Unraveling the Mystery of Stephen Smith’s Death – New Findings Shed Light on His Injuries

The death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old gay man whose body was discovered in the middle of a rural road on July 8, 2015, was another mystery in Murdaugh country, years before disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was found guilty for the murders of his wife and son. The hit-and-run was declared by the medical examiner.

Sandy Smith, Stephen’s mother, was certain that her son’s death was not an accident and long pushed for a second opinion.

According to Hampton County Guardian editor Michael DeWitt Jr., “there was no vehicle debris, no broken headlight… paint scrapes or anything.” He says this to “48 Hours.”

The murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh reignited the case after it had gone cold.

Feeling bewildered by the absence of responses, Sandy Smith is collaborating with a group of attorneys and specialists to discover her son’s whereabouts. “48 Hours” has been granted exclusive access to the results of an impartial inquiry concerning the unexplained death of Stephen Smith.

“The injuries can tell us so much about what happened,” says Dr. Michelle DuPre, a forensic pathologist and former investigator who oversaw Smith’s body examination. “48 Hours” contributor and national correspondent for CBS News, Nikki Battiste, was interviewed by DuPre. According to DuPre, what they didn’t find is just as significant as what they did find.

Stephen Smith was a fighter from birth, just like his mother, Sandy.

Sandy Smith: He was a preemie. He weighed two pounds, 12 ounces. And —

Nikki Battiste: A twin?

Sandy Smith: Yeah, a twin.

Sandy claims that when Stephen and his sister Stephanie were born at 27 weeks, Stephen was unable to breathe on his own. She was eventually given permission to hold her child for the first time after several months of being informed that he might not survive.

Nikki Battiste: How was that moment?

Stephen was discovered deceased on a rural Hampton County road on July 8, 2015. For almost a century, the top prosecutor position in the county was held by three generations of Murdaugh men. The Murdaughs continued to dominate small-town life.

Nikki Battiste: Alex Murdaugh coached Stephen’s baseball team at one point.

Sandy Smith: When they were little, I think Stephen was like 7 or 8.

Before Stephen entered nursing school to pursue his dreams of becoming a doctor, he was also a classmate of Buster, the older son of Murdaugh.

Sandy Smith: He wanted to be a doctor, but it was more expensive, so he just started with nursing school.

Sandy Smith: He loved dealin’ with medicine; he just loved it.

Nikki Batiste: You must have been so proud.

Sandy Smith: Oh, I was.

Sandy claims that her son buried those dreams, though.

Nikki Battiste: You decided to bury him in his scrubs?

Sandy Smith: Scrubs. Dr. Stephen Smith. He had everything he needed in his pockets. He had his stethoscope and everything he needed.

After finishing his semester of study, Stephen was attending summer classes while commuting between his two separate homes. A week prior to his death, he had gone to see Sandy.

Sandy Smith: A storm started brewin’. I told him that he needed to hurry up and get back to his dad’s house. So when he made it, he texted me and said, “I made it safe, Mom. Mama, I love you.”

According to Sandy, those were Stephen’s final remarks to her. She would receive the news that would change her life’s path a few days later.

Sandy Smith: July 8th I was on my way to work, and I was listenin’ to a local radio station … and I heard that they had found a body.

Sandy immediately gave her daughter, Stephanie, a call.

Sandy Smith: She said, ‘Mama, did Stephen stay with you last night? Because he didn’t come home last night.” And then my stomach dropped, and I knew it was him.

Sandy claims that in order to get proof that it was indeed Stephen, Joel, Stephen’s father, went to the sheriff’s office. She claims that’s when they got a call.

Sandy Smith: I was on the phone with Joel the whole time while we were waiting’ for the sheriff to come out. And that’s when Joel asked me to hold on because Randy Murdaugh was calling’…

The elder brother of Alex Murdaugh, Randy Murdaugh, was defending Joel Smith in a workers’ compensation case. However, he was now phoning regarding Stephen.

Sandy Smith: When Joel got back on the phone, he said Randy… asked if that was our Stephen… and that he wanted to help pro bono.

Nikki Battiste: Did you think it was strange that Randy offered to help pro bono?

Sandy Smith: Well, I did, but Joel thought it was a nice gesture.

Sandy claims that when she drove by the location where Stephen’s body was allegedly discovered later that morning, she was startled once more.

Sandy Smith: There was Alex and Randy standin’ on the opposite side of the road.

Nikki Battiste: Murdaugh?

Sandy Smith: Murdaughs.

Sandy reports that Randy Murdaugh called back a short while later.

Sandy Smith:  I asked if that was me that passed by. He said, “I wish you’d stopped so I coulda’ met you.”

Read the rest of the story here.