The boating incident also revived questions about the 2015 hit-and-run death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, who was found dead on a rural road about 10 miles from the Murdaugh family's home . Were not classifying this as anything other than a murder, Proctor said in an audio recording. Investigation files revealed (part one). The old way of doing business in Hampton does not exist anymore. The battery was functional, however the vehicle would not start., 9:40 a.m. SLED: Agents leave the scene of the car after doing a walk-through with Singleton and Jarrell. According to Live 5 News, the Murdaugh family is mentioned several times in the investigative files of Stephen Smith, who died by hit-and-run in July 2015. In early June, a sonand mother, both members of a prominent South Carolina family were slain at their family's home in a horrific double murder. 4:40 p.m. SCHP: Moore calls Washington and asks him if the hit-and-run was his ruling as well. Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of the road outside of Hampton with a gaping head wound, his skull partially crushed and his shoulder dislocated. "He had his cell phone, he was six miles from the house," she insisted. Stay tuned for part two of the investigation file. South Carolina state investigators have opened an investigation into a fatal 2015 hit-and-run case based on information gleaned from the investigation into the murders of two members of a prominent South Carolina family. While reporters from all over the nation contacted her last week about her sons story, she just wants the official call from law enforcement telling her they reopened the case. It was also clear from the report that there was tension between Presnell and SCHP. Alex Murdaugh called 911 Saturday and said he had been shot as he stood at the side of a road in Hampton County, South Carolina, according to a statement from the state police. 5:18 a.m. SCHP: Booker notifies Cpl. Hes never been around Stephen., When asked who told her that she said Stephens friend, another kid who she named, and a couple other people.. Stephen died on the eighth of July. Smith was found dead with deep gashes to his head in the middle of a dark Hampton County road on July 8, 2015. He also said SLED has not contacted Proctor to assist in their investigationat the time of the interview. The grammar, spelling, etc. They found engine oil in the vehicle but could not get the car to start. Prior to leaving the scene, agents discussed their findings and completed a walkthrough with Inv. There is no way that would happen to him. ", Hemlepp says SLED investigators have "been engaging in regular communication with Sandy.". CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) - In 2015, Stephen Smith was found dead with a head injury on a rural Hampton County road. Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Todd Proctor, former. In September 2016, Stephens mother Sandy Smith wrote a letter to lawmakers and police agencies pleading for help and claiming corruption in the investigation. Rowell did not make a note of the Murdaugh tip in his written notes. Similar to the homicide case, SLED has revealed little information to the public since confirming it is reopening the case to the family,Inside Edition Digital previously reported. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? The Hampton County Coroner's Office said the 19-year-old was hit and killed back in 2015 by blunt-force trauma to the head. Stephen was found dead in the middle of a rural road outside of Hampton. She stated they told the Sheriff and Coroner and that they didnt believe it to be a gunshot wound. That would be Stephen Smith, a gay teenager who was found dead in the street inHampton County. Tallon notes the weather was cloudy and 92 degrees. A wooden memorial erected for Stephen Nicholas Smith, 19, who was found dead on a country road in 2015. 8:53 a.m. SLED: Burke meets with Moore at Peeples Rhoden Funeral Home in Hampton to provide documentation from the original crime scene and to transfer evidence. The teens had been "grossly intoxicated," according to police, even though they were all underage and could not legally buy alcohol. Investigators bid to solve last weeks double homicide draws fresh scrutiny on 2015 cold case . Cops investigating the double murder have also reopened the case into a 2015 hit-and-run of teen Stephen Smith Murdaugh family housekeeper Gloria Sattlerfield dies Mallory Beach, 19, died in . Last Sunday afternoon, family and friends of Stephen Smith, a South Carolina teen who died under mysterious circumstances in 2015, traveled to the Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County, S.C. Now, police investigating the shooting deaths of. Hampton County Coroners Office: The first of 3 death certificates for Stephen Smith was issued by Washington to the family. As I was leaving she stated that the report was preliminary and it was my job to figure out what struck him, not hers, Proctor wrote. Others in the community reached out to Sandy with rumors that a "Murdaugh boy" may be involved with her son's death. One of those deaths? A mother knows her child, and my son would not do that," Sandy said. An investigator for the South Carolina Highway Patrol says that he thinks Stephen Smith's body was staged the night of his death in July 2015. Ive been waiting on this day for 2,174 days, she said. What a slap in the face.. Death of Stephen Smith, July 8, 2015. SCHP: Moore, Rowell, Booker and Duncan go to Sandy Run Road to document the scene and looked for any evidence at the scene for approximately 100 yards in both directions. As I was leaving she stated that the report was preliminary and it was my job to figure out what struck him, not hers, Proctor wrote. According to law enforcement at the time, his death was the consequence of a hit-and-run. (Is Outer Banks a real place?). She has been searching for answers ever since. 3:57:43 a.m. Hampton County Communications: A man called 911 to report seeing a white male lying in the middle of Sandy Run Road. Stephen's twin sister, Stephanie Smith, remembered the moment the coroner called her home about Stephen's death. Proctor made it clear in his reports that he didnt believe Stephens death was a hit-and-run. The timeline (below) shows a sketch of how officials came to the decision to rule the death a hit and run and how that decision appeared to confuse nearly everyone involved. According to court documents, Alex . Evidence in. So they can play that card like they care about everyone else. His death was officially ruled a hit-and-run, but deep gashes to his head suggested to some he was beaten to death. SLED is simply looking at anyone who may have had a possible motive in the case including the survivors of a high-profile February 2019 boat crash that killed 19-year-oldMallory Beach. After his autopsy, however, Smith's death was ruled a hit-and-run. The investigation was opened "based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh," a SLED spokesperson said. He would not let a car, let alone a truck, get close enough to hit him. 9:18 a.m. SLED: Agents release the scene to HCSO personnel and leave. Stephen's mother and his twin sister speak out to Melvin . She said that it was not a gunshot wound and no bullet or fragments were found during the X-ray and that it didnt look like a bullet wound in her opinion and that since the body was found in the roadway, she could only theorize that it had to be a motor vehicle that caused the death, Moores note said. The late Stephen Smith with his mother . Moore asks about any other injuries on Smith, and Presnell tells him only a partial dislocated right shoulder., He asks Presnell if she found any glass fragments or any other evidence of a motor vehicle and she stated no., I then asked her why she was ruling it as a motor vehicle accident and what she thought caused the head injury, he wrote. Smith had a head wound consistent with being shot, the coroner explained in a report. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. She had no evidence other than that for the statement being put in the report., Proctor said that he explained to her that law enforcement officers had no evidence of this individual being struck by a vehicle.. A SCHP flyer is made asking for tips in the case. I guarantee you that Stephen was not in that road, she said. Michael E. Duncan of the incident. SCHP detectives noted the cars gas cap was unscrewed and hanging outside of the gas cap door. At another point in the investigation, Proctor appeared frustrated that local sources were hesitant and scared to speak of the Murdaughs to police. In their search, investigators from SCHP, the Hampton County sheriffs office, and SLED found virtually no evidence no bullets, no gunshot residue, no tire marks, no debris from a vehicle. "That no family, no community, no friends, no one had come to help her try to get a headstone. As people of interest in the case come up and you try to get them to speak with you they shut down, Proctor explained. They just throw their cases on a shelf to collect dust.. One of the guys that supposedly did this, Stephen told his twin sister that he had a fling with the boy, she said. It said the manner of death (which is either homicide, accident, natural, suicide, or undetermined) was still undetermined, The pathologist also states in the report, that in light of historical information along with the autopsy, these conclusions were made, Proctor wrote. August 18, 2015, SCHP: The coroner tells Proctor that he did not agree with the final autopsy results in the Stephen Smith case. Source: YouTube/Law&Crime Network (video still) Buster Murdaugh Or "king's ransom" waiting to be found Stephen Smith Case Files: Why Was Hampton Teens Death Ruled A Hit And Run In 2015? part of an apparent hit and run. He doesnt deserve people to think that.. In 2019, a boat operated by Paul Murdaugh crashed against a bridge pylon, killing 19-year-old Mallory Beach and seriously injuring two other passengers. CLICK HERE. He tells them to meet him at the funeral home. Fox News boss Rupert Murdoch said in a deposition under oath that any Fox News executives who knowingly allowed lies to be broadcast on the air "should be reprimanded" or "maybe got rid of," according to a new court filing on Monday by Dominion Voting Systems. Six years later, Sandy Smith Stephens mother is still grappling with the pain of not knowing what happened to her son. Stephens murder was ruled a hit-and-run with no one arrested for the crime, but in 2021, the case was reopened. MAIT takes photos of the body and Smiths clothes. They just dont care about the poor people who cant afford to hire a big-time attorney or private investigators, Sandy said. Sandy says that Stephen was smart and a study person who was typically serious about school. The case of 19-year-old Stephen Smith is often mentioned in the same sentence on social media. Names and stories of the Murdaugh family surfaced six years ago regarding the death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, a young gay man found dead in the middle of a lonely rural road with several deep gashes in his head, but investigators said they were never able to directly connect anyone in the family to the incident. Smith's case had gone cold in the months following his July 2015 death, which was officially ruled a vehicular hit-and-run despite strong objections from the South Carolina Highway Patrol. He stated he would have to go with the doctors ruling, Moore wrote. Her body was found seven days after the February 2019 boat crash. Ready to watch a new true crime docuseries thatll make your head spin? "He's on my side . All Rights Reserved. Or "king's ransom" waiting to be found A Slap In the Face: Update In The Stephen Smith Case And Murdaugh Murders, Murdaugh Murders: The Latest On The Boat Crash Lawsuit And Obstruction Of Justice Investigation, Boat Crash Lawsuit: Murdaughs Refuse To Settle, Withhold Financial Records From Victims Family, Apparent Human Trafficking Raid Jolts Coastal South Carolina Neighborhood, Murdaugh Murders: South Carolina Attorney General Must Step In And Remove Rogue Solicitor, Powerful Storms, Tornadoes Sweep Through SC: Photos From The Upstate to Lowcountry, SC State House: Speaker Of The House Livid After Close Friend Loses Primary Fight, Mark Powells Palmetto Past & Present: Lost Confederate Gold, Ron Paul: The Anti-War Movement Roars Back To Life, LIVE FEED Murdaugh Murders Trial: Day Twenty-Six. Is Outer Banks based on a true story? "He wouldve called somebody.. Feb. 2, 2018: Gloria Satterfield, 57, falls at the Murdaugh family home on Moselle Road in Colleton County. It has been apparent from the first week of the investigation that authorities are covering up critical evidence and we no longer know who to trust, Smith wrote. However, a pathologist at the Medical University of South Carolina ruled the death caused by "blunt head trauma sustained in a motor vehicle crash," according to the final autopsy report. The key located in the victims pocket was used to open the vehicle. The Murdaugh family has loomed large in the Lowcountry for nearly a century with three generations of its members serving as solicitor (South Carolinas version of a district attorney) over a five-county region between 1920 and 2007. Used to open the vehicle but could not get the car to start to leaving the scene, discussed... Tells them to meet him at the time, his death was a hit-and-run, deep! Hesitant and scared to speak of the interview cloudy and 92 degrees personnel and leave just care. Mait takes photos of the gas cap door funeral home consistent with being shot the. 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