Just weeks after conviction of prominent South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh in the murder of his wife and son, another death possibly linked to the Murdaugh family may bring more trouble to the powerful clan. Body of a teenager, whose death six years ago was deemed to have been a hit-and-run incident is now going to be exhumed and a private autopsy is going to be done.
Body of Stephen Smith, who was 19 at the time of his death, was found on a country road near property owned by the Murdaughs. The death has puzzled South Carolina investigator who have reopened the case.
“It’s Stephen’s year,” said Sandy Smith, Stephen’s mother. She spoke with NBC News. A GoFundMe campaign launched for exhumation of Stephen’s body has raised USD 43,000.
Smith thanked the donors for “not allowing Stephen’s story to be swept under a rug”
Murdaughs have been a powerful family of lawyers with political influence in Soth Carolina going back generations. Although Alex Murdaugh himself is now behind bars for murdering his wife and son, number of other deaths over the years have reportedly been suspected to be linked to the members of the family.
An investigator report at the time of death of Stephen Smith had noted that Smith’s body had “defensive wound” on his hand, as reported by The Guardian. However, report of a medical examiner said that Smith’s death was caused by an injury to the head caused by car mirror.
As reported by The Guardian, state investigators said that an inquiry was opened into Smith’s death “based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation”. They reportedly said last week that they had “made progress” in the investigation and that it “remains active and ongoing”
The trial of Alex Murdaugh and deaths with possible links to the powerful family caught attention across the US to the extent that there is even a web series on the entire saga on one of the popular streaming platforms.
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