Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
“A Death in Murdaugh County” is an episode of 48 Hours that will air on ID on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
Stephen Smith was 19 when he was found dead on the Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, South Carolina. He was found during the early hours of July 8, 2015, and investigators initially assumed he was shot. However, an autopsy revealed that he died because of blunt force trauma to the head. It said that he was likely killed in a road accident. His car was found about three miles away from where he was found dead. The vehicle reportedly ran out of gas before he left it there. He had then begun walking, as per a report by People Magazine.
The Murdaugh family was reportedly named several times in the primary interrogation following Stephen Smith’s death. However, none of the family members were questioned, and Smith’s death was ruled as a road accident. Things took a rough turn 6 years later. In June 2021, Margaret Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh were found dead. Margaret’s husband and Paul’s father, Alex Murdaugh, were then found guilty of the double homicide.
During the investigation of the Murdaugh murders, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reopened Stephen Smith’s case, and rumors began about Alex Murdaugh’s connection to Smith’s death. Another son of Alex, Buster Murdaugh, was a classmate of Smith. However, Buster claimed that the connections drawn between his family and Smith’s death were baseless, as per ABC News 4.
Sandy Smith, Stephen’s mother, raised money for an independent autopsy that was performed nearly 8 years after Stephen died. After the autopsy, her lawyers revealed that there was not any connection between Alex Murdaugh and her son’s murder.
Was Stephen Smith’s killer ever found?
Sandy Smith’s attorneys made it public that the circumstances surrounding Stephen Smith’s death did not indicate that it was an accident. Although authorities initially claimed that the victim might have been hit by the side mirror of a truck that raced by, evidence suggested otherwise. There were no skid marks that indicated a road accident. Moreover, Stephen’s loosely worn shoes were still on him. This was something unlikely for victims of car wrecks, as per a report by NPR.
According to CBS News, in December 2015, authorities received a tip from an unknown man named Darrel Williams. Williams told authorities his stepson Patrick Wilson had a friend by the name of Shawn Connelly. Connelly told Wilson that he had been driving drunk the night before Stephen’s discovery. He told Wilson he had hit something he assumed might have been a deer. However, there was no progress with the lead, and Connelly claimed he did not kill Smith.
In June 2021, even after the case was reopened, the case eventually it went cold. Sanda Smith announced a $35,000 reward for anyone with leads that could lead to an arrest, according to People Magazine.
“A Death in Murdaugh County” is an episode of 48 Hours that will air on ID on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
