example, an unsecured ladder on the back of a work truck, an extended farm-vehicle mirror or similar projection — could strike a pedestrian with great force without leaving immediate, obvious debris or broken headlight fragments at the scene. If such an object detached or the driver left the area, evidence could be scattered or absent. The 2015 file contains tips referencing a vehicle mirror being fixed after an unnamed incident, but investigators were unable at the time to verify or fully develop those leads.
Legal and investigative developments
Sandy’s attorneys turned their independent findings over to SLED. Publicly, SLED has said it is treating Stephen Smith’s death as a homicide and that investigators have gathered evidence, including Stephen’s phone and tablet and materials from the exhumation and independent exam. Sandy’s lawyers said a grand jury had been impaneled and subpoenas issued as SLED focused on specific individuals, though public statements have been limited.
Members of the Murdaugh family have denied involvement. Buster Murdaugh has publicly denied any role or knowledge of Stephen’s death and has offered alibis for the night in question. The broader legal unraveling of the Murdaugh family—most notably Alex Murdaugh’s conviction in the 2021 murders of his wife and son and separate financial-crimes proceedings—helped spur renewed scrutiny of unsolved local cases, including Stephen’s.
Family response and ongoing fight for answers
Sandy Smith says she has ‘‘fought this battle alone’’ since 2015 and has continued to press authorities. After 2021 she gained more resources and legal support to press for answers. In addition to financing private work, she established a scholarship in Stephen’s name and offered a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Where the case stands
The independent forensic work challenged the original hit-and-run determination, pointing instead to a single, massive blow to the head consistent with a heavy, fast object — possibly attached to a vehicle — striking from the passenger side. The examiners emphasized they could not determine whether the strike was accidental or intentional. SLED has described the death as a homicide and says its investigation is ongoing; public disclosures about specific evidence or targets have been minimal.
Sandy Smith continues to seek answers and keep her son’s case in the public eye while awaiting potential developments from law enforcement and any legal proceedings that may follow.