SCHP: Allen tells Duncan and SCHP that they are not needed at the autopsy, according to SLED and HCSO. Or an issue youd like to address proactively? He doesnt deserve people to think that.. Smith died on a rural road in Hampton County, in 2015 that was ruled a hit-and-run.. Smith's mother, Sandy, told the the Hampton County Guardian, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2015 that she believed her son's death was the result of foul play and a possible hate crime because her son was gay. Prior to leaving the scene, agents discussed their findings and completed a walkthrough with Inv. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. His name is going to be right there with everyone elses name and I dont care who knows it.. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Myth? At the time of his death, Paul was awaiting trial after being charged with several felonies in connection to the deadly crash, including boating under the influence. Smalls said hell call right back but doesnt. SCHP: Moore calls Presnell to try and understand what made her decide Stephen was killed in a hit and run. 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. She told me it was not her job to figure that out, it was mine., 6:14 p.m. SCHP: Brock notifies Booker that the victim did not have a gunshot wound according to the autopsy. Booker contacts Burns and Moore to gather further information. Now, police investigating the shooting deaths of. (WTOC/Provided) Initial reports indicated he died from blunt force trauma to the head. July 22, 2015, SCHP: Proctor visits Presnell at MUSC to get some sort of clarification on the Smith case. These boys were coming from a baseball game and I think that they were right behind him, so when he had to pull over, they were right there. He asks the funeral home director if he has the clothing Smith was wearing and is told it was in a paper bag with the body. Paul had pleaded not guilty to the charges and was not incarcerated. Stephens relative didnt believe the person who said they were dating Stephen and said the family was skeptical of him. In August 2015, the coroner told Proctor that he did not agree with the final autopsy results in the Stephen Smith case. More:Murdaughs killed in double homicide in Colleton County: What We Know Todd Proctor, former South Carolina Highway Patrol investigator, told Fox News this week that it looked like Stephens body was placed in the middle of the road. Moore asks Burke if she can come to the funeral home the next morning., 5:50 a.m. SCHP: Moore calls Rowell and Payne and tells them to go back to the scene to locate and debris or anything out of the ordinary.. MAIT is a division of the South Carolina HighwayPatrol unit that initially responded to the scene. Stephens family member didnt seem to believe this at the time. It looked like it was more staged, like possibly the body had been placed in the roadway.. He said he would take Stephens case free of charge. is not perfect, but the information is straight from the 100+ page case file. At the time, her death was classified as an accidental slip and fall, but authorities have reopened the investigation. He also told me that he and the boy had a deep sea fishing trip planned for July. Murdaugh, 54, has repeatedly denied any role in the deaths, saying he was visiting his mother and ailing father and discovered his son and wife slain when he returned to their estate. Investigators reported he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident, despite police reports . Additional counties and states will be added to this database as time and funding permit. Im tired of them putting Stephen on the back burner, Sandy Smith told FITSNews. Got something youd like to say in response to one of our articles? You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. Stephens friends and family also disputed the autopsy report. At the time of his death, Smith was a 19-year-old Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College student who was studying to become a nurse. She has been searching for answers ever since. Stephen Smith, a teenager from Hampton . She stated they told the Sheriff and Coroner and that they didnt believe it to be a gunshot wound. Hampton, S.C. (WIS) - 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. Thank you, God!. RELATED | Murdaugh Murders: The Latest On The Boat Crash Lawsuit And Obstruction Of Justice Investigation. Her body was found seven days after the February 2019 boat crash. Editors Note: The timeline below is an outline of an investigation shared for the purpose of full disclosure as the case is getting attention from sleuths across the country. Cold Cases Database. 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. No other items were taken from the vehicle, the report says. He stated he would have to go with the doctors ruling, Moore wrote. 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. After his autopsy, however, Smith's death was ruled a hit-and-run. Send your tips tomandy@fitsnews.com. This is about a child that deserves to be memorialized and commemorated, and a mother to have support that she hadn't had.". Like the probe of the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, the 2015 investigation into Smiths death was chaotic from the beginning clouded by jurisdictional confusion and suspicions of investigative interference. Singleton took the wallet, according to the report. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? July 8, 2015: Stephen Smith, 19, is found dead on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County.No arrest is made in the case. Shes an investigative journalist from Kansas who has worked for newspapers in Missouri, Illinois, and South Carolina before making the switch to FITS. SLED is investigating every angle in the Murdaugh case something that Sandy wishes they would have done with Stephens death six years ago. CLICK HERE. Allen, of the SCHP, telling him about a possible hit and run on Sandy Run Road. 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. The victims right arm was covered in blood and agents were unable to see any injuries.. A SCHP flyer is made asking for tips in the case. For the latest true crime and justice news,subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast: Attorney for Kristin Smarts Convicted Murderer Challenges Conviction 2 Weeks Before Sentencing, 4 Dead, Including 13-Year-Old Boy, in Suspected Murder-Suicide, Soft Swinging Mormon Mom TikToker Threw a Chair That Hit Her 5-Year-Old Daughter in Argument With Boyfriend, subscribe to the Crime Stories with Nancy Grace podcast. 5:57 p.m. SCHP: Moore calls King to advise him what was occurring.. A 48-year-old man has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years' jail for a hit-and-run crash that left cyclist and Perth university professor Thomas Lyons, with a serious and ongoing brain injury . He was bright and determined to make a better life for himself. His death was first. He offers to give the officers his phone and take a lie detector test. Alex Murdaugh is currently in jail, on a $7 million bond that he has yet to meet, facing 51 charges for financial crimes, and multiple lawsuits. No one's going to feel like they're being held accountable if we don't bring attention to it.". Alex Murdaugh Pauls father and Maggies husband is said to have discovered the bodies that evening after returning to the property. Kurt Busch might have received a proper sendoff this weekend in Las Vegas, where his hometown track treated him cruelly over 21 tries until he broke through for a win in 2020. SLED is simply looking at anyone who may have had a possible motive in the case including the survivors of a high-profile February 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-oldMallory Beach. Stephen was not stupid, Stephens friend told FITSNews. He doesnt deserve that. The old way of doing business in Hampton does not exist anymore. The coroner searches through the victims clothing and located a vehicle key in the victims front left pocket. 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. No additional details were provided. SCHP: Moore calls Singleton again when Singleton doesnt call him back. They call him back to tell him they didnt find anything. "While the many questions about my son's death remain, this action gives me hope that we will get justice for my Stephen," she said. 12:30 p.m. MUSC autopsy report: Dr. Erin Presnell begins the autopsy on Stephen. The gas tank door was open and the gas cap was hanging on the side of the vehicle. His car was discovered three miles away with the gas cap off. The grammar, spelling, etc. After interviewing several sources who knew the Murdaugh brothers, SCHP detective Proctormade some significant assessments of the family. There, they listened to gospel songs, speeches and unveiled a new headstone for the 19-year-old's grave, which is close to the spot where his father, who died three months after his son, is buried. But eight years later, a new investigation says otherwise, with Smith as the subject of the new docuseries Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. She was devastated to hear the news that she and her family were now being viewed as possible persons of interest in the savage slayings last Monday at Moselle the Murdaugh family hunting lodge in Colleton county. Now, Stephen Smiths case is getting national attention and his mother Sandy finally has hope for a fair investigation that will lead to answers in her sons unsolved death. Stephen Smith was 19 when he was found dead on a rural road in Hampton County in 2015. "There was no evidence of this being a hit and run. He would have seen headlights coming and got off the road. His death was officially ruled a hit-and-run, but deep gashes to his head suggested to some he was beaten to death. There is no way that would happen to him. On July 22, 2015, Proctor visited Presnell at MUSC to get some sort of clarification on the Smith case. One theory posits that Stephen ran out of gas and decided to walk home when he was clipped by a semi truck, but Stephen's mother Sandy Smith discounted that hypothesis in the 20/20 documentary. Keep in mind, this isyearsbefore Paul Murdaugh was charged with three felonies in the boat crash that killed Mallory Beach. Stephen was found dead in the middle of a rural road outside of Hampton. (Assisted suicide explained). Hampton County Coroners Office: The first of 3 death certificates for Stephen Smith was issued by Washington to the family. His body was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8 with deep gashes to the head. Smith's death was attributed to severe head trauma and controversially ruled a hit and run at the time, which the family and some investigators have disputed, and official investigations into his . Also buried close by is Stephen's brother, who died as a baby. Murdaugh Murders includes interviews with friends of the family, former and current, who shed light on the patriarch, Alex Murdaugh, and all of the trouble hes caused. Whoever they are, she tells Duncan. 9 a.m. SCHP: Booker meets at Peeples Rhoden Funeral Home with Moore, Duncan, Rowell and Burke to examine the body. The victim was covered with a sheet., A hole in the skull was located above the victims right eye, SLED agents wrote. Murder, Money & Mystery: Were the Killings of a Mom and Son Connected to 3 Previous Deaths? Even Dr. Erin Presnell, a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), didnt give much information to police about what led her to decide a motor vehicle killed Stephen. She said shortly after Stephens death that believes her son was beaten to death and the crime covered up. RELATED|Boat Crash Lawsuit: Murdaughs Refuse To Settle, Withhold Financial Records From Victims Family. The rumor thats going around Hampton that everybody keeps coming up to me and saying it was Murdaugh boys, she says. Sandy Smith, speaking to the Guardian shortly after her sons July 8, 2015, death, said that she thinks she knows who killed him. Middle of a Mom and Son Connected to 3 Previous Deaths back tell. 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