Where was Buster Murdaugh when Stephen Smith died? Alex Murdaugh's son breaks silence on alleged murder in new documentary
WALTERBORO, SOUTH CAROLINA: Buster Murdaugh, the son of convicted double murderer Alex Murdaugh, has revealed that he was at his family’s Edisto Beach house with his mother and brother on the night his high school classmate Stephen Smith was killed.
He has spoken publicly for the first time about Smith’s death in a new documentary set to premiere on Thursday, August 31.
Smith was an openly gay teenager who was found dead in the middle of a road in Hampton, South Carolina, in July 2015.
Did Buster Murdaugh have a relationship with Stephen Smith?
Smith and Buster Murdaugh were classmates at Wade Hampton High School and played on the same baseball team. He had suffered head trauma.
His death was initially ruled as a hit-and-run case, but some state troopers and his family disputed that finding.
Small-town gossip fueled rumours about Buster Murdaugh’s possible relationship with Smith and his involvement in the teenager's death.
Buster Murdaugh denied the rumours in a statement earlier this year after Smith’s mother had his body exhumed for a second autopsy.
In an interview with FOX Nation host Martha MacCallum for the documentary 'Fall of the House of Murdaugh,' Buster Murdaugh said he had nothing to do with Smith’s murder or his sexuality.
“I never had anything to do with his murder and I never had anything to do with him on a physical level of any regard,” Buster Murdaugh said, as reported by Law and Crime.
How did Buster Murdaugh cope with the accusations and the loss of his family?
The speculation about Smith’s death also followed Alex Murdaugh’s trial where he was found guilty of killing his wife, Maggie, and his youngest son, Paul, in June 2021.
Buster Murdaugh expressed his frustration and pain over being accused of murdering someone without any evidence. He also mourned the loss of his mother and brother.
“I don’t want to be rude here, but have you ever been accused of murdering somebody?” Buster Murdaugh asked MacCallum.
“Well, let me tell you, this is very, very, very, very, very, it’s a terrible thing to place on somebody with absolutely no fact. I mean, it has harmed my reputation. I mean, people perceive me as a murderer.”
Is there any hope of justice for Stephen Smith?
A grand jury was empaneled to investigate Smith’s death earlier this summer, according to his lawyer.
South Carolina’s Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has been investigating Smith’s death as a homicide since June 2021.
SLED Chief Mark Keel said witnesses might be willing to speak about Smith’s death following Alex Murdaugh’s conviction. The FOX Nation documentary will air on Thursday, August 31.