Stephen Smith's Family's Attorney Gives Update on Homicide Investigation

The family of Stephen Smith, whose death in 2015 is now being investigated as a homicide, still don't know what evidence caused police to stop treating the incident as a hit-and-run, according to their attorney.

Smith, aged 19, was found dead in the middle of a rural South Carolina road on July 8, 2015. His mother, Sandy Smith, had questioned the initial hit-and-run verdict and campaigned for the case to be reopened.

Buster Murdaugh, part of a prominent South Carolina legal dynasty, who had been at school with Smith, has complained about being "harassed" over "baseless rumors" connected to the case and "unequivocally" denies any involvement. On March 2, Alex Murdaugh, Buster's father, was convicted of murdering Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, his wife and another son, who he shot dead in June 2021.

In 2021, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division launched another investigation into Smith's death, based on information uncovered whilst investigating the Murdaugh murders. Investigators confirmed this week they are now treating Smith's death as a homicide.

Appearing on NewsNation, Ronnie Richter, the Smith family attorney, said he still isn't sure what new evidence led police to treat the death as a suspected murder.

He said: "The declaration in 2015 was crystal clear, that the cause of death was determined to be a hit and run, pedestrian vs motor vehicle, and as far as the Smith family knew that was the end of the story.

"Apparently something happened during the Murdaugh murder investigations in 2021, we don't know what that evidence was, we don't know what thread they came upon, but something in the course of that investigation caused them in 2021 to take a fresh look at the Stephen Smith situation."

Richter said the Smith family had never accepted the hit-and-run verdict, commenting: "None of the forensic evidence from the time makes sense.

"When you read the investigative file from 2015 it's pretty clear that the troopers who were investigating at the time did not believe it was a hit-and-run. The vehicle broke down three miles down a country road from where the body was found. There's no skid marks, there's no vehicular damage of any kind whatsoever.

"You can see the square where his body came to rest, he's literally in the middle of the roadway. There are no injuries from his torso down and he still has his laced-up shoes on his feet, so none of that says he was struck by a car yet we were left to accept that was the outcome of the investigation."

According to CNN, in the initial South Carolina Highway Patrol case file into Smith's death, "the Murdaugh name was mentioned dozens of times by both witnesses and investigators, including the name of Alex Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster."

On Monday, Buster released a statement denying any involvement in Smith's death. He said: "Before, during and since my father's trial, I have been targeted and harassed by the media and followers of this story. This has gone on far too long.

"These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false. I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family."

During his NewsNation appearance, Richter said: "We're not aware of any Murdaugh being a person of interest in the Stephen Smith investigation."

Newsweek has reached out to Buster Murdaugh's attorney, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, for comment via email.