Buster Murdaugh.Photo: Joshua Boucher/The State via AP
Buster Murdaughis vehemently denying he had anything to do with the mysterious death of South Carolina teenStephen Smithin 2015.
“I have 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 mother and brother,” Buster, 27, said in a statement on Monday released through his attorney, Jim Griffin.
“I love them so much and miss them terribly,” he wrote.
Buster’s mother and younger brother were found dead on the grounds of their sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton on June 7, 2021.
“I haven’t spoken up until now because I want to live in private while I cope with their deaths and my father’s incarceration,” said Buster, Alex’s only surviving son. “This has gone on far too long. These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false.
Stephen Smith.Facebook
He was found three miles away from where his car had run out of gas, with deep gashes on his forehead, severallocal news outlets reported.
Officials said he was killed in a hit and run accident, which Smith’s family has long disputed.
No arrests were ever made in the case.
In 2021, after the murders of Maggie and Paul, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reopened the case based on information investigators learned from the Murdaugh murder case.
Smith’s family and SLED have never implicated the Murdaugh family in Smith’s death.
Buster Murdaugh and Smith were high school classmates.
Buster’s statement came four days after Smith’s family announced in aGoFundMethat they have raised enough money to exhume his body for an independent autopsy.
The GoFundMe had originally aimed for $15,000 in donations. As of Monday, the GoFundMe has raised more than $68,000.
“Our family is so very grateful to all of you who came together to help us in our fight for justice for Stephen,” Sandy Smith wrote. “I could not have imagined when we began this fundraiser that it would take off the way that it did. Thank you for not allowing Stephen’s story to be swept under a rug.”
Smith ‘Did Not Die on That Road,’ Lawyer Says
In a virtual press conference on Monday,attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter announced that they are now representing the Smith family and are reinvestigating the case.
Noting that Smith was found with “loosely tied shoes still on his feet” and no skid marks or vehicular debris near his body, his mother, Sandy Smith, “has never accepted the conclusion of the cursory investigation following his death that concluded that his death was the result of a hit and run,” Richter said.
The gas cap on Smith’s vehicle had been removed, indicating that he was out of gas.
But he left his wallet in his car and did not use his cell phone to call for help, Richter said.
Richter announced that he and Bland are launching a new investigation “in the hopes of finding real answers to the questions that still persist.”
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“What we are going to do is start over,” Bland said about the Smith investigation.
“We are going to hire experts who are going to come into case with a fresh set of eyes, with an open mind, without any preconceived notions,” Bland said.
“This is not an Alex Murdaugh 2.0, or any Murdaugh 2.0,” Bland said. “This is the Stephen Smith 2.0. It’s all about Stephen.”
“We think that he did not die on that road that fateful night,” Bland continued. “We think that there was other reasons and other causes that caused his death.”
Buster Murdaugh.Grace Beahm Alford/AP/Shutterstock
In the meantime, Richter urged anyone with information about Smith’s death to come forward.
He and Bland said they will hand over anything they learn in the investigation to SLED.
In a statement toCNN, SLED said it “has made progress in the death investigation of Stephen Smith. However this investigation remains active and ongoing.”
SLED did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison and is appealing his conviction. He still faces a host of financially-related charges for allegedly embezzling millions from clients and his former firm.
source: people.com
