Yahoo Autos New twist in death of Stephen Smith after Murdaugh murder investigation
South Carolina authorities have confirmed they are investigating the death of Stephen Smith as a homicide, nearly eight years after the 19-year-old was found dead in the middle of a rural road from what was ruled to be a hit-and-run.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) opened an investigation into Stephen Smith's death in June 2021 after discovering new evidence during the investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, a mother and son who were found fatally shot at the prominent legal family's South Carolina hunting estate that month.
Stephen Smith's death was determined to be highway vehicular manslaughter and no suspects were ever apprehended. His mother has long asked for the unsolved case to be re-examined.
Lawyers representing his mother announced that the death is now being considered a homicide Tuesday night, citing a phone call with SLED.
"SLED is publicly supporting us, Sandy Smith, and her efforts to find out what really happened to her son," Ronnie Richter, with the Bland Richter Law Firm, said in a statement.
A SLED spokesperson confirmed to ABC News that the case is being investigated as a homicide.
"It's a day that I have been waiting for. The best news I've heard in eight years," Sandy Smith told ABC News.
"Stephen was an amazing kid and he didn't deserve to die this way," she added. "And I know somebody did it, and whoever did it needs to come forward and bring peace to this family."
SLED said in a statement Wednesday that it opened its investigation into the death in June 2021 after its agents reviewed the South Carolina Highway Patrol's case notes on the incident and found it apparent that that agency "did not believe Mr. Smith's death was a hit and run by a motor."
Lawyers representing Stephen Smith's mother have said they do not believe the evidence maintains that he was hit by a car, but rather may have been killed somewhere else and then placed on the road. His mother has raised more than $80,000 to exhume her son's body to conduct an independent autopsy.
