Teen Found Dead Near Murdaugh Estate Was Killed, Lawyers Say
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is now considering the 2015 death of a South Carolina teen found miles from the Murdaugh family property a homicide, his family’s lawyers announced on Tuesday.
Attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter said that the “extraordinary disclosure” was made during a Tuesday phone call about the investigation into Stephen Smith’s July 2015 death. Smith, 19, was found dead on a backcountry road in Hampton, South Carolina, just miles from the Murdaugh family home. A medical examiner ultimately concluded that Smith died from a hit-and-run—despite several red flags. Now, the Smith family lawyers said, authorities now believe he was murdered.
“We have a chance to right eight years of wrongs, and we intend to do just that,” Bland said in a Tuesday press release. SLED did not immediately respond to a request for comment.