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Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode

December 01, 2023 / 42:02

This episode covers the murder case of Steven Smith, the involvement of the Murdoch family, and the ongoing fight for justice led by his mother, Sandy Smith.

Steven Smith was found dead on July 8, 2015, in Hampton County, South Carolina. Initially ruled a hit-and-run, the investigation faced numerous challenges, including alleged connections to the powerful Murdoch family. Sandy Smith believes her son was murdered and has fought tirelessly for answers.

The episode discusses the autopsy findings, which revealed that Steven died from a blow to the head, suggesting foul play rather than an accident. Sandy Smith's quest for justice intensified after the Murdoch family became embroiled in their own legal troubles.

Experts, including retired Highway Patrol lieutenant Thomas Moore and forensic pathologist Dr. Michelle Dupri, provide analysis of the case, indicating the possibility of a staged scene and the need for further investigation.

As new evidence emerges, Sandy continues to advocate for her son's memory, establishing a scholarship fund in his name and offering a reward for information leading to an arrest.

TLDR

Sandy Smith fights for justice in her son Steven's murder, linked to the Murdoch family, as new evidence emerges in the case.

Episode

42:02
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[Music] this has been a Hampton County story this has been a Hampton County Scandal a jury found the disgraced South
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Carolina attorney guilty of murdering his wife and his youngest son this has been the downfall of a family Dynasty
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today is not the end it's the next step and a long road to justice for every person who has been victimized by Alex
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Mur Justice for Steven Smith Alex Steven Smith was another body in this orbit of
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the Muro family stepen was a gay young man in the low country of South Carolina that is courageous and and of itself I
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can't imagine the terror he was in that night in the early morning hours of July
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8th 2015 19-year-old Steven Smith was found dead in the middle of a rural road there was an autopsy that basically said
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it's a hit and run there was no vehicle debris no broken headlight paint scrapes
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or or anything you never believed it no not at all they never would have been walking
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in that road not voluntarily do you believe Steven was murdered I do an investigation of some sort took place
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that led nowhere and then it went cold I wanted a second opinion Sandy Smith is unique in this
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whole story she doesn't know who killed her son she doesn't know why people in town really believed that it was
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connected to the murdocks in some way the name Buster Murdoch kept coming up I never had anything to do with his murder
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and I never had anything to do with him on a physical level of of any regard the
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rumors also suggest uh a cover up we are aware of no evidence today that would suggest that any mdll
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played any role in Steven Smith's death or played any role in trying to cover up
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the investigation into his death all I want is peace and knowing what happened to my son he's my world and I'm a fight
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to the end this is a woman that has fought this battle alone since 2015 screaming as loud as she could with
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not a lot of people listening CBS News confirming that the South Carolina law enforcement division
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is now investigating Steven Smith's death as a homicide the Murdoch case for all
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Steven's Cold Case to life somehow some way in the Mur of murder investigation a
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new thread was opened up into Steven Smith our primary function right now is to have that body exhumed have a true
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independent set of eyes look at it and tell us once and for all what really happened to Steven Smith the gash was
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from part of this eyebrow across here the injuries can tell us so much about what
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happened and in this case they did they did set the scene for me on July 8th 2015 here Steven
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was somewhat right here in the road how confident are you that you know what happened to Steph Smith that night
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I'm as close to a degree of scientific certainty as I've ever felt [Music] [Music]
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like his mother Sandy stepen Smith was born a fighter he was a preey he weighed 2 lb 12 oz a twin yeah twin born at 27
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weeks with his sister Stephanie Sandy says Steven couldn't breathe on his own after several months she was told he
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might not make it and she was finally allowed to hold her baby for the first time how was that moment oh my gosh it
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was amazing it was supposed to be my goodbye but he started breathing on his own cuz he felt you yeah that's why he
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was my heart Sandy never dreamed she'd one day be fighting for answers in her son's
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death how would you describe the journey that you've been been on for justice it's been a hard journey just living day
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by day and fighting day by day on July 8th 2015 Steven was found dead on a country road in Hampton County the same
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county where three generations of myall men had held the top prosecutor job for nearly a century the myll still loomed
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large over small town life Alec MOG coached Steven's baseball team at one point when they were little I think
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Steven was like seven or eight Steven and Stephanie were also classmates of Mall's older son Buster before Steven
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went to nursing school with dreams of one day becoming a doctor he wanted to be a doctor but it was more expensive so
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he just started with nursing school he loved dealing with medicine and he just loved it you just been so proud oh I was
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but instead Sandy says those dreams were buried with her son you decided to bury
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him and his scrubs scrubs Dr Steven Smith he had everything he needed in his pockets he had his stethoscope and
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everything he needed Steven had just completed a semester of school and was taking summer classes shuttling back and
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forth between his parents who lived apart he had visited Sandy a week before he was killed a storm started Brewing I
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told him that he needed to hurry up and get back to his dad's house so when he made it he texts me and says I made it
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safe Mom Mom I love you Sandy says those were Steven's last words to her days later she would hear the news that would
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alter the course of her life July 8 I was on my way to work and I was listening to a local radio station and I
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heard that they had found a body Sandy called her daughter Stephanie right away she said Mama did Steven stay with you
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last night because he didn't come home last night then my stomach dropped and I knew it was
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him Sandy says Steven's father Joel went to the Sheriff's Office for confirmation
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that it was Steven that's when she says they received a call I was on the phone with Joel the whole time while we were
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waiting for the sheriff to come out and that's when Joel asked me to hold on because Randy murall was calling Randy
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murall is Alec mural's older brother and had been representing Joel Smith in a worker's comp case but now he was
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calling about Steven when Joel got back on the phone he said Randy asked if that
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was our Steven and that he wanted to help pro bono did you think it was strange that Randy offered to help pro
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bono well I did but [Music] Joel thought it was a nice gesture later that morning Sandy says she was
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surprised again as she drove past the scene where Steven's body had reportedly been found there was Alex and Randy
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standing on the opposite side of the road Murdoch Murdoch a few minutes later Sandy says Randy
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myall called again and asked if that was me that passed by he said I wish You' to
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stop so I could have met you Randy myall declined our request for an interview but through his attorney he provided a
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written statement to 48 hours in which he said quote I was not aware of Steven's death until Joel told me they
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wanted my involvement and I contacted law enforcement on their behalf myall said he went to the scene with a private
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investigator after meeting with Joel and Stephanie adding quote claims that I visited the scene of Steven's death with
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my brother Alec are false Joel Smith passed away three months after Steven but Stephanie and Sandy told us
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they never asked the mdll for help and there were other things about Steven's case that didn't sit well with Sandy
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from the moment the sheriff confirmed the body was Steven's at first he told them Steven had been shot what were you
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thinking who would shoot him it made no sense I lost it then I left my job and just drove back to Hampton and we just
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mourned together we just couldn't understand why or who it was just a biggest shock of our life within
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hours Steven's cause of death was suddenly changed to a hit and run towards the evening time we were
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contacted by the Sheriff's Office and after his autopsy there was not any type of bullet or bullet fragment found in
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his head because his body was in the roadway it was being ruled to hit and run retired South Carolina Highway
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Patrol lieutenant Thomas Moore was the onene supervisor I was told that the medical exam made that ruling and I
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reached out to her it became a little bit heated give me an answer medically that would lead you to believe he was
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hit by a car there was no medical reason did you see any signs of of a hit and run no ma'am none any type of debris any
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kind of glass car parts piece of plastic anything that looks like it may be related to a vehicle also unusual for a
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hit and run Steven's clothing was intact and his shoes which were Loosely tied were still on generally clothes are torn
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or unraveled and shoes have come off and Steven's car keys and cell phone were in
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his front pocket unharmed and mo says Steven's body appeared St aged his body was laying like it had been placed in a
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certain position not what you would typically see and it looked like somebody had hit him in the head with
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some kind of object meanwhile Steven's wallet was still in his car which investigators found three miles away
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with the doors locked and the gas cap hanging open in all the years I've worked a car sitting on the side of the
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road with a gas cap off is not normal I thought it was staged like his body was staged in the roadway Sandy says she
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wondered if Steven might have been the victim of a hate crime did you think that it was possibly because of his
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sexuality I did think that I know he was teased a lot at school but he still held
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his head high but Sandy says in the days leading up to his death Steven was worried about his safety he' called his
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sister Stephanie for help the day before he was killed Stephanie said the battery
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cable was loosen on his car so she had met him and then she tightened the battery cable and she asked him to get
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out the car and help her and he said no I'm not getting out like he was scared right but he never said
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why despite what Lieutenant Moore felt were suspicious circumstances he says once Steven's death was ruled a hit and
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run it became the highway Patrol's job to solve the case instead of the Hampton County Sheriff's office or sled the
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South Carolina law enforcement Division I felt like the case for a lack of better word was being pwned off on us
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matter what we said we were going to be the ones investigating that case as we were getting started certain names
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started coming up which names [Music] murd soon after Steven Smith was killed Hampton County Guardian managing editor
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Michael dwit says he began hearing persistent rumors all over town what are the rumors r that at least one Murdoch
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child was in a vehicle with other boys and allegedly somebody in the vehicle struck the young man with the baseball
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bat and killed him Sandy says those same rumors hit her doorstep as soon as Steven's body was
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taken for an autopsy it made no sense to me at any point did you think that someone in the murof family was
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involved well the longer it went on the more I was ask asking myself questions but I just couldn't find the
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connection powerful family and then you got stepen who was just Steven Sandy couldn't help but think back to her last
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conversation with Steven a week before he was killed somebody was messaging him a lot he told me that he was going deep
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sea fishing and he said hey was and I said well who are you going with he said well I can't tell you that make you
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pause yeah he said you'd be surprise just kind of like a prominent person and then all I could say was well I hope you
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have fun Sandy says Steven had become more secretive the last couple weeks but it never crossed her mind he might be
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talking about a myll the original rumor was that Steven was planning to go away with Buster Murdoch and his family that
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they were together romantically Liz Ferell is the writer and co-host of the murd murders podcast there's no evidence
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of that that we know of and 48 hours found no evidence to support the rumors retired Highway Patrol lieutenant
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Thomas Moore says the mere mention of the myalls made it difficult to get help from local agencies we tried to hand
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that case File over to the Sheriff's Office and they physically would not take it from our hand the mot name was
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still very powerful very well connected in law enforcement and the Rumor suggested well the local cops aren't
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going to dig into it instead the case was hand L solely by the highway Patrol's multidisciplinary accident
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investigation team called mate which specializes in complex vehicle crashes the make team was from out of town and
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we wanted outside eyes involved in this the mydal name appears dozens of times in mate's 2015 case File which we
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obtained through a freedom of information request in his audio notes Corporal Michael Duncan makes it clear
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he does doesn't think Steven's death is a hit and run there is no body trauma other than to the Head area does not
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appear to be in my opinion struck by a vehicle another investigator Todd Proctor goes further typically you don't
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see the highway patrol working a murder and that's what this is he hints at a conflict of interest for the local
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sheriff's department there's a reason why Hampton County Sheriff Department is not handling this and I'll leave it at
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that in this interview with Proctor local teen Taylor Dobson shares a detailed version of that story about
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several young men in a truck I heard that these two maybe three young men were in a vehicle they were riding down
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601 saw the car on the side of the road I guess saw the boy walking um they turned back around then stuck something
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out the window he offers a name reluctantly he goes by Buster murder Dobson says he grew up with Buster kind
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of out of care character to who I knew it was just strictly hear sa from all I know Proctor reassures him the myalls
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are already aware authorities want to speak with Buster they know that he's on our radar matter of fact I talked to one
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of their guys yesterday and and told him you know I'm I'm going to talk to Buster
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here soon you know and they said okay that's fine but according to the case File a call to Buster Mall in October
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2015 was never returned and in December following front page story in the Hampton County Guardian mate received a
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tip called in at the direction of Randy myall Buster's Uncle a man named darl Williams called a Hampton police officer
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to report the tip which involved two teens Shan Connelly and Patrick Wilson in a recorded phone call the officer
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relays to Corporal Duncan what Williams told him Daryl called me and he said Patrick come over here to the house he
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said he that Sean Connelly was drunk and hit something he went back the next day to see what it was he had hit
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and he seen a lot of police out there Patrick was crying telling him and after he got finished telling the story he
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walked outside his house and threw up did he go into any detail about how it happened supposedly he had fixed his
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mirror one of the mirror is up on the truck the side mirror story matched Steven's original death certificate for
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reasons that are unclear there is no record of Duncan or Proctor ever speaking to Connelly or Wilson Wilson
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had no comment to 48 Hours messages to the Hampton County Sheriff's Office Williams and Connelly have not been
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answered Sandy Smith says she asked Sean Connelly Point Blank if he killed Steven
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and he said he said no ma'am I did not I give you my word I promise you I never killed your son do you believe him yeah
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if he lied to you if that turns out to be the case it won't be the first time I'm lied to but you know if you did it
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you need to pay in September 2016 fed up with what she calls the lack of an investigation
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Sandy began a letter writing campaign that included the FBI what did your letter say I was just letting them know
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that my son was murdered and there's no progress being done and I think it had something to do with the Murdo family
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and please help just please help me Sandy also told the FBI she believed someone was deliberately trying to
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derail the investigation did you ever get a response from the FBI I did and I had two agents come to my house she
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asked them to unlock Steven's phone and they did do you know if anyone actually was able to read Steven's text messages
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or see where he might have been based on cell phone evidence what I heard from the FBI agent there was a a lot of
00:18:59
interesting information in the phone that needed to be looked at but she says that didn't prompt a local or state
00:19:06
authorities to pursue the case further there's something in that phone that nobody wants out
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there by late 2016 the investigation into Steven Smith's death went cold what do you think it took for Steven's case
00:19:23
to finally get the attention it deserves that you wanted somebody else had to die what information do you think was
00:19:35
found on Steven's phone chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and X the murders of Paul and Maggie mdll in
00:19:50
June of 2021 caused a seismic shift in smalltown Hampton and gave Sandy Smith a lifeline she desperately needed now it
00:20:01
took this to get Steven's name back out there so somebody would start paying attention in a strange twist of fate
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while investigating the murders of Paula Maggie murall sled announced it had stumbled on a new lead in Steven's death
00:20:17
and would be taking over the case they did not say what that evidence was it seems like all roads lead to the murof
00:20:25
family around here yes is that coincidence or is there a reason for that around here it's
00:20:33
natural it would be another two years while authorities focused on getting a conviction against Alec murall but Sandy
00:20:41
now has a high octane legal team in her Corner after 8 years of waiting for your
00:20:46
turn Sandy Smith finally just had enough Ronnie and I are like arsonists we started to fire Ronnie RoR and Eric
00:20:53
Bland are representing Sandy pro bono our sole goal was to wreak Kindle the interest in Steven's
00:21:01
death and they turned up the heat on sled in March of 2023 sled publicly acknowledged it was treating Steven's
00:21:09
case as a homicide the same week Buster murall released a statement through his father's attorney saying quote these
00:21:17
baseless rumors of my involvement with Steven and his death are false I unequivocally deny any involvement in
00:21:23
his death and my heart goes out to the Smith family those words are now in cement I take him in his word that he
00:21:30
had nothing at all to do with Steven's death rather than old rumors Bland and RoR say they're focusing on a new
00:21:40
investigation made possible by $130,000 in GoFundMe donations from Sandy supporters the resources were made
00:21:48
available for us to do some private investigative work that's going to start with hiring a pathology
00:21:55
team they were also able to have Steven body exuded something Sandy had wanted for years our primary function right now
00:22:02
is to have a true independent set of eyes look at it and tell us once and for all what really happened to Steven Smith
00:22:08
in April of 2023 Dr Michelle Dupri a former investigator and forensic pathologist who's performed more than
00:22:15
3,000 autopsies oversaw the examination of Steven's body the injuries can tell us so much about what happened and in
00:22:24
this case they did they did Dupri says the aut y confirmed Steven died from a single blow to his forehead severely
00:22:32
fracturing his skull that's a big gash that's 7 and 1 12 Ines almost there would be another
00:22:40
gash in this posterior area from hitting the pavement so hard literally split his
00:22:47
skull and split his skull they were also able to put to rest some rumors including the one that
00:22:53
Steven had been beaten with a baseball bat it wasn't a baseball bat those type of injuries would cause
00:23:00
something that we call pattern injuries and we don't see that here this is a linear fracture um as well as this is
00:23:06
here just as important as what they found upri says is what they didn't find we didn't find fractures of any part of
00:23:14
the body except for the head there was a little road rash which you would expect
00:23:19
any signs of a struggle no any signs of a beating no any injuries below his head
00:23:26
other than the road rash none whatsoever she says that eliminates the possibility Steven was hit by a car
00:23:35
headon Dupri says the findings also refute early theories that Steven's body might have been staged were you able to
00:23:42
determine whether Steven was struck and fell or he might have been struck and then placed there we don't believe that
00:23:49
he was placed there we believe that whatever happened happened right there Dr Kenny Kinsey agrees you think he was
00:23:56
killed right here right there a crime scene expert and star prosecution witness in the myall murder trial Kinsey
00:24:03
worked with Dupri to analyze Steven's case he says the evidence at the scene is clear that's a massive amount of
00:24:11
blood and if he had that kind of injury somewhere else it wouldn't be that uniform due to their sensitive nature we
00:24:19
created versions of the crime scene photos in which the blood and body are shown as Graphics the quantity of blood
00:24:26
the direction of the flow in the road and then the direction of all the the blood on his person led me to the only
00:24:36
conclusion kiny is convinced an object attached to a vehicle traveling at high speed caused the single fatal blow to
00:24:43
Steven's head but whatever hit him was fast and it was large so a hit and run but an atypical hit and run yeah very
00:24:49
atypical a hit and run with no vehicle debris at the scene it's a conclusion no one was expecting how come confident are
00:24:58
you that you know what happened to Steven Smith that night I'm as close to a degree of scientific certainty as I've
00:25:04
ever felt what no one can say with certainty is whether Steven's death was accidental
00:25:11
or not but still RoR points out he was left there to die someone left him in that condition in the roadway and that
00:25:19
is a very serious felony Steven's body was found about 3 miles from his car kiny tried to retrace
00:25:28
his steps I wanted to walk every possible path that Mr Smith may have taken Steven's family has always
00:25:36
insisted if Steven had car trouble he would have felt safer walking through the woods so where was Steven's car
00:25:42
Steven's car was located if you look at this gate here it was not grown up then you could access that gate but in this
00:25:50
area really close to the woods but to cut through the woods Steven would have had to scale a fence that was 8 ft tall
00:25:58
and from what I understand from interviewing neighbors it's been there for well over a decade Kinsey theorizes
00:26:06
Steven was walking along the road trying to flag someone down for help he is walking this
00:26:13
direction in the in the lane facing traffic whatever was attached to the vehicle or hanging off of the vehicle
00:26:20
whenever it struck Steven he went down in in this area somewhat on this line here the vehicle
00:26:32
that struck Steven was coming toward him just like that vehicle in the photograph
00:26:37
like this yes going that direction Kinsey says the evidence suggests the driver saw something in the road and
00:26:44
change lanes and sometime before it struck Steven I believe it changed into the oncoming
00:26:52
Lane that's when he says an object from the passenger side struck stepen EV what
00:26:59
kind of object could it be it could be anything it could be a ladder hanging off the back of a work truck it could be
00:27:05
a extended side mirror the metal type that you see on some Farm vehicles or some larger vehicles that scenario
00:27:14
matches up with the tip from 2015 involving Patrick Wilson and Shan Connelly which Kinsey calls plausible
00:27:22
that certainly would be possible that would be one of the places I would start sled has kept its investigation close to
00:27:30
the vest but bland and rter say a grand jury was impanel and is issuing subpoenas they're honing in on specific
00:27:37
individuals and I think there's about five or less that sled believes has information regarding Steven's
00:27:45
death we don't know who those individuals are in an interview on Fox Nation in August of 2023 Buster murall
00:27:54
again denied the rumors of his involvement never had anything to do with his murder and I never had anything
00:27:59
to do with him on a physical level of of any regard he also provided an alibi the
00:28:06
night Steven was killed I was at our Edisto beach house with your family with my mom and my
00:28:14
brother s's team says it's turned over all of its findings to sled but kiny says it's still going to take someone
00:28:22
coming forward somebody knows oh they know yes ma'am do you think Steven's death was an
00:28:32
accident or intentional see a timeline of the case at 48 hours.com as a grand jury zeros in on
00:28:46
potential suspects in Steven Smith's death the legal wrangling hasn't slowed down for Alec murall you've got local
00:28:54
charges you got State charges the legal civil cases are going to go on for years
00:28:59
on November 17th 2023 I am guilty and yes sir Mall agreed to a ple deal encompassing all of the State financial
00:29:08
charges he faced for defrauding and stealing Millions from clients and law partners he had previously pleaded
00:29:15
guilty to 22 Federal conspiracy wire fraud and moneya laundering charges Alex prayed on the vulnerable whom he also
00:29:24
thought would never figure out his schemes correct it's people that are at the worst times of their lives where you
00:29:30
need a lawyer to be the best for you not the worst for you perhaps none more so than Elena and
00:29:38
Hannah pler who are now represented by Blandon RoR who were the plers they were two young girls from uh
00:29:47
Colombia they were just 12 and eight when they survived a deadly crash due to a faulty Tire they killed their mother
00:29:55
and 14-year-old brother in 20 2005 and became the youngest of the financial victims to whom myrdle admitted he lied
00:30:02
and stole from when questioned at his murder trial what loss did they suffer who died uh their mother their mother
00:30:09
did he only mentioned your mom yeah that bothered me because you don't remember that a 14-year-old was
00:30:18
killed in that wreck Alec he got a very good paycheck off of my brother's death both women are now mothers and Ena
00:30:27
is a detective with the Lexington County Sheriff's Office since all of this has come out there's a lot of pain that's
00:30:34
still there Alina was old enough to remember the details of the last road trip she and her sister would ever take
00:30:42
with their mom and brother my brother and I had gotten into an argument I wanted to start sitting in the front
00:30:48
seat we fought about it and fought about it and finally mom was like you know what Justin's going to ride on the way
00:30:54
to Columbia and on the way back home Elena gets to ride up front and I was so happy
00:31:01
Elena and Hannah who were still sitting in the back seat survive the crash so you must think about that all the time I
00:31:08
do actually had a lot of guilt for several years that guilt is something she says
00:31:14
she's learned to let go as she recounts her and her little sister's harrowing survival we hadn't been on the road too
00:31:22
long P was sleeping and I was listening to usher and I remember mom saying Lany you awake and so I remember pulling my
00:31:30
headphones down and said yeah Mom within seconds I heard this loud pop and then I
00:31:36
immediately heard my mom scream I looked out the window and my Usher CD was spinning on a tree
00:31:45
limb their mother Angela and brother Justin died instantly Elena realized she was trapped and couldn't move and had to
00:31:53
send Hannah for help I said I need you to get out of the car car and I need you to go to the top of the hill to the
00:32:01
interstate and you're only 12 I'm 12 right so many things could have went worse 8-year-old Hannah climbed up to
00:32:09
the interstate there was an 18wheeler and I was able to flag him down and I think by
00:32:16
that point an ambulance had came in and they had taken me to the hospital Elena waited alone until a fire
00:32:25
rescue team arrived and cut her out of the wreckage she watched as they removed her mother and brother and so I watched
00:32:33
them put them in a black body bag she was then airlifted to a hospital and would need numerous surgeries what was
00:32:40
the moment like when you were able to see each other again after that I remember it I remember hugging
00:32:48
her and thanking her for not dying for not leaving me and then from there I was just in the hospital bed with you you
00:32:57
you couldn't keep this apart the sisters say they were passed around to live with
00:33:01
family members we didn't have a bedroom just had each other just each other yeah
00:33:06
we lived at a little plastic Bend when a family friend referred the pilers to Alec myall he promised to
00:33:14
change all of that do you remember the first time you met Alec murdle yeah I remember when he walked in he seemed
00:33:20
really arrogant like a bulldog just tall almost intimidating in a sense he told us they took your family from you and
00:33:29
we're going to make this right they're going to pay to two young girls who had lost everything murall seemed Larger
00:33:36
than Life I always felt at peace when I got to talk to Al people listen to him you could tell there was a lot of
00:33:44
control there how did he earn your trust really with his words he was a smooth talker and he made you feel
00:33:53
special but once the case settled the special treatment stopped he pretty much checked out he had explained that the
00:34:01
case had settled we won big money elanus case settled for $4.7 million you know Hannah for right at $3 million uh that
00:34:10
money was then entrusted to Russell leat lefit was the CEO of pal Meadow State Bank in Hampton and a close friend of
00:34:18
myall who'd handpicked lefit to manage the funds as conservator until the girls turned
00:34:24
18 so these two very wealthy prominent men basically helped themselves to these kids piggy bank any money they needed
00:34:32
had to be approved by lefit and a judge even if it was a dollar we had to have a
00:34:39
receipt for it when you and Eric took on their case what did you discover Russell
00:34:44
was making loans to Alex Alex would be overdrawn 50,000 $100,000 $300,000 in his personal account and he needed money
00:34:53
to cover those shorts RoR says that at myrdal's Direction lefit transferred nearly $1.5 million from the pilers
00:35:02
money to Alec murall and himself when it came time for these young ladies to turn 18 the money was
00:35:08
supposed to be there so Alex had to go out and steal new money from different clients and put that money back murall
00:35:17
was never charged for Hannah and Elena's case but lefit was convicted on federal
00:35:22
charges for his role but still there's that toll of how do you trust going forward people
00:35:30
were put in a position of Trust on their behalfs when they were just children and
00:35:35
then to learn as an adult that the entire time they saw you as nothing more than a
00:35:40
checkbook while the pilers can begin to heal Sandy Smith still waits for her Day
00:35:46
of Reckoning all this sweeping drama there's answers and there's closure for everybody else but not for Sandy Smith
00:35:55
it's time to put the spotlight on Steven Smith months after his Blockbuster trial
00:36:11
Alex ver verdict guilty convicted double murderer Alec murall and the crime of the century are still Hampton's biggest
00:36:20
attractions almost every day somebody's coming by taking a picture of the law firm or riding out to Mosel taking
00:36:26
pictures they just can't get enough The myall Craze was on full display at an auction for the family's
00:36:34
personal items from their Moselle property the infamous leather couch set where Alec testified he took a cat nap
00:36:41
while his wife and son were murdered sold for $30,000 and Maggie's dog Bubba who
00:36:47
helped prosecutors prove Alec was actually at the crime scene has become a local folk hero if that rambunctious
00:36:55
yellow lab hadn't have been doing what labs like to do Chase Birds we might not have solved this case and we might not
00:37:02
have gotten a conviction Bubba Alex voice calling Bubba was caught in the background of
00:37:09
phone video Paul took minutes before he was killed Bubba and the other dogs at the
00:37:15
kennels they were witnesses to a very horrific event Bubba now lives a quiet life with the mural's housekeeper
00:37:24
meanwhile Alec murall is serving two life terms in a Maximum Security Prison do you think Alec mdal still thinks he
00:37:33
can try to play the system 100% now M's attorneys are hoping their latest motion
00:37:40
will be a get out of jail free card work focused on getting him a new trial in September 2023 dick harlean and Jim
00:37:48
Griffin announced their motion for a new trial based on allegations of jury tampering by the colon County Clerk of
00:37:55
Court Becky Hill what we had filed today supported by sworn testimony of jurors is that the
00:38:02
clerk of court had improper private Communications with the jurors the state versus Richard Alexander Murdock
00:38:09
defended they argued that Hill violated mural's right to a fair trial when she allegedly told jurors not to be fooled
00:38:16
by his testimony and to watch his body language as Alec was about to take the stand I'm Alec
00:38:23
murck in a signed affidavit Hill denies all of the defense allegations and voluntary statements from a majority of
00:38:31
the jury support Hill's account roran Bland say even a new trial can save Alec myall if the motor convictions
00:38:41
overturned then you have the financial crimes according to the plea deal with prosecutors on the state crimes murall
00:38:48
could be sentenced to nearly 30 years for those charges alone so yes there's a theoretical Universe in which Alex murd
00:38:57
could see the sun again but it's theoretical only is it's like rearranging the the deck chairs on the
00:39:03
Titanic it's F if you would a ride a made for TV Southern legal drama you you couldn't
00:39:14
have done a better job than this dit writes about it in his book The Fall of the House of murall which he ends with
00:39:21
Steven Smith it's kind of interesting and tragic that the oldest story remains unsolved solving his murder I think this
00:39:32
will be the end of this sweeping Saga as sled continues its investigation of the Smith case behind closed doors
00:39:42
what investigators found after the murall murders Remains the subject of intense
00:39:48
speculation do you have any idea what the new evidence that may be presented to the grand jury is no uh I do know
00:39:57
that sled has Steven's phone I know that they have Steven's tablet could Steven's
00:40:03
phone reveal the identity of the prominent person with whom he told Sandy he'd planned to go deep sea
00:40:10
fishing that'll be interesting what sled has found out and what the grand jury is
00:40:15
going to determine whether the person that he was going to go away with deep sea fishing um had anything to do with
00:40:22
his death or as knowledge of his death how has this fight for justice been oh it has been a long road but it's
00:40:32
worth it Sandy is Keeping the Faith and keeping Steven's memory alive she recently established a college
00:40:40
scholarship in his name we are starting this scholarship fund so other children won't have it as hard as stepen did and
00:40:49
she's offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and now as it's your turn that if you know
00:40:58
something that you say something what do you miss most about Stephen just I miss everything about
00:41:07
him what do you think Stephen would think of your fight where we are today in his
00:41:14
case he said oh mama you would do that for me yep yep I would over and over [Music]
00:41:36
a couple's financial hardship becomes a Prelude to murder someone trying to break into my home but only one of them
00:41:42
pays the price the last thing that most burglars want to encounter are people secrets and deadly deception you could
00:41:48
just tell there's information that's missing we're not getting the full story 48 hours Saturday on CBS streaming on
00:41:54
Paramount Plus [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 90
    Most heartbreaking
  • 85
    Most shocking
  • 80
    Most emotional
  • 80
    Most intense

Episode Highlights

  • The Fight for Justice
    Sandy Smith's relentless pursuit of answers about her son's death since 2015.
    “I'm a fight to the end.”
    @ 02m 13s
    December 01, 2023
  • Rumors and Connections
    Persistent rumors link the Murdoch family to Steven's death, raising questions about a cover-up.
    “The Murdoch name appears dozens of times in the case file.”
    @ 14m 47s
    December 01, 2023
  • New Evidence in Steven's Case
    In April 2023, a new autopsy revealed Steven died from a severe head injury.
    “The autopsy confirmed Steven died from a single blow to his forehead.”
    @ 22m 30s
    December 01, 2023
  • The Mystery of Steven Smith's Death
    Investigators believe Steven was struck by a vehicle, but the details remain unclear.
    “Whatever happened happened right there.”
    @ 23m 51s
    December 01, 2023
  • Alec Murdaugh's Legal Troubles
    Alec Murdaugh faces multiple charges and a plea deal for financial crimes.
    “I am guilty.”
    @ 29m 03s
    December 01, 2023
  • Sandy Smith's Fight for Justice
    Sandy Smith establishes a scholarship in Steven's name and offers a reward for information.
    “We're starting this scholarship fund so other children won't have it as hard as Steven did.”
    @ 40m 43s
    December 01, 2023

Episode Quotes

  • It was supposed to be my goodbye but he started breathing on his own.
    Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode
  • Those dreams were buried with her son.
    Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode
  • I was just letting them know that my son was murdered.
    Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode
  • Those words are now in cement.
    Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode
  • I'm as close to a degree of scientific certainty as I've ever felt.
    Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode
  • I miss everything about him.
    Stephen Smith: A Death in Murdaugh Country | Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Downfall of a Dynasty00:19
  • Courageous Spirit00:40
  • Rumors Resurface14:47
  • Name Back Out There20:05
  • New Autopsy Results22:30
  • Crime Scene Analysis23:59
  • Unexpected Conclusions24:55
  • Scholarship Fund40:43

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown