Following the double homicide conviction of Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, the family of Stephen Smith, a South Carolina teenager found deceased in 2015, has renewed their efforts to seek justice in his unsolved case. Stephen’s mother, Sandy Smith, has raised funds for an exhumation and independent autopsy. While the media and public were consumed with Murdaugh’s trial from Jan. 23 to its March 2 conclusion, Sandy has waited impatiently for eight years for a resolution to her son’s case. Stephen, a 19-year-old nursing student, was discovered on a rural road in Hampton County, near the Murdaugh property in Colleton County, on July 8, 2015. The cause was blunt force head trauma, and there were controversies surrounding the case from the beginning.
Initially, authorities classified it as a hit and run, however, subsequent examination of the evidence at the site led investigators to treat it as a homicide. Over the course of several years, there were persistent rumors circulating throughout the county that the case was linked to the Murdaugh family, a name that was mentioned repeatedly in witness statements provided to law enforcement. Despite this, the investigation stalled, and to this day, no arrests have been made nor has there been any official verification that the case is indeed linked to the Murdaugh family.
In July 2021, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division launched a fresh investigation into the unsolved murder of Smith, citing “information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh.”
With the focus now shifting away from Alex Murdaugh, the Smith family is eager to shed new light on their loved one’s homicide. To this end, Sandy Smith initiated a GoFundMe campaign on March 10 to secure funding for an independent autopsy and the exhumation of Stephen Smith’s remains.
Initially, the fundraising target was set at $15,000, but within just one week, the campaign had already garnered a total of $41,034.
As per the GoFundMe page, the Smith family opposes the state’s plan to perform an autopsy on Smith’s body at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, which is typically the site for such examinations in the area, if his body is exhumed.
The page states that the family believes it is crucial to pursue a new objective – an autonomous exhumation and autopsy. The family understands that while the state has the power and funding to carry out an exhumation and a new autopsy, it will be conducted at MUSC, where his death was initially labeled as a hit-and-run, despite the absence of evidence to support it.
The site claims that an impartial investigation of Stephen’s body and an accurate determination of the cause of his death based on evidence is necessary. The absence of debris on the road and the type of injuries he sustained are not consistent with a hit-and-run incident. The cost of the autopsy alone is estimated to be $7,000, and a private medical examiner must be present throughout the exhumation and examination phase at a cost of roughly $750 per hour, according to the site.
With the aid of recent generous contributors, the Smith family appears to be able to finance these expenses.
The Smith family expresses their appreciation to Standing for Stephen and the community at large for their overwhelming love and support. According to Smith’s page, they have been instrumental in highlighting Stephen’s story and the lack of justice.
“Thank you for refusing to let Stephen’s story be brushed under the carpet. We will begin the exhumation immediately and keep everyone informed of our progress.”
The widespread media coverage of the Murdaugh cases ignited a nationwide movement for justice and support for LGBTQ teenagers like Smith, known as #StandingForStephen. The movement successfully raised thousands of dollars, which enabled the Smith family to build a memorial on their son’s grave.
Now, #StandingForStephen has evolved into a new initiative, #JusticeForStephen. This effort appears to have begun during the peak of the Murdaugh murder trial. Smith began sharing information about it on her Facebook page in February and revealed her intention to exhume her son’s remains for further examination.