Mother of Hampton teen Stephen Smith hires attorneys to re-investigate mysterious death | Murdaugh News
The mother of Stephen Smith, a Hampton teen whose mysterious 2015 death has garnered attention in the wake of the Murdaugh saga, plans to ask that a judge allow her son’s body to be exhumed as part of a renewed investigation.
Sandy Smith on March 17 retained South Carolina attorneys Ronnie Richter and Eric Bland to re-examine the case. She’ll use the more than $65,000 raised through a GoFundMe campaign to launch a new, private investigation into the case, the attorneys said in a March 20 news conference.
SLED has reopened the case in the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, pictured as a senior in the 2014 Wade Hampton High School “A Devil in Every Crowd” yearbook. Drew Martin/The Island Packet
Stephen was found dead July 8, 2015, on Sandy Run Road near Joe Miley Road in Hampton. Investigators initially believed he was killed in a hit-and-run collision while walking outside because his car ran out of gas — a theory his mother has never accepted.
There were no skid marks or vehicular debris near Stephen’s body and his loosely tied shoes were still on his feet, Richter said. Authorities found Stephen’s car about 3 miles away on Bamberg Road with its gas cap removed, making it appear as though his car broke down and Stephen was walking to find help, the lawyer said.
Stephen never used his cell phone to call for assistance, and his wallet was left behind in his car — both out of character for the nursing student, his mother said.
The attorneys believe a “fresh set of eyes” will yield different conclusions — that Stephen was killed somewhere else, and his body was dumped in the middle of the road to look like a hit-and-run.
As one of the only openly gay men in the tiny town of Hampton, Stephen “had to be cautious” and live a “secret life” to some extent, Bland said.
The attorneys said the case’s first step is its most crucial: asking a judge to grant them permission to exhume Stephen’s body, per state law. They plan to file the petition within the next 10 days, Bland said.
They’ll simultaneously begin hiring experts who’ve conducted autopsies on exhumed bodies.
Stephen’s case received renewed attention following the June 7, 2021, killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, members of a prominent Lowcountry legal dynasty. Alex Murdaugh, Maggie’s wife and Paul’s father, was convicted of their murders in March 2023 following a lengthy, highly publicized trial.
State Law Enforcement Division agents confirmed June 22, 2021, they had opened an investigation into Stephen’s death based on information gathered during the course of the double-murder case.
The Murdaugh named popped up multiple times in files kept by South Carolina Highway Patrol, which conducted the original investigation into Smith’s death.
But Charleston lawyer Andy Savage, who began representing Sandy Smith shortly after SLED opened its case, told ABC News 4 in October 2021 that speculation regarding the Murdaughs’ involvement may be “unfounded.” His investigation identified potential suspects who were “unconnected” to the family, Savage said. (Sandy Smith ultimately dropped Savage as her attorney.)
Bland mentioned during the March 20 news conference that a grand jury was impaneled at some point to probe Stephen’s death. It’s no longer in session, however, which could mean one of two things, he said.
Grand jurors returned an indictment and the S.C. attorney General’s Office is “sitting on it,” which Bland said he highly doubts, or there wasn’t enough evidence presented.
Bland stressed their case is a “Stephen Smith 2.0” — it’s not about the Murdaughs. Right now, the attorneys have “no knowledge at all” about the family “having anything to do with this,” he said.
Call Jocelyn Grzeszczak at 843-323-9175. Follow her on Twitter at @jocgrz.
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