The mother of a 19-year-old boy who was found mysteriously dead on a South Carolina road in 2015 says she plans to have his body exhumed, the announcement comes as state law enforcement reopens its investigation into Alex’s death. Murdaugh murders.
Stephen Smith’s mother announced her plans to exhume her son’s body for further examination in a GoFundMe account set up earlier this month.
“We need a fresh, unbiased look at his body and an accurate, fact-based determination of the cause of death. There was no debris on the road and his injuries were not consistent with a hit and run,” says the fundraising page, which as of Sunday had raised nearly $46,000 over its original goal.
The decision follows the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announcing in 2021 that it would reopen the investigation into Smith’s death due to new information gathered during the double homicide investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh that same year.
The mother and son were found shot to death in June 2021 on their hunting property in Colleton County, not far from where Smith’s body had been found six years earlier in Hampton County. The family’s prominent patriarch, Alex Murdaugh, was convicted of the murders last month.
SLED, which did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment Sunday, declined to elaborate on its decision when reached by CNN.
“SLED has made progress in the investigation into the death of Stephen Smith,” the agency said. “However, this investigation remains active and ongoing.”
Smith was found lying on a road on July 8, 2015, with severe head trauma. It was about three miles from his car, which was found abandoned with an open gas tank, authorities said at the time.
First responders at the scene believed her head injury could have been caused by a possible gunshot wound, but the coroner’s office ultimately ruled her death a hit and run, despite the fact that many investigators rejected this theory, according to copies of their obtained testimony. of Spartanburg. Station WSPA. .
“We did not see any vehicle debris, skid marks or injuries consistent with anyone being hit by a vehicle,” an investigator wrote, according to the station. “After consultation [Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team]We see no evidence to suggest that the victim was hit by a vehicle.”
In the years since his death, clues have also come forward about Smith from the Murdaugh family, the Greenville News reported.
Smith’s mother, Sandy Smith, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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