2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Proctor also wrote in his report that Greene was fired sometime between July 22 August 18 2019. 3 Stephen Smith's body was found in the middle of a rural road Credit: Facebook 3 Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex, all members of the prominent Murdaugh family Credit: Facebook Sandy has been begging law enforcement officials for years to open an investigation into her sons unsolved death. I asked her why she stated that in the report and her answer was because he was found in the road,' Proctor wrote. She currently lives on Hilton Head Island where she enjoys beach life. Thank you, God!. Hes never been around Stephen., When asked who told her that she said Stephens friend, another kid who she named, and a couple other people.. She said there appeared to be missing evidence in the case such as the DNA under Stephens fingernails, the clothes he was wearing, and the rape kit. Evidence in. Or "king's ransom" waiting to be found A Slap In the Face: Update In The Stephen Smith Case And Murdaugh Murders, Murdaugh Murders: The Latest On The Boat Crash Lawsuit And Obstruction Of Justice Investigation, Boat Crash Lawsuit: Murdaughs Refuse To Settle, Withhold Financial Records From Victims Family, Apparent Human Trafficking Raid Jolts Coastal South Carolina Neighborhood, Murdaugh Murders: South Carolina Attorney General Must Step In And Remove Rogue Solicitor, Powerful Storms, Tornadoes Sweep Through SC: Photos From The Upstate to Lowcountry, SC State House: Speaker Of The House Livid After Close Friend Loses Primary Fight, Mark Powells Palmetto Past & Present: Lost Confederate Gold, Ron Paul: The Anti-War Movement Roars Back To Life, LIVE FEED Murdaugh Murders Trial: Day Twenty-Six. 4:15 p.m. SCHP: Sgt. The Murdaughs, as big and powerful and rich as everyone thinks they are theyre going to go on living their lives like nothing (happened), Proctor said. Stephen was found dead in the middle of a rural road outside of Hampton. The family keeps his casket open so that people could see what they did to him. The three-part series chronicles the string of deaths that the family is connected to, including a teenager named Mallory Beach who tragically died in a boating accident. The grammar, spelling, etc. 11:03 a.m. SCHP: Duncan travels to Hampton County and interviews a member of the Smith family at the DMV office (a substation for SCHP). 4:07 a.m. HCSO: Michael Bridges, of the Hampton County Sheriffs Office, responds to scene first (although there are conflicting reports about what time he arrived). We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! A SCHP flyer is made asking for tips in the case. Nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run.. Murdaugh Murders: What happened to Gloria Satterfield? Paul had pleaded not guilty to the charges and was not incarcerated. The killings also led the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division to open a new inquiry into the unsolved death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old whose body was found on a rural road in the area in . The notes reveal the timeline of investigative measures taken from the momentSmith's body was found July 8, 2015, through December of that year. "[Stephen's mother] has said it was from a broken heart," Susanne Andrews, the founder of #StandingforStephen, a group that raised funds for the headstone, tells PEOPLE. Investigators theorized that the mirror of a semi-truck hit Stephens head. On June 22, 2021, SLED said it was . The Murdaugh family has loomed large in the Lowcountry for nearly a century with three generations of its members serving as solicitor (South Carolinas version of a district attorney) over a five-county region between 1920 and 2007. 8:25 a.m. SLED: Tallon and Burke arrive at the scene. The key is turned over to HCSO personnel. 4:40 p.m. SCHP: Moore calls Washington and asks him if the hit-and-run was his ruling as well. She tells him that she and Tallon were called at 6:10 a.m. by HCSO and that they arrived on scene at 9 a.m. Burke said she didnt think Stephens injury looked like a gunshot wound. The victim was covered with a sheet., A hole in the skull was located above the victims right eye, SLED agents wrote. Hours later, a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Dr. Erin Presnell ruled that Stephen was killed in a hit-and-run accident, a decision which was met with confusion and skepticism by investigators and those who knew Stephen. He was taken to a . Shortly after 1 p.m. SCHP: Duncan calls Stephen Smiths mother Sandy Smith. Rumors and speculation have surrounded Stephen Smith's death on July 8, 2015, when the 19-year-old's body was found on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County with deep gashes to the head just. Sandy Smith, speaking to the Guardian shortly after her sons July 8, 2015, death, said that she thinks she knows who killed him. This is about a child that deserves to be memorialized and commemorated, and a mother to have support that she hadn't had.". "At that point, I hadbeen working highway patrol for 15 years, I've worked several hit and run collisions, and nothing about this case from the very beginning pointed towards it being a hit and run," Inv. Is Outer Banks based on a true story? Last Sunday afternoon, family and friends of Stephen Smith, a South Carolina teen who died under mysterious circumstances in 2015, traveled to the Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County, S.C. "My hope is that she finds answers that will give her a little bit of peace," she adds. Or an issue youd like to address proactively? The driver reportedly told police he first thought Smithwas an animal, but took a second glance and noticed "a white male lying in the middle of the road.". Six years later, Sandy Smith Stephens mother is still grappling with the pain of not knowing what happened to her son. The old way of doing business in Hampton does not exist anymore. SLED opened the investigation based on information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, SLED spokesperson Tommy Crosby told FITSNews. Email us atexclusive@the-sun.comor call212 416 4552. Names and stories of the Murdaugh family surfaced six years ago regarding the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a young gay man found dead in the middle of a lonely rural road with several deep gashes in his head, but investigators said they were never able to directly connect anyone in the family to the incident. In September 2016, Stephens mother Sandy Smith wrote a letter to lawmakers and police agencies pleading for help and claiming corruption in the investigation. 6:12 a.m. SLED: SLED Crime Scene was requested by Chief Deputy Billy Jarrell, HCSO, to assist in the investigation of a possible homicide in Hampton County.. 9 a.m. SCHP: Booker meets at Peeples Rhoden Funeral Home with Moore, Duncan, Rowell and Burke to examine the body. The man says that Stephen was harassed in his town and said people screwed with Stephens car battery. No they dont they care about protecting themselves.. (latest case updates), Murdaugh Murders: Was Paul Murdaugh charged for Mallory Beachs death? Smith was found dead with deep gashes to his head in the middle of a dark Hampton County road on July 8, 2015. The man says that hes done a lot of drugs and had brain injuries. As if all of the foregoing wasn't wild enough, apparently, information gathered from the Murdaugh double murder investigation has prompted law enforcement to reopen a case regarding the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith. Rowell calls later and tells him he could find no debris at all., Altman goes to the scene and calls him back stating he could find nothing.. He would have seen headlights coming and got off the road. She said shortly after Stephens death that believes her son was beaten to death and the crime covered up. It just doesnt make any sense. His car was discovered three miles away with the gas cap off. Proctor then spoke with Kelly Greene, Hampton County deputy coroner and a SLED agent who both attended the autopsy and said they didnt make any reference to the pathologist about the victim being struck by a vehicle, only that he was found in the road. State investigators have released scant information on the case including an 18-page redacted report with nearly 8 pages fully redacted. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Following Killings of S.C. Kacen Bayless/AP At the time, police said Smith had a massive head wound and they. Andrews, who helped raise more than $40,000 for the headstone and for a scholarship in Stephen's name, says she's thankful for all the worldwide support Sandy has received in her fight for answers. The family member says that Stephen was recently acting secretive and started coming home late. HAMPTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A new headstone for Stephen Smith was unveiled at the Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County Sunday. Like the probe of the2019 boat crashthat killedMallory Beach, the 2015 investigation into Smiths death was chaotic from the beginning clouded by jurisdictional confusion and suspicions of investigative interference. In a recording that features in the documentary, a South Carolina State Trooper tells an unidentified phone tipster that he received at least "nine phone calls" about a rumor connecting the Murdaugh family to Stephen's mysterious roadside death. Sandy says shes skeptical of the man claiming to be Stephens boyfriend. Alex Murdaugh called 911 Saturday and said he had been shot as he stood at the side of a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, according to a statement from the state police. The family of Stephen Smith wants more investigation into his death, which was declared a hit-and-run. Or "king's ransom" waiting to be found Stephen Smith Case Files: Why Was Hampton Teens Death Ruled A Hit And Run In 2015? The vehicle was in park. 5:15 a.m. SCHP: J.L.Booker, of SCHP, was notified by Lt. Bruce Brock, also of SCHP, of the incident. It began June 7, when the pretty, college-sweetheart wife and son of Alex Murdaugh, a prominent and powerful lawyer who knows everyone in town, were brutally gunned down at their hunting lodge in . As people of interest in the case come up and you try to get them to speak with you they shut down, Proctor explained. 1:43 p.m. SLED: Agents leave MUSC and take evidence to their forensic laboratory. David Rowell, of the SCHP, who tells him that Hampton County Sheriff T.C. There's a bright light being shined on that county. No one should expect to make money from the picks and predictions discussed on this website. Earlier this week, the agency opened up a tip line exclusively for the high-profile case. Crime scene photos obtained by FITSNews are horrific Stephens entire face was covered in blood that cascaded from a 7.25-inch gaping hole on the right side of his forehead. 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. SCHP: Moore, Rowell, Booker and Duncan go to Sandy Run Road to document the scene and looked for any evidence at the scene for approximately 100 yards in both directions. 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. They just dont care about the poor people who cant afford to hire a big-time attorney or private investigators, Sandy said. Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders and the Ongoing Drama Surrounding Dad Alex Murdaugh, Hampton County Detention Center/AP/Shutterstock, Alex Murdaugh Allegedly Lured Wife to Cabin On Night She Was Killed and She Texted Friend It Seemed 'Fishy', Everything to Know About the Murdaugh Family Murders, Including Details of Allegations Against Alex, Alex Murdaugh's Slain Son Paul Allegedly Strangled Ex-Girlfriend in 2017, She Says in Netflix Documentary, Investigators Will Exhume Body of Murdaugh Family Housekeeper Who Died Under Mysterious Circumstances. Evidence in Stephens case was found during the investigation into Maggie and Paul Murdaughs murders, though according to People Magazine, those findings were never made public. So why didnt they investigate Stephens death as a homicide? Detectives speculated a truck had side-swiped him with a rearview mirror as Smith walked along the dark road, according to incident reports. 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