SC - Stephen Smith, 19, homicide, Hampton Co, 9 Jul 2015 *new death investigation 2023*

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lonetraveler said:
BBM: This looks so blazingly like a "tit for tat" situation to me. Takes the spotlight off of Buster and in return cases are dismissed. JMO
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Agree but why??? This was early on when BM was a kid and so was SC. These were serious offenses and lawsuits. Who is the Connolly family? What pull do they have? What other reason would the M's and all the LE and courts agree to this? Where is SC now?
 
pentimento said:
There is a large amount of time unaccounted for. If Stephen got out of class at 10 at the latest, and if it took him an hour to get to where his car was found, and his body was found just before 4 am, that leaves at least five hours unaccounted for. I do think that he was in the back of a pickup truck because of the paint fibers on his clothes and shoes, but not on his head or in the wound. His tox screen was clean -- no alcohol, no drugs. Where was he during those five hours? I doubt he was laying on the road all that time, and the coroner said that his body was warm to the touch. JMO.
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I remember reading here somewhere about Buster's truck being sold after this incident. Does anyone remember any details about the truck, like color or make?
 
Within one year of Smith’s death, Randy Murdaugh filed two motor vehicle accident lawsuits against Connelly on behalf of clients, both of which were dismissed by Murdaugh-friendly judges.

Despite the confession, neither man was intensely scoured by the original investigative team. Police, who initially said the death “appeared to be a homicide,” ultimately ruled Smith was a victim of a hit-and-run.

Police have not publicly excluded the Murdaughs from their investigation — however one law enforcement source told FitsNews they have evidence the legal family is innocent of all ties.

Police said last week they “quickly” put Buster Murdaugh on their radar as part of the reopened investigation following rumors that he killed Smith in order to hide a secret love affair between the two baseball teammates.
nypost.com

Murdaugh-linked Stephen Smith’s body exhumed for autopsy: report

Smith’s body was exhumed on Friday, sources close to the investigation told WCIV.
nypost.com nypost.com
 
Eric Bland

@TheEricBland


My partner, Ronnie Richter, and I, as attorneys for Sandy Smith, and on behalf of Steven Smith, would like to thank everyone who contributed in the Exhumation, Transporting Stephen, protecting and guarding Stephen while he was being re-examined, and the second autopsy being done, transporting him back and then putting him back to his final resting place this past weekend. A tremendous amount of planning went into this past weekend by a lot of people including the funeral home, coroner, DHEC, the excavators, doctors Dupre, Schultz and Haney and at least 12 SLED Officers. The biggest thanks goes to SLED Chief Mark Keel because without him this could not have gone on without a hitch. Chief Keel gave me his word and followed through on it. I also would like to thank many of you in the press who had a suspicion what was going on, but did not press me further. I also would like to thank Mandy Matney and David Mose who spent the weekend comforting Sandy, who was seriously grieving for her son. Finally, I would like to thank my associate, Scott Mongillo, who oversaw everything and was our boots on the ground. I now believe that Stephen can really rest at ease because SLED and our team are going to do everything possible to find out just how he died. Thank you so much. EB
 
imstilla.grandma said:
Within one year of Smith’s death, Randy Murdaugh filed two motor vehicle accident lawsuits against Connelly on behalf of clients, both of which were dismissed by Murdaugh-friendly judges.

Despite the confession, neither man was intensely scoured by the original investigative team. Police, who initially said the death “appeared to be a homicide,” ultimately ruled Smith was a victim of a hit-and-run.

Police have not publicly excluded the Murdaughs from their investigation — however one law enforcement source told FitsNews they have evidence the legal family is innocent of all ties.

Police said last week they “quickly” put Buster Murdaugh on their radar as part of the reopened investigation following rumors that he killed Smith in order to hide a secret love affair between the two baseball teammates.
nypost.com

Murdaugh-linked Stephen Smith’s body exhumed for autopsy: report

Smith’s body was exhumed on Friday, sources close to the investigation told WCIV.
nypost.com nypost.com
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^^bbm

I know it's been 8 years since SS death but I think OP's quoted link is more conflated news:

From the alleged "casefile" by Fitsnews, Connelly confessed to Wilson in a crying phone call that he thought he hit somebody while driving his truck under the influence. Later, it was learned that SS was found dead in the middle of the road near where both Connelly and Wilson shared a trailer.

And Wilson was under his own unrelated investigation for attempted murder.

How the NYP came to report both confessed to killing SS is beyond me! MOO
 
I find the footage of John and Buster removing guns after the search warrant, after the cops left, pretty interesting. Considering the 2 murder weapons were never found. What did Alec do with the murder weapons?? Could any of those have killed Stephen (butt of the gun to the head maybe)?
I am of the opinion the POI are who did it but just an idea
 
I find the removal of the guns from Moselle interesting, too. I do understand the risk and liability in leaving dozens of firearms in an unoccupied, remote residence after many published photos advertised their existence and whereabouts.

What concerns me is their value-add to Maggie’s estate and if they were removed is it possible they weren’t going to be sold? In my thinking all those firearms translate into additional funds for the victims Alec needs to compensate.

Seems if the personal effects auction was made public, maybe a huge gun sale would be, too. Hope they are accounted for in MM’s estate. Moo.
 
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rescuemom said:
I have confidence in SLED but am skeptical as to why they are so on board now. Where were they in 2015, is it because local LE didn't invite them to be a part of any investigation??
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In 2015, this was just one of a hundred cases on SLED's plate. It would have taken significant manpower to investigative and the chance of finding Stephen's killer and getting a conviction wasn't great, especially as the medical examiner claimed it was a hit-and-run.

In 2023, this case is national news. It's been extensively covered by the local media, the New York Times, the Washington Post, cable news, and every TV network. The publicity means they can justify almost unlimited resources and get help from the Feds as well. Along with Murdaugh's financial crimes it's probably near the top of the list of priorities for SLED.

It's unfortunate that news coverage is often the determining factor in whether a crime is solved or not, but it happens all the time. How often have we seen similar missing person cases get disparate treatment by the media and by law enforcement?
 
The two people named in 2015 by the step-father, one of whom allegedly confessed to hitting a person while drunk driving, is nonsense.

Stephen wouldn't stay in the middle of the road with a vehicle coming towards him.

It was not a hit and run.

Officers at the scene thought he was shot in the head.

JMHO

Strange that only after Grandpa died and AM was imprisoned that the case was re-opened.

What did they uncover during the murder investigation that made them do this? Just people talking? Tangible evidence?
 
TeaTime said:
The two people named in 2015 by the step-father, one of whom allegedly confessed to hitting a person while drunk driving, is nonsense.

Stephen wouldn't stay in the middle of the road with a vehicle coming towards him.

It was not a hit and run.

Officers at the scene thought he was shot in the head.

JMHO

Strange that only after Grandpa died and AM was imprisoned that the case was re-opened.

What did they uncover during the murder investigation that made them do this? Just people talking? Tangible evidence?
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree.
I don’t buy that story at all. It’s very suspicious that a week or so after SLED comes out and calls SS’s death a homicide that “sources” are cycling back trying to say it’s a hit and run again.
Whether Murdaughs or others are behind this charade I don’t know but someone is still trying to swing this story away from somebody.
 
And, sadly, I think that there will be too much CYA happening now for SS's mom to get true resolution. Too many people would be made to look bad so it is better to create enough confusion now that an arrest/conviction could not be made.
 
The mother’s lawyers have said there is no evidence linking Stephen Smith’s death to the Murdaugh family, and state investigators have remained tight-lipped since taking the case around the same time police said Murdaugh killed his wife and son.

But speculation following the since-disbarred lawyer’s recent life sentence for those killings helped Sandy Smith raise more than $87,000 to have her son’s body re-examined in an investigation that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has said was never closed since the agency opened it in June 2021.
www.fox21news.com

Second autopsy done in unsolved South Carolina death probe

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A second autopsy was completed this weekend on the exhumed body of a teenager found dead nearly eight years ago on a South Carolina road, according to the family’s lawye…
www.fox21news.com www.fox21news.com
 
He wasn't standing in the road with a truck coming straight at him. Didn't happen.

Why was his vehicle stopped? Was it undrivable?

Seems to me all the sand stuck in the tread of his sneakers would have come off on a 2 mile walk on asphalt.

Just my observation.
 
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