Household requires impartial post-mortem of stripling killed in hit-and-run close to Murdaugh property

The household of a South Carolina teenager discovered useless close to the Murdaugh household property has referred to as for an impartial post-mortem to be carried out.

There was renewed scrutiny over the loss of life of Stephen Smith, whose physique was discovered on a rural street in 2015, round 15 miles from the disgraced lawyer Alex Murdaugh’s Moselle looking property.

It was there that Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his spouse Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22.

The brutal homicide on the Colleton County property in June 2021 has led to opinions of different deaths within the space which have hyperlinks to the Murdaugh household.

A GoFundMe web page has now raised greater than $56,000 to pay for Smith’s physique to be exhumed and re-examined.

The 19-year-old’s mom, Sandy Smith, thanked supporters on the web page for “not permitting Stephen’s story to be swept below a rug.”

“Our household is so very grateful to all of you who got here collectively to assist us in our battle for justice for Stephen. I couldn’t have imagined once we started this fundraiser that it will take off the way in which that it did,” she wrote.

And he or she added:  “We are going to pursue the exhumation instantly and supply updates alongside the way in which. Thanks for the sort phrases, prayers and donations. You have got made this potential, and it means the world to us. That is Stephen’s yr.”

Throughout its probe into the Murdaugh murders, the South Carolina Legislation Enforcement Division introduced an inquiry into Smith’s loss of life “based mostly upon data gathered throughout the course of the double homicide investigation.”

Within the preliminary probe, investigators concluded that Smith had been hit by a car whereas standing close to his automotive on a rural street after it ran out of fuel.

A report acknowledged that Smith had a “defensive wound” on his hand, however a medical expert acknowledged that his loss of life was attributable to being hit within the head by a automotive mirror throughout an obvious hit-and-run.

Smith’s loss of life has been featured in a string of documentaries focussing on the Murdaugh murders, as he was reportedly a buddy of Alex Murdaugh’s oldest son, Buster Murdaugh.

No member of the Murdaugh household has ever been publicly linked by authorities to the loss of life.

The Hampton County Coroner additionally requested investigators to re-open the case of Murdaugh housekeeper Gloria Satterfield who died in what was described as an unintentional fall at Moselle in 2018.

Alex Murdaugh is accused of stealing thousands and thousands of {dollars} from the Satterfield that was owed in an insurance coverage settlement to her property.

“On the loss of life certificates, the way of loss of life was dominated ‘pure,’ which is inconsistent with accidents sustained in a visit and fall accident,” the coroner wrote to state investigators.

Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his spouse and son earlier this month and was sentenced to life in jail with out parole.

He nonetheless faces trial for a string of economic crime prices for allegedly embezzling thousands and thousands of {dollars} from purchasers and the legislation agency began by his household