BOMBSHELL TROUBLE FOR ALEX MURDAUGH: Teen Stephen Smith Death is Homicide

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Crime Stories with Nancy Greece Bombshell out of South Carolina.
In the last hours, the inquiry into the death of
teen boy Stephen Smith has turned into a homicide investigation.

(00:27):
That's right. For all these years, the teen found not
two too far from Alex Murdoch's Moselle hunting Lodge, has
been deemed to be a hit and run. That has
changed in the last hour's repeat that inquiry has turned
into a homicide investigation. I mean, Nancy Grace, this is

(00:51):
Crime Stories. Thanks for being with us here at Fox
Nation in Sirius XM one eleven. Joining me right now
is Ronnie Richter, partner in Bland Richter, who is spearheading
the effort to have Stephen Smith's body exhumed for a
private autopsy. Ronnie, thank you for being with us. Ronnie.

(01:13):
What happened? My partner Eric Bland and I received a
call from Chief Mark Keel, he is the top cop
in the state of South Carolina in charge of the
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, to tell us that if
we are proceeding with the exhumation of Stephen Smith's body
to try to prove the sled that this was not
just a hit and run that we did not have

(01:34):
to do that, that they don't view it as a
hit and run. They view this as a homicide, and
they are committed to this investigation and they're dedicating resources
to investigate the truth behind the death of Stephen Smith.
The body is still going to have to be exhumed
for an autopsy to find the truth about his injuries.

(01:58):
But this whole thing has taken eight years. It did
take eight years, and that is a matter of frustration
with Sandy Smith, as you might imagine. But it appears
what happened is this investigation got lost between two agencies
in South Carolina. Was it a vehicular depth which falls
under highway patrol? Was it a murder that falls under

(02:18):
sled We think that's where the investigation first got derailed.
And what happened after that was that virtually all of
our resources in the state were devoted to the Murdo
murder investigations for a period of time. So I think
that we were run thin for a while. Justice is
slow and is frustrating when it's not your turn. But

(02:42):
we are reassured that this investigation is real, that its ongoing,
and that the resources are being devoted to it. Now
take a listen to this. I can't decay now one
ways your emergency. I'm just calling that a wrong rule.
I see somebody laying up. What road are you looked

(03:03):
at him? And how we went up? You're on Cardoville rule?
Were getting on the crocket Bill rule? Yeah? Hold on different?
And which way you headed? Okay? We had a court
are you going to? Uh huh? Yeah, okay, you're on

(03:24):
that rule? Just before you get into the crocket Bill
Terry Crocotville mat there right, That's where everything starts, right
there with the discovery of the body of this young
team Steven Smith, not too far from Alex and Murdock's
hunting lodge, one of his three homes. The body found

(03:44):
out in the road, in the middle of the road,
badly injured, Stephen Smith dead. Let's take a listen to
more of that nine on one call. And it didn't
the road or on the side of the rule. Roul
Wood in the room? Yeah, all right? What's the name
of comment number? My leader is Ryan Paper? Okay, all right,

(04:08):
miss Keeper? Can I get a phone number? Poy you uh,
I don't move number of OFFICI form. We can call
the number back I'm going to work, okay, but if
there's a good number to reach you back at yeah, okay,
all right, We're getting off the headed out that way
to see was going on, okay, leaving the rule right. Oh,
I ain't moving another like that, but somebody boy eating it? Huh,

(04:34):
all right boy eating all right, We're getting off the
headed out that way. A stranger calling nine one one,
concerned that another vehicle, a big truck or a car
will run over the body of Stephen Smith. Laying out
in the road with me and all Star panel to
make sense of what we know right now, as Alex
and Murdog waits in his jail cell to be assigned

(04:54):
to a CI State Correctional Institute of South Carolina, he
cannot be happy about news that in the coming days
Stephen Smith's body is going to be exhumed and a
private autopsy will happen. Let's don't put the cart before
the horse. Joining me right now is high profile lawyer

(05:15):
out of South Carolina, Eric Bland, first representing the glorious
Sadderfield family, another victim that loses her life there at
the Mozelle Hunting Lodge. Also representing the Stephen Smith family,
and Stephen Smith's Mother's pursuit of justice. Eric Bland, thank
you for being with us. He's also co host of

(05:37):
Cup of Justice podcasts and you can find him at
bland Richter dot com. Eric, you know, just this morning
I dropped the children off to school and I was
asking them, Okay, who has pe? Now they call it
body con Okay, it's not pe anymore yet, body conditioning.

(05:58):
They run unlight rabbits and lift weights, body count And
I'm saying, who has pe first? And who has trick practicing?
Who's going to go to the school tutorial in math
at three o'clock? Can you imagine? See that's where my
head is, and this mom, Steven Smith's mother, is still

(06:19):
trying to find out why is my son dead? Tell
me about Steven Smith's mother as she is inching forward
to the actual examation digging up the body of her son.
Another thing I can't even imagine. What is her frame
of mind? Eric? Well, I mean she's an extraordinary woman,

(06:40):
that's all. My clients were as articulate as she is
and had her sense of kindness, it would make my
job a lot easier. You've heard talk on on TV.
She's a mother who wants answers. I mean, it's been
eight years of like paralysis. She knows that the odds
are that Stephen did not die on Sandy Run Road,

(07:04):
that he may have died somewhere else. If it was
a hit and run, and it turns out to have
been a hit and run, there is somebody that has
knowledge of that, and there's a criminal who killed somebody
and drove away, which is a crime in any state
in this country. She just wants some answer so she
can get peace. This is not about money. There's no

(07:28):
threats of civil suits. The go fund me, which which
gave us the money to be able to afford this process,
is one of these proceeds are going directly into the
investigation in the exhimation. I'm giving my legal time for
free in the exhimation process and supervising the investigation objection

(07:51):
beyond the scope of the question. Okay with me, high
profile lawyer Eric Bland again, let's go put the cart
before the horse. I want to get a Blair Sable
investigative reporter live five knees, Charleston. He's been on the
story from the beginning. Blair, thank you for being with us.
You just heard the nine one one calls. Did you
describe for our viewers and listeners the stretch of road

(08:15):
where Stevens to me as a body was found. It's
very nondescript. It's in the middle of Hampton County if
you've been out in that area, and I'm sure a
lot of folks kind of drove through if they had
attended the recent Murdoch trial. It's just a very long highway.
It's two lanes, there's fields on either side. There's not

(08:37):
a lot going on there. How far is it from Moselle.
It's very close. It's just a few miles away. When
I was doing coverage pre trial, we were, you know,
going around to all of the significant locations, and we
actually drove from Moselle to the Stephen Smith or the
road where he was found. And it's it's thirty minutes maybe,
did you say thirty or three thirty thirty? Eric Bland,

(09:00):
what can you tell me about the stretch of road
that anything, in addition to what Blair told us, it's
country's country can get nance. It's dark, it's there's not
a lot of homes in between each of the homes,
there's no landmarks. You know, from Alex's place in Mozelle
at the nearest convenience stores nine minutes, So if you're

(09:22):
stuck out there, if you have to walk out there,
it's it's a lonely, scary place. And Stephen, with the
lifestyle that he lived, was a very careful young man.
You know it. Being gay in the Low Country in
twenty fifteen was not the most popular thing in the world.
That took courage, and so he was very careful where
he walked, where he traveled. So that's one of the

(09:45):
things that is perplexing to obviously Sandy and us is
why would he leave us wallet in his car if
it ran out of gas? Why Why wouldn't he have
made some phone calls along the way? On the walk?
He would have called his twin sis, Stephane, who is
extremely extremely close with You have twins, so you know

(10:05):
how twins rely on each other. You would have called
her and said, look, Sis, to get me. I might
have guessed she would have said stay there. He would
have walked through the woods. There's a path that he
would have taken that Sandy Smith said he would not
have taken that route in the road. So there's just
more questions and answers than when you have more questions

(10:27):
and you're a mother. You can imagine what that does
to you. Over eight years, Ary Bland, he did have
his cell phone with him if he did. Hi, guys,
Nancy Grace here, our friends and partners at Fox Nation
have an exclusive new movie out right now, Murder for Sale.

(10:47):
In this new original movie, real estate agent Violet Becker
is devastated when her best friend and fellow real estate
agent dies at an open house. Violet is suspicious us
about the circumstances of the death and sets out to investigate.
She soon finds herself in unfamiliar territory as she uncovers

(11:09):
shocking truths about her friends life and mysterious death. Starring
Caitlin Clark, Julia Benson, and Matt Hamilton, Murder for Sale
is available exclusively on Foxnation. Foxnation subscribers also have access
to all kinds of exclusive programming, including the video simulcast

(11:30):
of crime stories, our team's special investigations, original movies like
Murder for Sale, and so much more. Sign up for
Foxnation to watch. Just go to foxnation dot com. Don't
wait catch this movie. It's awesome. Go to Foxnation dot
com Now to watch Prime Stories with Nancy Grace guys

(12:09):
joining me as Chris mcdonna direct from the Cold Case Foundation.
Former homicide detective has handled well over three hundred homicides
Annie as a host of a YouTube channel, the Interview Room.
You can find him at Coldcase Foundation dot org. Chris,
you and I have both driven this road and have
very carefully gone over the terrain. Now, driving a night

(12:35):
in that area where Stephen Smith's body was found, there
are no street lights. There, no red lights, no caution lights, nothing.
It's pitch black. Think of cutting off all the lights
at night in a room and shutting the door, no windows,
pitch black. When I was driving back and forth to

(12:56):
the trial, I would see thirty or forty deer going by.
You could just kind of like images of them because
it was so dark. I couldn't make anything out. And
that was an issue at trial with Alex Murdog him
driving eighty MP eight from his mother's house at Almeda
back to Mozille where Maggie and Paul were murdered at

(13:20):
eighty miles an hour. Why so, what is your take
of where the body was found? This is really important,
Chris one hundred percent, Nancy, and you and you have
felt that environment, just as you've described. The first thing
that's critical in this particular case here is what we
would call the p O I right, the point of impact.

(13:42):
And you know, if you take into an account of
this young man, you know, hypothetically walking down the middle
of the street, he's got a cell phone with him.
That's one thing, But that cell phone also has a
flashlight on it. And that evening it had to have been,
you know, four o'clock in the morning as when he's discovered,

(14:02):
but they I think the corner shaid time of death
as approximately three am. So at three am, this young man,
who knows the terrain, as his mom says, you know,
would have taken a short cut. The question is why
is he in the middle of the road. And then
secondarily you're going to see a car coming for miles

(14:24):
on that road. Oh yeah, because you know when I
was driving it, and I drived it many times at night, Chris,
there was hardly anybody on the road. And it was
at three am when I was driving, But it was
late at night, eleven twelve, one am, because I had
a five hour drive to get there, and I wanted
to eat supper with twins before I left, so I

(14:45):
didn't even leave until eight o'clock at night. And if
there was a car coming as rare as that was,
you could see it miles away. Yeah. Absolutely, And I
and I actually went out there to that spot and
a ui, I wanted to get a sense of what
that environment was. There's a cornfield on one side, there's

(15:07):
a single house right near where the body is, where
the body allegedly was, and and the interesting thing about
it on that back to the un original point in
your question, Nancy, was the point of impact or where
this body ended up was right in the middle of
the highway. And if it's if it's a motor vehicle accident,

(15:28):
and you know there's a high velocity that's going to
move the body to one side of the road or
the other, not dead center into the middle of the road,
that is very, very highly unlikely to occur. I have
a question, Nancy, So Chris Um, you are one correct.
If the body would not releasing remain in the center

(15:54):
of the road, there obviously would be bumper marks or
something on Steve. And one thing that does concern me,
and I'm going to be a contrarian here because I'm
just learning the case. You guys know so much more
of it to me. Admittedly, I just got involved. The
amount of blood that leaked out of his head onto
the road. Doesn't that trouble you if he was killed

(16:18):
somewhere else, Yeah, it troubles me. Let's talk to doctor
Michelle Dupree, forensic pathologist, medical examiner, former detective, and author
of Homicide Investigation Field Guide. She literally has written the book. Okay,
doctor Dupree, jump in. So, I understand your concern about
the amount of blood on the roadway, and that's a

(16:40):
valid concern. But given the set of circumstances, I'm not
sure that that is something that we would really need
to hang our hats on. Again, you know, we need
to look at the total situation that touch how they
of the circumstances. If he was killed somewhere else and
then moved, that could explain that. But also depending on
the actual injury itself, a lot of times head injuries

(17:01):
do bleed profusely, but again depending on the injury, it
may bleed inside, and so we don't really know what
was actually found. At the same here's a question that
my producer Jackie has long had if the body. If
Steven's body is left in the middle of the road

(17:23):
really looking staged, of course that's not enough to go
one of the fact that it looks stage wasn't left
there with the intent that someone else would hit the body. Guys,
take a listen to our friends at wu CSC. Somebody
out there knows something. It's July eighth, twenty fifteen. A

(17:43):
driver on his way to work calls nine one to
report a body lying in the middle of the street
on Sandy Run Road. The victim turns out to be
nineteen year old Stephen Smith, a shy team, but a
funny and outgoing one to his inner circle. Smith was
openly gay in the small rule, South Carolina town he
grew up in. The blunt force trauma to his head

(18:05):
appears as a possible gunshot wound to the first responders
on the scene, but the coroner's office later rules his
death a hit and run. He also has injuries to
his left arm and left hand. So the first responder
to you, Blair Sable, joining US investigative reporter for Live
five News. The first responders thought, even shot in the head, Yeah,

(18:27):
they actually did a gunshot residue test to follow up
on that turns up wasn't the case. But that's how
bad the injury were to his head is They literally
thought he had been shot. When you say that's not
the case, he mean there was no gunshot residue around
the wound. No, he did not test positive fort residue. Okay,
let's here more about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of

(18:50):
his body from our friends at wc SC. Smith's carr
was found about three miles away on Bamberg Highway. It
won't start, but investigators find his wall inside the gas
cap also unscrewed. His family reports he would have never
left the car, calling him skittish, and his twin sister, Stephanie,
also tells authorities that her brother had become very secretive

(19:12):
about two weeks prior to the incident, and more. Documents
show investigators fielding tips about the Murdoch family in the
days and months following his death. The first tip comes
in early August, suggesting swirling rumors of a relationship between
Smith and Buster Murdoch Alec, Murdoch's eldest and now only
surviving son. An investigator also feels a tip about another

(19:34):
possible suspect, but that tipster tells them he passed along
the information at the request of a well known family patriarch,
former solicitor Randy Murdoch. Andrew says in the record she has,
the Murdoch name is mentioned forty times. Where there's smoke,
there's fire, there has to be something to it. Eventually,
the leads dried up and the case went cold. Okay,

(19:56):
by do you Blair, what do you? What is this about?
Former solicitor Randy Murdoch. Now this is Alex Murdoch's brother.
Information is passed along by Randy Murdoch. Essentially, in addition
to the rumor that gets fielded by authorities about Buster
being in a relationship with Stephen, there's also a tip

(20:17):
that gets submitted to authorities about Randy Murdoch. I believe
or one of the Murdochs telling someone to tell authorities
about something, even though seemingly on the surface there's no
release in between the Murdochs and the Smith Eric Bland,
isn't it true that I believe it was Randy Murdoch

(20:38):
coach Stephen Smith on a little league team on which
Buster Murdock also played. Is that right? I believe there
was some little league or youth baseball connection and they
were classmates as well as far as yes, they were
as far as Randy murdoch involvement. My understanding from a

(21:01):
number of sources, and I know Sandy has said this
on TV, so I'm not revealing attorney client privilege. She
said that he had called her husband Joel on the
phone and offered his services and maybe it had shown
up at the accident scene, and then called Sandy later
on in the morning the following morning and offered his

(21:23):
services to represent You may represent the Stephen Smith family
in a wrongful death case? Got it? Yes, I'm not
saying he was trolling. I'm not going to use that
word no, because that is unethical and disallowed under the
attorney barrels. Blair Sable. What do we know about any
of the Murdochs showing up at the crime at the

(21:45):
scene of Stephen Smith's body being found but not noted
in any of the investing unifiled. There's so many rumors
swirling around this case, so right now, that's a rumor
that we have yet to confirm. Guys, take a listen
to more about skid marks about vehicle debris, were there
any listen. More than seven years have passed since, and

(22:07):
the mysterious details of his final hours have weighed on
his mother, Sandy Smith, and the rest of the family.
It's draining Susanna Andrews has become a close friend to
them in their time of need. The family rejects the
hit and run theory. South Carolina Highway Patrols initial investigation
finds no vehicle debris, skid marks, or injuries consistent with

(22:27):
someone being struck by a vehicle. A heated discussion between
Trooper Todd Proctor and pathologist doctor Aaron Presnell reveals that
the death was ruled this way because Smith was found
in the road. Blue paint chips are found on Smith's clothes,
but cannot be traced to a specific make or model. Okay,
let me understand, doctor Michelle d pretty joining me from

(22:48):
South Carolina. So the cood cause of death, vehicular homicide
was because he was found in the road. Nancy, that's
unheard of. Actually, we certainly don't base the cause of
death on that. We base it on our finding and
the autopsy and again the surrounding circumstances. I can't explain

(23:09):
that is that true? Ery Bland. In the autopsy report,
this cod vehicular homicide because he's found in the road.
I mean if I set him up at the dining
room table in your house, would they say he died
of poisoning at high tea? I mean, that doesn't even
make any sense, correct, And that also shaped the investigation,
Nancy as doctor dupre Nos. The Highway Patrol investigated the death,

(23:33):
and they don't have the resources that their mate department
obviously thought it was a fatality of traffic fatality, but
they don't have the resources. If it was deemed a
homicide that didn't take place on the road, then it
would be within Sledge jurisdiction. And we know that the
resources that they have there are many FBI and so
there was the conflict of who should who should be

(23:55):
the investment of agency. And when you're having an that
kind of conflict, a lot of things get lost in
the shuffle. Okay, I'm trying to understand something. Area Bland,
Where did you get your intel that a Murdoch showed
up at the scene. Sandy Smith has said that on
National TV. Jack, could you confirm that place? Randy Murdoh
is not denied that. Ah okay, now let me ask you.

(24:17):
Karen Start is joining me. We're now psychologist out of Manhattan,
Prime and trauma expert. You can find her at Karenstart
dot com. Karen with a C. Karen, I want you
to take a Listen to Steven's mother. Listen. Oh my gosh,
We've been waiting on this forever. Sandy Smith wakes up

(24:38):
every morning thinking about her son Stephen and her years
long search for answers. And they said he was shot
in the hedge, and then it turned out it was
a hit and run, and then he was beat up
and showed a story just kept changing. Stephen Smith's body
was found along Sandy Run Road in Hampton County in
July of twenty fifteen. The official cause of death at

(25:01):
the time was that Smith died of a hitting run.
I just couldn't believe it, but he when they told
me hitting run, I said, that's impossible because Stephen wouldn't
have been walking in the road to start with. He
would have cut through the woods, he would not have
been in the highway. Time stories with Nancy Grace Karen

(25:38):
Start psychologists joining us. Karen the other morning I came
in the kitchen just before I hopped in the car
to take the twins to school, and I went, WHOA,
Lucy didn't I made John David's a breakfast. But Lucy
likes to make her own organic breakfast, you know, like
you might see it on a picture and Instagram. It's

(25:58):
beautifully arranged. Me just slinging out so and scrambled egg
is not going to work. So I walked in. I went, whooa,
did Lucy not have breakfast? Where's the toaster? Because she
always takes it out and gets her organic wheatbread and
then puts egg whites and pesto on top of it
and leaves all the stuff out, all the stuff to
clean and put away, which is fine. She's in a hurry.

(26:22):
And David said she put it away this morning because
I asked her to see. I knew that something was
wrong because every morning, God bless my little angel leaves
her toaster for me to see. If somebody told me
that my son, John David Lynch was out walking up
and down I seventy five, I'm like, no, that did

(26:43):
not happen. That's what the mother is saying. It's called
routine evidence. I don't mean standard typical evidence. I mean
evidence of a routine. She says, Stephen Smith, my son
would not have been walking down the middle of this
dark country road at night. He would have call somebody
if he ran out of gas or to take the
shortcut through the woods. This did not happen way in.

(27:05):
Karen Stark, Well, I know it's not hard evidence, Nancy,
but this is a mom, and as you said, moms
mothers know their children, and that's pretty clear that if
she's saying that her son would not have been walking
down that road, and if you put that together with
the fact that there's no glass, there's no he's in

(27:27):
the middle of the road, and we all know that
you get hit by a car, how do you wind
up exactly in the middle of the road. And I
just think it's suspicious that they originally said blonde trum
of course, and then all of a sudden it gets
changed to a hit and run. And we know that
this family has done a lot to change the rulings too.

(27:51):
They did a lot of nefarious things when it came
to cases. So I think we have to trust the
instincts seriously of this mother who really knows her son Hey,
you were hearing our friends at WYFF. Take a listen
to Katie Beck. Sandy Smith has been pushing for answers
in the death of her son, Stephen. The nineteen year

(28:11):
old was found dead in twenty fifteen in what state
investigators originally called a hit and run on a rural
road in Hampton County, South Carolina. As a mother, there's
questions that I need to ask, and there's questions I
need answers to. Smith believes the initial findings may have
been wrong and that someone murdered her son and staged

(28:33):
it to look like an accident. It's a case that's
never been solved, but as authorities looked into the murders
of Maggie and Paul Murdoch, they say information came to light,
prompting them to reopen Smith's investigation. To Blair Sabal joining
us from Live five News, number one, what are the
belief specs on Stephen Smith's body? And number two, what

(28:58):
do you believe was found in the double murder investigation
of Alex Murdog's wife and son, Maggie Paul that led
to the reopening of Steven Smith's case. Sure, and Nancy,
that's that's a great question and something I think not
just myself is wondering, but everyone has been asking since
that trial ended. But to your first question, I mean,

(29:20):
it's really what are the police thing? They're not saying
anything at this point. The only word we've gotten from
FLED is active and ongoing, and there have been no
information about what exactly was that piece of information that
reopened it takes. What about the blue specs on his body?

(29:41):
Do we know what they were? I believe the investigative
documents alluded to those being paint hips, and there was
an attempt buy investigators to try and match that to
a specific make and model, but they never conclusively was
able to what that was. Okay, that's total b asked

(30:01):
Chris mcdonnaugh. Yes, and so something to consider here is
if this if there's a secondary crime scene somewhere, talk
fine English. You're not talking to a bunch of detectives.
The NYPD got it, got it. So if there's another
place where these injuries occurred, then the first thing to

(30:22):
consider is the type of weapon. If a baseball bat
is utilized, those specs of paint could be coming from
that particular weapon. So that is one consideration. I mean, mcdonna, guys,
send the chips to Quantico. They can tell you and
one glance again, I'm looking down like I'm looking through

(30:45):
a microscope. There are there's a fleet of scientists at Quantico.
They can say, oh, that's off a car, that's off
a baseball bat. Guys were talking about microscopic specs. These
are not like big paint chips where you can say, oh, yeah,
that's definitely a paint hip. We don't know what they are.
And the only way to tell that. I mean, you're

(31:06):
going to go in a wild goose chase if you're
trying to match up to a car and it's actually
from baseball bat. As Chris mcdonnah has pointed out. So
what's the deal, Eric Bland, Why can't we get the
paint hips whatever they are? The specs tested? Well, I mean, look,
you certainly have been on Creton side. So would you
release information on your investigation? Huble l No, And I

(31:30):
know you're talking about Creton Waters, a lead prosecutor in
the y case. So you're saying we don't know yet,
you don't know if it's been sent off for testing.
What is the fancy? Was it phone evidence that they
found during the investigation of the Myrtle murders. Was there
something on someone's phone that we don't know that instigating

(31:51):
cause for them to reopen the investigation? And we don't
know what the grand jury has done. We know that
they are no longer in panel. You don't even know
what they've done over the previous two years. Well, let's
just think this whole thing through. Could have been cell
phone data, right that was uncovered during the investigation because
they probably looked at There was also a laptop recovered

(32:13):
from Paul's room. Is this doctor Dupree? It is there
was a laptop recover from Paul's room. Are you sure
Paul's room? You may be right about this and speaking
because it could be cell data, It could be information
from Paul's laptop. It could be as they're speaking to

(32:34):
potential witnesses in the double murder trial that someone mentioned
something about the Stephen Smith trial. I mean, do you
see how connected the double murder trial was to the
Mallory Beach case. Why do we assume there was no
similar connection to the Stephen Smith case. Now much has

(32:55):
been made about a an alleged relationship between the surviving
Murdoch's son, Buster Murdog, and the deceased teen Steven Smith.
Take a listen to our cut Tian. This is Anne McGill,
his mother launching her own private investigation into her son's death.
Smith was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run

(33:17):
Road from a supposed hidden run. His mother, Sandy, doesn't
believe that's the truth. Stephen was an openly gay teen
in rural Collinin County. In Rule Hampton County lawyers Eric
Bland and Ronnie Richter, the family lawyers, say they've already
raised more than sixty five thousand dollars to exhume Steven's body.
They need court permission before that process can begin. And

(33:39):
take a listen to Katie Beck in Our cut seven.
Smith's death has also received renewed attention from a recent
Netflix docuseriies about the Murdoch murders and other cases with
potential ties to the once prominent family. In multiple interviews,
locals discussed rumors of an alleged relationship but en Stephen

(34:00):
and Buster Murdoch. There are so many rumors swirling around
that Buster and Stephen were intimate together. Being gay in
the Murdoch family would have been looked down upon, and
as in the wake of all of these allegations swirling,
take a listen to our cutnight. Buster Murdoch has never

(34:22):
been charged with any crime in the case, and for
the first time this morning, he's denying any involvement, telling
NBC News exclusively in a statement, I've tried my best
to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen
Smith's tragic death that continue to be published in the
media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my

(34:43):
mother and brother. I love them so much and miss
them terribly. Buster Murdoch, who took this stand in his
father's trial, adding these baseless rumors of my involvement with
Stephen and his death are false. I unequivocally deny any
involvement in his death. My heart goes out to the
Smith family. Okay, to you Eric Bland, who is helping

(35:05):
Stephen Smith's mother, Sandy in her process. As you just heard,
she's already raised nearly seventy thousand dollars on her own
on a go fund Me, and Bland is helping her
navigate the legal system. You've got to have a court
order to exhume a body just can't go down to
the cemetery and start digging. Doesn't work like that. That

(35:27):
is tampering with the corpse. So she's got to go
through legal channels to make it happen. Eric Bland, Now
Buster murdog is speaking out denying any connection to Stephen Smith,
or at least a connection that's been alleged in that
being that they're in a relationship. Did he speak too soon?
Should he have broken his silence? I can't advise him
on what he should have done at this point. I

(35:50):
don't know that there's any connection with Buster murdole. And
so at this point, Buster's trying to grieve the loss
of his mother and his brother, and I guess come
to grips with the act of as father's a you
know a man, you know, a heinous murderer that's going
to be serving life, double life without parole. I don't
have any knowledge of any connection between Buster and Stephen Smith.

(36:16):
My job is to get this body exhumed, hire people
that can tell me what happened, and then if there
is that secondary accident instancing as Chris talked about, then
facts will take care of themselves and the matter will
progress and I'll put it in law enforcement hands. I

(36:36):
want to work with law enforcement. I want to give
them everything we got that we obtained. I don't expect
that they're going to share with what they have, and
if we have enough information that they should go forward,
the facts are going to go where they go. I'm
not going to sit here though, and impugne buster myrtle
without any evidence. I just don't. I don't have it well.

(36:57):
First of all, saying that someone is gay is not
impugning them because being gay, last I checked, is not
a crime number one, but number two, there's no evidence
that that's true other than you know, rumors and gossip.

(37:17):
I could every time I walked into or around the
Carleton County Courthouse, I would be besieged by different people,
not necessarily court personnel, no, but people that were interested
in the case. And we're saying this. That doesn't make
it true. That is not allowed in a courtroom. In fact,

(37:38):
if you try to bring in some allegation like that,
some claim and it's shown to be false, then you're
the idiot for trying to bring in false information. And
it goes so far to you know what, take a
listen to our cut twelve our friends at WCSC. The
son of convicted murderer Alec Murdoch, has made a statement

(37:59):
for the first time regarding the twenty fifteen death of
Stephen Smith. A statement this morning from Buster Murdoch reads,
I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my
heart goes out to the Smith family. This comes after
the death of nineteen year old Stephen Smith, who authorities
say was hidden killed by a vehicle just fifteen miles
from the Murdoch's home. Murdoch asked that his name they

(38:21):
removed from media coverage of Smith's death, as he has
not officially been connected to that case. Now we saw
at trial when Alex Murdoch had told a lie about
being in the kennels at the time or just before
the time of the murtyrs. That was his undoing. I'm
telling you that line when he took the stand was

(38:42):
his undoing. Many people would argue that Buster should not
speak out. Well, he has. He was a classmate of
Stephen Smith's. I believe they played on a baseball team together,
he says. That is the end of his knowledge of
this case. Nancy, let me get me, let me short
circuit for you. Yes they are. They're itching for a

(39:02):
defamation trial. The Murdochs and Buster are itching for some
kind of defamation charge to be brought, a complaint against
someone who is going to say something about Buster that
may impugne his character. Take a listen to this. Smith's
death has also received renewed attention from a recent Netflix

(39:23):
docuse series about the Murdoch murders and other cases with
potential ties to the once prominent family. In multiple interviews,
locals discussed rumors of an alleged relationship between Stephen and
Buster Murdoch. There are so many rumors swirling around that
Buster and Stephen were intimate together. Being gay in the

(39:44):
Murdoch family would have been looked down upon and more.
Buster Murdoch has never been charged with any crime in
the case, and for the first time this morning, he's
denying any involvement, telling NBC News exclusively in his statement,
I've tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about
my involvement in Stephen Smith's tragic death that continue to

(40:08):
be published in the media as I grieve over the
brutal murders of my mother and brother. I love them
so much. And miss them terribly. Buster Murdoch, who took
this stand in his father's trial, adding these baseless rumors
of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false.
I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my

(40:28):
heart goes out to the Smith family. Well, let's just
fix that right now. There is no evidence that Stephen
Smith was in a relationship with Buster Mardog. And while
he's grieving the murder of his mother and his brother,
now he feels he's got to defend himself in another case.
Let's just do one thing at a time. Let's get

(40:50):
the body exhumed, Let's find the true cause of death,
and then move forward and leave Buster Murdog alone. Ronnie
Rictor just keep thinking about Steven Smith's mother, Sandy Dandy Smith.
You might imagine this is a mother grieving looking for answers.

(41:10):
She was told eight years ago that her son was
killed in a hit and run, and everything inside of
her told her that was not true. And so after
eight years, finally to get a call from the state's
top cop to say, we believe in you, we believe
in this case, and we're devoted to getting to the truth.
Of what happened to your son. It was a seminal
moment for Sandy Smith. She is elated, she's reassured, and

(41:34):
she's reinvigorated to see that justice is finally done for Stephen.
Ronnie racked her. Let me understand, what is the what
will the progression of the Stephen Smith case be? Now? Well,
we don't control what FLED is doing, but we do
control what we're doing, and we intend fully to go
forward with the exclamation of Stephen's body, to have that

(41:57):
independent autops he'd done that we've talked about, to answer
the first question, which is the first domino, which is
what what happened to Stephen Smith. It's only after we
get past that first domino that we could start looking
at the other dominoes like who who did this to Stephen?
And then the most important domino of all, why why

(42:18):
would somebody do this to Sandy Smith's beautiful son. So
that's the that's the priority for us. We're devoted to
see those questions to the end. Guys with us Ronnie Richter,
partner in Bland Richter, their law firm, has taken it
upon themselves pro bono to help Stephen Smith's family in

(42:40):
their search for the truth about what happened to Sandy's
son Stephen. I mean, wouldn't you want to know? Can
you imagine all these years being tortured with the belief
that the true cause of his death had been covered up?
Back to you, Ronnie Richter, again, thank you for being
with us. How soon do you think the exhimation can

(43:02):
take place? You still have to get court permission. It's
going to be a process, and that process starts with
coordinating through a local funeral home that petitions the coroner's
office for a permit for the disinterment, the transportation and
the reinterment of a body. Now, the coroner's office is
unwilling to issue that permit. The court is a backstop,

(43:24):
and we'd had the ability to go to court and
get a court order directing it. Now, once we have
that permit in hand, the process is having Steven's body
transported to the ultimate location where this autopics is going
to take place. And I can tell you that we've
been We've been blessed to be reached out to by
local and national experts who've done this before. And our

(43:47):
job right now is depict the very best team possible.
I don't care where in the country we have to
send this body, but we're going to have it done right,
and we're gonna have it done right the first time
we wait as justice some folt. Goodby,

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Host

Nancy Grace

Popular Podcasts

24/7 News: The Latest

Therapy Gecko

The Joe Rogan Experience

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}BOMBSHELL TROUBLE FOR ALEX MURDAUGH: Teen Stephen Smith Death is Homicide