Updated with opinion of Dr. Kenneth Kinsey -- no baseball bat and SS most likely hit at the road scene by passenger side vehicle mirror or ladder.
"48 Hours" obtained exclusive access to the findings of an independent investigation into the unsolved death of the South Carolina teen, whose case was linked to the Murdaughs.
www.cbsnews.com
11/26/23
Dr. Michelle Dupre: It split his skull.
They were also able to put to rest some rumors, including the one that Stephen had been beaten with a baseball bat.
Nikki Battiste: It wasn't a baseball bat?
Dr. Michelle DuPre: No. … those type of injuries would cause something that we call pattern injuries, and we don't see that here. … This is a linear fracture — as well as this is here (points to a diagram of the head).
Just as important as what they found, DuPre says, is what they didn't find.
Dr. Michelle DuPre: We didn't find fractures of any part of the body,
except for the head. … There was a little road rash, which you would expect.
[..]
Dr. Michelle DuPre: We don't believe that he was placed there. We believe that …
whatever happened — happened right there.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey agrees.
Nikki Battiste: You think he was killed right here?
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: Right there.
A crime scene expert and star prosecution witness in the Murdaugh murder trial, Kinsey worked with DuPre to analyze Stephen's case.
He says the evidence at the scene is clear.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: That's a massive amount of blood. And if he had that kind of injury somewhere else, it wouldn't be that uniform.
Due to their sensitive nature, "48 Hours" created versions of the crime scene photos in which the blood and body are shown as graphics.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: The quantity of blood, the direction of the flow in the road, and then the direction of all … the - the blood on his person — led me to … the only conclusion.
Kinsey's convinced an object attached to a vehicle traveling at high speed caused the single fatal blow to Stephen's head.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: Whatever hit him was fast and it was large.
Nikki Battiste: So a hit and run, but an atypical hit and run?
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: Yeah, very atypical.
[..]
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: And from what I understand from interviewing neighbors, it's been there for well over a decade.
Kinsey theorizes Stephen was walking along the road, trying to flag someone down for help.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: He is walking this direction in the — in the lane facing traffic. … whatever was attached to the vehicle or hanging off of the vehicle … whenever it struck Stephen … he went down in — in this area somewhat on this line (lying in the road as Stephen was found).
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: The vehicle that struck Stephen was coming toward him just like that vehicle in the — photograph.
Nikki Battiste: Like this?
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: Yes, goin' that direction.
Kinsey says the evidence suggests the driver saw something in the road and changed lanes.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: And sometime before it struck Stephen, I believe it changed into the oncomin' lane …
That's when he says an object from the passenger side struck Stephen.
Nikki Battiste: What kind of object could it be?
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: It could be anything. It could be a ladder … hangin' off the back of — a work truck. It could be a extended side mirror … the metal type that you see on some farm vehicles or some larger vehicles.
That scenario matches up with the tip from 2015 involving Patrick Wilson and Shawn Connelly, which Kinsey calls plausible.
Dr. Kenny Kinsey: That certainly would be possible … that would be one of the places I would start.
SLED has kept its investigation close to the vest, but Bland and Richter say a grand jury was empaneled and issuing subpoenas.
Eric Bland: They're honing in on specific individuals. And I think there's about five or less that SLED believes has information regarding Stephen's death.
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