TIPS@SLED.SC.GOV

BREAKING NEWS - Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter have been retained by Sandy Smith to help her get Justice for Stephen.

Now that Alex Murdaugh will spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of Maggie and Paul, it’s time to put the focus on getting answers in the Stephen Smith case.

For almost eight years, Sandy Smith has fought to get answers about her son’s murder. Whether or not Alex Murdaugh had anything to do with Stephen Smith’s death, the Murdaugh name is connected to the case in some way.

Our greatest hope right now is that the momentum from the murder trial and the powerhouse duo of Bland & Richter encourages people to come out of the shadows to finally speak up and say what they know about Stephen’s murder in 2015.

In the episodes below, we talk about the botched investigation from 2015.  Smith's family believes he was murdered, and they want an unbiased look at his body and an accurate determination of his cause of death based on facts.  At the date of this update, the Go Fund Me has raised over $123,000. 

We all want to drink from the same Cup Of Justice — and it starts with learning about our legal system. What questions do y’all have for us? Email info@lunasharkmedia.com and we'll do our best to answer your questions in these bonus episodes.

Listen to the show that started the renewed interest in Stephen's case: the Murdaugh Murders Podcast wherever you get your pods.

• Stephen Smith was kind, funny and well loved by so many.  He is the twin bother of Stephanie Smith, son of Sandy Smith and was studying to be a nurse and then a doctor to one day work with Doctors Without Borders or a similar program

• Smith was found dead just before 4:00 a.m. on July 8, 2015 in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, South Carolina by Ronnie Capers.

• No tire marks or no debris from a vehicle found on scene after several searches.

• Stephen’s loosely tied shoes were on his feet when he was found dead in the middle of the road.

• His car was found three miles away on Bamberg Highway with the gas cap off

• Chain of custody apparently was broken when Stephen’s clothes were left unattended at the funeral home.

• Stephen’s head was bruised and misshapen by blunt force. His shoulder was partially dislocated, and had no other major injuries.

• Investigators on scene July 8, 2015 went back and forth between a gunshot homicide and hit and run accident

• South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) officers were told it wasn’t a vehicular accident they didn’t have to be at the autopsy

• At the autopsy, MUSC pathologist Dr. Erin Presnell ruled that Stephen was killed in a hit-and-run crash.

• Two SCHP investigators who spoke with Presnell described hostile experiences with the pathologist and couldn’t get a direct answer for why she ruled Stephen’s death a vehicle accident.

• The coroner said he didn’t believe Stephen’s death was a hit and run

• The case was left with SCHP unsolved (until 2021, when SLED opened an investigation)