Friday (November 25 2023) “48 Hours” Years before South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh was convicted for the murders of his wife and son, there was another mystery in Murdaugh country?
The November 25 edition of “48 Hours” starts at 10PM ET/PT on CBS. Years before South Carolina legal scion Alex Murdaugh was convicted for the murders of his wife and son, there was another mystery in Murdaugh country – the death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old gay man. After his body was found on a country road on July 8, 2015, the medical examiner ruled it a hit and run. For years, his mother Sandy Smith wanted a second opinion. Now, 48 HOURS reports on a new investigation into the case in 48 HOURS: “Stephen Smith – A Death in Murdaugh Country,”
“All I want is peace in knowing what happened to my son,” Smith tells 48 HOURS contributor and CBS News national correspondent Nikki Battiste. “He’s my world and I’ll fight ’til the end.”
Hampton County Guardian editor Michael Dewitt, who reported on Stephen Smith’s death in 2015, says it is “interesting” and “tragic” “that the oldest story [in the Murdaugh orbit] … remains unsolved,” adding, “solving his murder … I think will be the end of … this sweeping saga.”
Battiste talks with Thomas Moore, a retired South Carolina Highway Patrol lieutenant, who was the supervisor called to the scene where Smith’s body was found. He says he didn’t see any signs of a hit and run: “any type of debris, any kinda glass, car parts, anything that looks like it may be related to a vehicle.”
Moore also suspected the scene was “staged” and that Smith’s body had been placed there.
Early on, rumors that the Murdaughs were somehow involved in Smith’s death spread through town. The Murdaugh name comes up dozens of times in the case file. The investigation seemingly went nowhere, and no suspects were named in Smith’s death. In late 2016, the case went cold. It was reignited in June 2021 after the murders of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh. During that investigation, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) announced it had uncovered a new lead in Smith’s death and would be taking over the case. But it has not said what that evidence is.
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