Stephen Smith: South Carolina teen's death near Murdaugh house in 2015 officially ruled as homicide
HAMPTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: The death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old, in a hit-and-run accident is currently being investigated by South Carolina law enforcement as a homicide. Progress was made after Smith's family's lawyer, Ronnie Richter, explained why he thinks Smith, who was found dead in a spot close to Alex Murdaugh's home years ago, was the victim of cold-blooded murder.
Bland Richter Law Firm made the announcement on Tuesday, March 21, following a conversation with Chief Mark Keel of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), according to DailyMail. SLED stated that they were able to prove the 19-year-old's death was a homicide without having to exhume his body. However, they declared that they would "be present and participate in any exhumation of Stephen's body to gather more evidence." Murdaugh's only surviving son, Buster, knew Smith, and there have been rumors that the two were romantically involved. Additionally, Buster has denied any participation in Smith's death, dismissing the rumors.
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'We are committed to finding out what really happened'
Bland said that SLED is committed to combining efforts and resources as the state moves forward with exhuming Smith's Body. He stated, "We have a chance to right eight years of wrongs, and we intend to do just that," according to DailyMail.
SLED reopened its investigation into Smith's death in 2021 in light of fresh information learned while looking into the killings of Buster Murdaugh's mother Maggie and his brother Paul. But Bland stated that SLED officials claimed they delayed making this revelation until after Murdaugh's murder trial because they were concerned about witness evidence.
#BlandRichter is proud to announce that after an extraordinary disclosure phone call with SLED Chief Mark Keel, that the death of #StephenSmith is now considered a HOMICIDE, a shocking announcement after 8 years of being proclaimed a highway vehicular manslaughter. pic.twitter.com/hFsQ4L3JSR
— Bland Richter (@BlandRichterSC) March 22, 2023
In a joint statement, Bland and Richter said, "SLED officials have revealed that they did not need to exhume Stephen Smith's body to convince them that his death was a homicide. However, they will be present and participate in any exhumation of Stephen's body to gather more evidence. We are committed to finding out what really happened, and getting the peace and justice the Smith family deserves."
Why does Ronnie Richter think Stephen Smith was murdered?
Richter has previously stated in a TMZ interview on March 21 that Sandy Smith, Smith's mother, is committed to making sure that her son receives justice, and that the first step in that process will be to exhume Smith's remains in order to look for forensic evidence. Even though Richter is well aware that the case was reopened when authorities were intensively looking into the murder of Murdaugh, he isn't jumping to any conclusions about the involvement of Murdaugh's family.
Richter listed several data that amply support the theory that Smith was murdered. The first fact was that Smith had no visible injuries from the torso down, the second was that there were no car fragments at the location, and the third was that his shoes were still on. Also, he noted that it was odd that Smith allegedly walked 3 miles in the dark without ever using his cell phone.
Richter stated, "It is unacceptable to believe that this accident happened the way it was determined and that there were no evidence, no debris of any kind whatsoever," according to TMZ. He believes that finding the real answers will be achieved by bringing in an outsider who can offer an honest, unbiased perspective on what happened to Smith.
Richter stated, "For the time being, we have to deal with the facts that we have at hand and those facts are the physical evidence and Stephen's body which hopefully we can have examined independently and determine whether or not that first conclusion was correct. We just don't accept that it was correct."
"We know someone out there knows information and they've carried, the weight of their knowledge for eight years now and I know it's burdening their soul. So please put that weight down. Call sled, call the AG, call us. But we intend this time to get real answers about what happened to Stephen Smith," Richter concluded.