Family of Stephen Smith Seeks Private Autopsy to Uncover Answers in His Death

The family of Stephen Smith is petitioning a court to exhume the 19-year-old’s body, which was discovered in July 2015 in the middle of a Hampton County, South Carolina, road. Smith’s mother and her attorneys are seeking a private autopsy to provide answers about what led to his death.

The family’s effort has nothing to do with the family of Alex Murdaugh, according to attorneys for Smith’s family. Buster Murdaugh, the older son of former attorney of note and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, is pleading to have his name omitted from news coverage of the death of Smith.

In a virtual news conference Monday, Eric Bland, an attorney for Smith’s mother, said, “This is not an Alex Murdaugh 2.0, or any Murdaugh 2.0. I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family.”

Buster Murdaugh also released a statement denying any involvement in Smith’s death. “These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false,” he said.

The discovery of Smith’s body was made roughly 15 miles from the Murdaugh home and 2 to 3 miles from Smith’s vehicle, which had apparently run out of gas. The family’s GoFundMe page is seeking “a new, unbiased look at his body and an accurate determination of his cause of death based on facts.”