Buster Murdaugh Denies Involvement in Stephen Smith's Death Now the Case Is Being Investigated a

Buster Murdaugh's name has come up in connection with the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith. Was he in a courting with Stephen?

The Murdaugh circle of relatives has many skeletons in their closet, a few of which re-emerged right through Alex Murdaugh's homicide trial. The patriarch and disgraced South Carolina legal professional used to be sentenced to two existence phrases on March 3, 2023, for the 2021 murders of his wife Maggie and more youthful son Paul.

Meanwhile, his other son Buster Murdaugh has also been going through intense scrutiny over the death of a former classmate.

According to reviews, the Murdaugh family is mentioned several instances in the investigative information of Stephen Smith, who died by way of hit-and-run in July 2015. In reality, rumors have swirled a few possible relationship between Stephen Smith and Buster Murdaugh.

As of March 2023, the case is being investigated as a homicide. Here's what we all know.

What happened to Stephen Smith?

On July 8, 2015, the body of 19-year-old Smith used to be found on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, S.C. Later, coroner Ernie Washington declared Smith had died from "blunt force trauma to the head," most likely from the mirror on a passing automobile, according to Live 5 News. Police consider Smith ran out of gasoline while on his method home from school, despite the fact that his circle of relatives questions this.

Stephen's mom, Sandy, told the outlet in an earlier report that her son did run out of gasoline, however he in an instant contacted his sister for help. "He called his sister one night [when] he ran out of gas, and he hid in the woods and would not come out until he was sure it was her. We know for a fact it was not a hit-and-run. Stephen would not have been in the roadway," she mentioned.

Sandy also felt her son's autopsy effects have been never in step with that of a hit-and-run. “The only damage to his frame was once his head. The right aspect of his head. From his proper eye socket to the back of his head and his proper shoulder used to be dislocated. There was no different marks on his frame," she said.

In 2021, SLED reopened the case of Smith's death as they began to investigate the double murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

Stephen Smith's case is now being investigated as a homicide.

On March 21, 2023, a SLED spokesperson told CNN that Smith's case would now be investigated as a homicide.

According to the outlet, Stephen Smith’s mother Sandy, and her attorneys will petition a court to proceed with exhuming Smith’s body, which requires a judge's permission. Already, a GoFundMe page started by Sandy has raised more than $86,000 that will be put toward Stephen's independent exhumation and autopsy.

As Sandy writes on the fundraising page: "We want a new, unbiased look at his frame and an accurate decision of his cause of death in accordance with details. There used to be no particles in the highway, and his accidents weren't consistent with a hit-and-run."

Were Stephen Smith and Buster Murdaugh in a relationship? Buster Murdaugh denied a relationship and homicide involvement.

In early August 2015, authorities received a tip about Smith and Buster Murdaugh possibly being in a relationship, per Live 5 News. After that, Buster Murdaugh's name kept coming up. "Another rumor claims Buster Murdaugh and two different boys have been chargeable for [Smith's death]," reported the outlet. That tip went nowhere.

ABC News 4 also reported that "case recordsdata indicated 10 of 18 other people interviewed by means of Highway Patrol had discussed [Buster] Murdaugh possibly being concerned, with some indicating Stephen and Buster could have been in a courting." However, authorities have never been able to formally tie Buster Murdaugh to the case nor track down where these claims originated.

On March 20, 2023, Buster released a statement per CNN: “This has long gone on a ways too lengthy. These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false.”

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