A rape kit was ordered in the hours after Stephen Smith’s body was found dead in the middle of a country lane, a highway patrol officer revealed.
The 19-year-old was initially thought to have been killed in a hit-and-run on July 8, 2015, but it was announced this week that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating his death as a homicide.
Michael Duncan, a former South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) chief, told NewsNation that a rape kit was ordered within 13 hours of Smith’s death — something he’d “never experienced” in his years investigating fatal traffic accidents .
Smith’s case is intertwined with that of Alex Murdaugh, who was sentenced to life in prison last month for the brutal murders of his wife Maggie and younger son Paul at the family hunting estate in Moselle on the night of June 7, 2021.
SLED said they began investigating Smith’s death as a homicide after evidence came to light following the murders. Police reports mentioned the Murdaugh family several times, including rumors that his surviving son, Buster, was involved.
Stephen Smith (pictured with his mother Sandy) was found on July 8, 2015 with a blunt trauma to the head in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County
Michael Duncan, a former South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) chief, told NewsNation that a rape kit was ordered within 13 hours of Smith’s death — something he’d “never experienced” in his years investigating fatal traffic accidents
Buster Murdaugh sits with his girlfriend Brooklynn White during his father’s double murder trial February 23 at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina
Murdaugh’s older son Buster, 26, this week denied “malicious rumors” about his alleged involvement in his classmate’s death. Two high-profile documentaries from HBO and Netflix aired claims that the pair were allegedly romantically linked.
Highway Cop Duncan said Smith’s wounds were inconsistent with a traffic accident, confirming the findings of the local coroner, who reported Smith had been shot.
The local sheriff’s department and highway patrol officers told SLED that they believed the death should be investigated as a homicide.
However, a subsequent autopsy by a Charleston pathologist determined that Smith’s head wound was caused by blunt force trauma consistent with a vehicular collision.
When the results came back, the highway patrol refused to take the case and insisted that SLED conduct a murder investigation.
“We don’t believe it’s ever supreme to invoke SLED’s full investigative authority,” Ronnie Richter, an attorney for Smith’s family, told NPR on Wednesday. “It has now.”
Duncan told NewsNation we were “extremely disappointed” with the way the investigation was conducted.
“I’ve never seen wounds like this coming from a car… Overall, it didn’t make sense why they called it a traffic accident,” Duncan said.
When asked if he’d ever seen a rape kit used in a case like this, Duncan said, “When it comes to traffic accidents…never.”
He added: “It was the very first time. I didn’t understand why it was ordered. We were not informed of the order until later. I don’t have any answers for you as to why they ordered a rape kit, which is suspected to be a hit-and-run, which was not the case.
Judges confirmed Thursday that a rape kit had been ordered. It’s not clear what the results were or if the test was actually done.
In a statement Wednesday, SLED said it opened an investigation into Smith’s death in June 2021 after “agents received information about his death and subsequently reviewed the SCHP inquest file.”
Stephen Smith’s car was found off Sandy Run Road in Hampton, South Carolina in 2015. The teenager’s death was initially ruled a hit-and-run, but highway patrol officers have since claimed they don’t believe the scene was consistent with a road accident
Maggie Murdaugh is seen with her husband Alex and sons Buster (right) and Paul (left).
Buster, who supported his doomed father every day during his trial last month, said he wanted privacy to “mourn the brutal murders of my mother and brother.”
SLED said the Highway Patrol’s case notes “revealed that the SCHP did not believe Mr. Smith’s death was a hit and run.”
His family has long believed he was murdered. Smith was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road about five miles from the Murdaugh estate.
He had no injuries to his lower body, no vehicle debris was found at the scene, nor were there tire tracks on the road that would indicate a traffic accident.
He also left his car on the side of the road about three miles away, leaving his phone and wallet in the tailgate. Smith’s mother, Sandy, said he never left his wallet and at least called his sister.
“Stephen was discovering himself and his sexuality,” Sandy told local news outlet Bluffton Today months after her son’s death. “He was gay. There’s a rumor that he may have been stalked by a man, authorities have asked me about it, but I’ve heard other stories that I believe more.”
She went on to say that she thought someone Stephen knew from school might have been involved in his death.
“One of the guys that allegedly did this, Stephen told his twin sister that he was having an affair with the boy,” Smith said. “He also told me that he and the boy had planned a big game fishing trip for July. Stephen died on July 8th.”
The original incident report, written by SCHP investigators and included in the Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation (MAIT) case file, states: “He indicated that the wound was a gunshot wound and showed me the point of entry.
“Assistant Coroner Kelly Greene then began showing me photos they had taken and again pointed to the entry point to the head and also to a defensive wound on the hand.”
Written by James B. Tallon III, the notes read: “Originally, HCSO had notified the South Carolina Highway Patrol that this could be a hit and run.
“Following further investigation, it was believed the victim had been shot in the head.”
A paramedic reportedly “indicated that there was a projectile wound on the victim’s head.”
Eric Bland said witnesses could now speak “without fear” after Alex Murdaugh was convicted of killing his wife and son
And the notes say: “There was a hole in the skull above the victim’s right eye.”
But when the autopsy was performed at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the manner of death was listed as “undetermined” rather than homicide, and it was ruled that it was a hit and run.
exclusively announced in June 2021 that SLED had reopened the investigation into Smith’s death, with officials citing new evidence uncovered during the investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.
But according to Smith’s mother’s attorney Eric Bland, officials said they waited until after Alex Murdaugh’s murder trial to make that announcement because of concerns about witness testimony.
“SLED officers have revealed that they did not have to exhume Stephen Smith’s body to convince them his death was a homicide,” Bland and his legal partner Ronnie Richter said in a joint statement Monday.
“However, they will be present and will participate in any exhumation of Stephen’s body to gather further evidence. We are committed to finding out what really happened and getting the peace and justice the Smith family deserves.”
In June 2021, found that police investigating the teen’s suspicious death were investigating witnesses into a relationship the dead boy may have had with the heir to a powerful South Carolina legal dynasty.
Buster released a statement Monday ahead of SLED’s confirmation of a murder investigation, explaining that speculation about his alleged involvement “has gone on for far too long.”
In a statement released by his father’s trial attorney, Jim Griffin, and State Senator Dick Harpootlian, the former law student said: “I have tried my best to ignore the malicious rumors of my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to circulate in released to the media as I mourn the brutal murders of my mother and brother.
“I love her so much and miss her terribly. I have not commented until now because I wish to live privately while I deal with her death and my father’s imprisonment.
“Before, during and since my father’s trial, I have been attacked and harassed by the media and by the supporters of this story.
“It’s been like this for far too long. These baseless rumors about my involvement in Stephen and his death are false.
“I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death and my heart goes out to the Smith family.
“I urge the media to stop these defamatory comments and rumors about me immediately.”
Investigators have never publicly announced whether there was a connection between Smith’s death and the Murdaugh family – although witnesses have allegedly provided tips to law enforcement that linked the classmates.
A Netflix documentary explored their alleged relationship, though Buster declined to comment at the time.
More than half of those interviewed during the investigation said they’d heard rumors about Buster’s possible involvement in Smith’s death — but he was never summoned for questioning, the documentation said.
Buster is said to be currently holed up on his lawyer friend’s property in Hilton Head and was spotted walking dogs on the property several times during the trial.
Smith’s mother, Sandy, shared the news on a GoFundMe page last week that they were exhuming her son’s body and moving forward with an independent autopsy.
She wrote: “Our family is so grateful to all of you who have come together to help us in our fight for justice for Stephen.
“When we started this fundraiser, I never imagined it would be received the way it did. Thank you for not letting Stephen’s story be swept under the rug.’