I found Stephen Smith’s case as I was just looking through some of the information on the Murdaugh family. This 19 year old young man seems to have a cloud of mystery around him. I’ll take you through it with me as I find information. Before we get started, I want to tell you two things. Number 1: I do some research, then I type. I do some more research, then I type some more. I research more, I type more. I add and add until I think I’m done. I know that sounds crazy but it’s what I do a lot of the time. Number 2: ALL NAMES, LOCATIONS AND INFORMATION I FIND IN THIS WRITE-UP IS OUT THERE FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE. I read articles, watch and listen to videos and look for released information from law enforcement. Everything is coming from information readily available to the public to search for and find.

Here we go! Stephen’s body was found in the middle of Sandy Run Rd. by Mr. Ronnie Capers at 0357 on July 8, 2015. Mr. Capers was on his way to work when he saw the young man’s body lying in the middle of the rural roadway. Law enforcement first arrived on the scene at 0407 and immediately thought the right side head wound was from a gunshot. There were no skid marks, no glass, no debris, his shoes were still on and oddly in tact. The shoes remaining on and in tact point to no classic hit and run incident. Although it is possible, generally, shoes do not stay on the victim’s feet. Time of death was listed at 0300, about an hour before he was found.

As you can see…the positioning of his body is an immediate red flag. Well, it is to me at least! This young man is literally in the middle of the road, and his body looks “placed” in that spot. His arms and legs aren’t sprawled out. There doesn’t seem to be, at first glance, any injuries other than a head wound. Arms and legs do not appear broken. A pool of blood can be seen from his head but no path of blood. By that I mean, there’s no blood trail from his body going across the pavement. I have found out that his right shoulder was dislocated and his right eye socket broken. So, with all that and being in the middle of the road, this doesn’t appear to be a head-on hit and run at all. And who in the hell walks in the middle of the road? I seriously doubt this young man was struck by the front of any vehicle. Now, could he have been struck by part of a vehicle or an object sticking out of a vehicle? I do believe that is possible. The roadway was clear. Trees are on one side and corn on the other. There are no sharp turns or hills. I am even questioning, at this moment, was this young man killed “on the road” or possibly killed and thrown out right here. Stephen’s phone doesn’t appear to have any damage, which is insane to me. I have read that it was retrieved from his pocket. One would expect it to come out of his pocket or at least have some damage from his body skidding across a road. It’s just another red flag to me. Even the coroner’s words, upon arriving and looking at the scene and the body got me. He said, “This is not a hit and run. This is a murder.” Oh! And his key was in his pocket as well! But there’s been no mention of his wallet.

Ok, so we have a time of death listed as 0300 and a young man lying dead in the middle of a rural road. I have to ask myself where was he supposed to be and find the missing pieces. Stephen’s parents did not live together and his mother, Sandy Smith, last saw him a week earlier on July 1. He told her that he was going on a trip, a deep sea fishing trip. She, of course, asked with whom and he avoided telling her a name. The only information he gave was that the gentleman was a “prominent person”. Now, I need to add that Stephen was openly gay and usually only interested in older men. So I’m sure this definitely peeked his mother’s curiousity. He was also in school studying to be a nurse and hopefully a doctor later on. She has also stated he was acting out of character around that time. She said he “played hookey” from school and that he NEVER skipped school in the past. Fast forward to July 7 now. The night before he was found dead, Stephen was supposed to be at his dad’s house. I’m not sure what time he was expected to arrive, only that he was supposed to arrive by that evening. On the morning of the 8th, news broke of a body being found and Sandy Smith immediately thought of her son because the location reported on the news was close to his father’s house. I believe his body was found about 2 miles from his father’s house and his car was about 5 miles from the residence. She called his sister to check on him and his sister was wondering if Stephen was with her because he never came home the night before. Both women immediately felt sick with dread. So, there’s quite a large window of time missing here, possibly a six hour or more window. It also may be a three hour window. I’m honestly not sure. I’ll get into more of the evidence in a bit, I promise. But let’s move on to the absence of a vehicle.

Looking back at the pictures above, there’s no civilian vehicle in sight. So naturally, you wonder how he ended up in the area. His yellow Chevy was found a few miles away, off Bamberg Hwy., with the gas tank open and gas cap off. The battery was working but the car wouldn’t start. Oddly, his wallet was still in the car. Let’s see the pictures and see what we get from them. Most pictures came from “The Interview Room” YouTube channel.

My thoughts looking at this picture start with wondering what time he pulled over, if he actually pulled his car over here at all. If he did, why didn’t he call his dad or sister for a ride. He was close to them, in distance, and anyone that I know would’ve made that call for a ride. Also, the time wouldn’t have mattered either. If he really pulled his car over right here, no matter what time, why not call for someone to pick him up?

There doesn’t seem to be damage to the car. Nothing else really sticks out except the gas cap.

This shot of the car shows no damage either. I only note the gas cap and where the car is actually located. There is literally a blacktop area to the left of the car that is off the road. Anyone I know, including myself, would have just parked in or coasted to the paved area. It’s a little odd.

This picture shows me that he was rather neat and tidy. There are items on the back seat together and not strung about. There is a trash bag on the floor of the car indicating he doesn’t just throw trash in the floorboard. Moving along.

Ok, we can tell law enforcement has moved things to take pictures of all items inside the car. The notebook, I would assume, is from school. The brush and deodorant tells me he cares about his appearance and hygiene.

I immediately take note of the 10W-30 oil bottles. His car presumably has an oil problem.

I still note the oil bottles. I also notice the water jug and there was another in a picture above. Does his car overheat? Hell, I’m not sure why jugs of water would be needed. Now, he was reported to have been at a lake earlier the day before. He possibly brought the water to drink while there. I also notice two more deodorant sticks. Maybe he sweated a lot? That’s a lot of deodorant! The lemonade, juice and glass could’ve also been used at the lake. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one to drink from the glass or bottles too. I really hope those were tested.

More oil bottles in front floor board, I see. There is a school book and binder on the seat. He like Ritz crackers and there lies his wallet. Could it have slid off the seat into that spot? Could it have been placed there by someone else? Why wasn’t it in his pocket?

Who leaves their wallet behind in their car? If your car breaks down and you have to start walking, who takes their cell phone but not their wallet? Men generally keep their wallets in their pockets. This wallet looks placed there to me. I don’t like this at all.

The trunk is also clean, just like the rest of the car. There is yet another bottle of oil for the car. He obviously had a pretty good leak somewhere!

This screams “STAGED” to me! How many people run out of gas and then look in the gas tank? This makes zero sense to me. If you’re out of gas, you’re out of gas! No one takes off the gas cap and peers inside the little gas hole! His mother stated in an interview with Court TV that he has ran out of gas before and always called his sister. This leads me to believe something happened to him either here or somewhere else and his car was planted here or someone tried to make it appear out of gas. The fact that the car is in the grass, near the woods, and not on the little strip of pavement to the side of the road adds to the possibility someone else parked this car here or there was another vehicle pulled up along the side his car on the left at one point.

Those tire impressions lead me to think someone could’ve pulled up alongside his car. Was he taken forcefully from this spot? I also need to note that I read he called the older man he had been seeing but I do not know who that is. I haven’t dug real hard into that either for the fact LE never seemed to have him on their radar based on any of the evidence and such. He, from the research I have done, didn’t have anything to do with what happened to Stephen. However, I don’t know what time he made the call or what was discussed. I’ll make a note of this and look more into it.

I have also wondered about the driver’s seat position. Did it match Stephen’s height? Was the seat too far forward or too far back? I’m assuming fingerprinting was done and all debris was examined. This whole thing stinks so far. The cloud looming over this case just gets thicker and darker. I found pictures of Stephen’s clothing on that YouTube channel, “The Interview Room” and I have to say, a lot of his clothing doesn’t add up either.

The scene seems odd to me. I have to agree with the gentleman in the YouTube video that it’s odd to be walking in the middle of the road. First of all, there are no indications of the body sliding across the pavement. Secondly, based on the inside of the car’s appearance and the way he is described by family, Stephen seemed to be the type of guy that would not walk in the middle of the roadway. What I mean by the car’s appearance is that he didn’t seem scattered or messy. Most people, when walking down a road, tend to walk on the side of the road. But I, along with others, could see a messy/scattered type of individual possibly walking down the middle of a road. Either way, it still doesn’t add up for the average person. Plus, based on reports of him being at the lake earlier that day, it was more than likely dark or close to it when whatever happened to him. Who walks down the middle of the road in the dark? No one I know!

The two screenshots above show major fractures of the skull. The one to the forehead was noted to possibly be from a side mirror of a truck. That’s one hell of a hit! Now, do I believe it definitely came from a side mirror? No, but I won’t rule it out either. There only seem to be two hits. A blow to the forehead and an impact, from the road, to the back of the head. Could he have been struck in the head and thrown out of a truck? That is possible.

Here is the shirt Stephen was wearing. I note the blood stain on the collar of the shirt, which makes sense with the massive head wound. But due to the shirt being black, I cannot tell if there is blood anywhere else on the front of the shirt. The red arrows don’t indicate anything to me, other than the white lines on the shirt itself. If you look close, you can see possible blood on those white lines. That DOES NOT add up to the position of the body!

Stephen’s shorts present some questions. I’m assuming these are blood stains but not 100% sure, of course. The upper left arrow looks like possible fingertip smudges. Could they be transferred and not from Stephen’s hands? With the type of wound he had, I wouldn’t think these came from his hands. The arrows on the right show areas of possible blood stains, but that wouldn’t exactly make sense either. If he was struck by a side mirror of a moving truck, how would those stains end up there? To me, these are possible transfer stains.

His shoes appear to be wet but I cannot tell. I notice the sand and still wonder, if he was struck by a truck, how they remained on his feet. I haven’t seen any socks so, here again, I’m presuming he just slipped his shoes on when leaving the water the day before he was found.

Alright, I’m no blood spatter expert and I’m damn sure not Dexter! Let’s just get that clear right now! But I see this and wonder how in the hell did a blood drop get right there. To me, that drop could only get in that spot from blood hitting a surface and casting off to where it landed, which still doesn’t add up to me. Or did this drop come from someone standing over Stephen? When I say standing over, I mean either from someone’s hand, face, arm, etc or from an object someone is holding. Think about it.

Here is the close up of that drop. There’s actually a few drops there but the one is clear in this shot. Think about the head wound and the position of the body. Think about where blood was at the scene. See why this drop stands out?

The close up shot of that area shows the droplets are rather circular and not splattered. Here again, I’m no expert but those droplets look like they fell straight down. I could be very wrong. If anyone has another theory please enlighten me. Maybe I’m just not considering a situation where these drops could end up here like they did.

Before I talk about the sand and dirt, look at his left shoe. That is the shoe from the pictures above. Ask yourself how in the hell those blood drops got on the front toe of that shoe. Now, onto the sand and dirt. That appears to be sand to me, which makes plenty of sense. That area has tons of sand and him being at the water the day before totally adds up. What doesn’t add up to me is the fact that most of the sand remained on the bottom of his shoe, yet his car was approximately three miles away from his body. He walked three miles on pavement and all that sand stayed there? Nope. I’m not buying it. I can see the sand staying on top of the shoes but not on the bottom. I also checked the weather from that evening/early morning. It wasn’t raining and his time of death was one hour before being found. That sand is still there and for the main part, dry.

This “unknown substance” referred to in the video could be a few things. It could be wet sand, dirt or blood soaked sand or dirt. I’m not sure and that’s the analyst’s job. If it’s wet sand, I want to know how and wet with what. If it’s blood mixed with sand or dirt, I still want to know how. There wasn’t any blood at his feet at the scene. Regardless, the sample can be tested to tell where the sand or dirt came from as well. I’m interested in knowing that answer.

In looking at all the clothing, as a whole, it is rather odd that his clothes appear to be in good condition. By that, I mean, there’s no holes or road rash evidence on the clothing. If someone is hit by a vehicle or thrown from one as it’s moving, the body will skid across the roadway. Where is the evidence of that? There is no indication of road rash or torn clothing. I have seen the back of his shirt and pants as well. No markings to indicate being thrown or hit is on them.

Let’s deep dive down this insane rabbit hole, shall we? There seems to be 4 theories out there. Theory #1 is Buster Murdaugh. Theory #2 is Marc. Theory #3 is Connelly. Theory #4 is the escort service. I’ll go through all 4 with everything I’ve found so far.

Now, if you’ll remember at the beginning, I mentioned coming across this case while being nosy about the Murdaugh murders. I don’t watch the news much, but I know the Murdaugh family was in the news quite a bit due to the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh and the husband/father (Alex Murdaugh) being convicted for it. I initially wasn’t understanding the connection between this case and the Murdaugh name. I had to just read everything I could find. Apparently, there were rumors that went around about a possible romantic relationship between Stephen and the oldest Murdaugh son, Buster. I know at least three friends/acquaintances came forward saying they had knowledge of this relationship; Kayla, Issac and Cameron. I also want to add that I read an article that addressed a conversation with Stephen’s sister. She claimed that a classmate told her that Buster was in a vehicle that evening and that he struck Stephen in the head with a bat from a moving truck. I listened to a YouTube video that had audio recordings released by law enforcement talking to a number of Buster’s and Stephen’s classmates. They allegedly played baseball together. The recordings involved people by the names of Jessica Smith (Stephen’s sister), Brianna, Ben, Victoria, Angela and Xavier. Some heard that Buster did the crime. One heard “they”, meaning Buster and a couple friends, beat him and tossed him from a truck. Some were told of a relationship. Some were not aware of that rumor. Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered June 7, 2021. SLED (South Carolina Law Enforcement Division) reopened Stephen’s case on June 23, 2021. Things that make ya go hmmm! This adds so many puzzle pieces to the already insane case of Stephen Smith!

#1 First off, let me go back a bit to the morning Stephen’s body was found, because two specific events were such red flags that I immediately got that hair-raising, goose bumps feeling. I’ve learned enough about this family to know that when something goes wrong, phone calls are immediately made to Alex, Randy and/or their father. At 0930, that morning, Alex and Randy showed up at the scene of Stephen’s body. They were both let behind the crime scene tape by Hampton County Sheriff’s Office, according to a few articles I read. Why??? How did they know? Why would they be there at all? Why would law enforcement let them into the crime scene? How did they find out? I mean, shit, they knew BEFORE Stephen’s parents were even notified! Stephen’s mom, Sandy, saw both Murdaugh brothers at the scene that morning as she and her other children drove past the scene heading to the funeral home. Randy actually called her immediately and said, “Was that you that just passed by? I wish you would’ve stopped so I could’ve met you.” He was also seen at the scene the following day with investigators. Did someone make a call to daddy between 3-3:30 am? Mr. Smith, sadly passed away three months after his son, said the second call he received that morning was odd. According to Mr. Smith, Randy Murdaugh was the second person to call him right after he spoke with the coroner. Randy offered to take Stephen’s case pro bono. What the hell?! By the way, he ditched the case soon after! He’s also suing his brother, Alex, for thousands in unpaid loans!

Buster Murdaugh seems to have been brought up numerous times in the beginning of Stephen’s case. In fact, the original case file mentions Buster and the name Murdaugh dozens of times. He never spoke to Highway Patrol investigators or the public until two weeks after his father’s murder convictions. That’s when he told the public his alibi and he denied having any involvement in Stephen’s death. Buster says on the night of Stephen’s murder he was at the family’s Edisto beach house with his mom and brother, Maggie and Paul. That’s a little inconvenient, since his mom and brother are no longer here to verify that alibi.

Remember when I mentioned that Stephen’s mom said he talked with her on July 1, 2015, a week before his death, and said he was going on a deep sea fishing trip with “someone prominent”? Could he have meant Buster or was he referring to someone else? Did he even go on a fishing trip? I have no idea and haven’t seen anything about that week and fishing. His phone would definitely show whether that happened or not.

During SLED’s investigation into Maggie and Paul’s murders, they must have found something VERY IMPORTANT if they opened their own investigation into Stephen’s murder. What could they have found? I’ve read that people may have come forward about the rumored relationship between Buster and Stephen, now that the Murdaugh family has fallen and doesn’t scare the public as much as they did in the past. People around the area have spoken in the past about it being “Murdaugh Country” there and that you don’t want to go against that family. I’ve also read that people think Stephen’s phone and tablet hold key information that possibly links him to Buster. Either way, I have been doing this a long time and I can tell you that people ALWAYS talk and usually at least 3-5 people know the truth.

Here is a picture of an interview between Buster and a SLED detective after the murders of his mom and brother. He’s in the passenger seat of the SUV answering questions about the incident when he’s directly asked about Stephen and the rumors that he was involved. He’s looking out the window, drops his head and does this before answering.

Now, doesn’t that seem odd? Last thing I’ll add about this family for a bit is the ruthlessness I’ve read about. The men in this family seem rough. One video discusses when Randolph Murdaugh’s wife, Libby, was going to leave him he posted an actual obituary for her in the Low Country paper. She ended up staying with him after that incident. Doesn’t that scream WTF?!

Speaking of Stephen’s phone, Sandy Smith, his mom, asked the FBI to crack into his phone in 2016. According to her, one agent told her there was a lot of information that needed to be looked into. Right after that, all progress stopped. Sandy says, “There’s something on that phone that nobody wants out there.” Lawyers agree with her on that statement. Since then, his phone and tablet have been investigated so let’s hope they help solve this!

Rumors have been told that Buster and friends were driving around that night and that he struck Stephen in the head with a bat. Now, Dr. Michelle DuPre, a retired investigator and forensic pathologist, thinks Stephen died from a single blow to the head and died where he was found. Dr. Kenny Kinsey states, “Whatever hit him was fast and it was large.” With a dislocated right shoulder, broken right eye socket and 7.25 inch forehead/head wound, what could’ve caused that from a moving vehicle? Doctors don’t believe it was a bat or tire iron. How about a shovel?

#2 The second theory involves a man named Marc Bickhardt. According to Jessica Smith, Stephen’s sister, this man showed up at Stephen’s wake claiming to be his boyfriend. He made a quick call, in front of Jessica, and said, “Yea, Stephen’s dead.” and just hung up the phone. He asked what happened to Stephen and Jessica told him it was a hit and run. He disagreed and said he was beaten to death. He asked if Stephen was sexually assaulted and then left. The family was taken back and confused. Hell, me too! Law enforcement met him at his home to ask him some questions. I have listened to the audio. He was in his late 40s and stated he was on a medication, which I found out is used for bipolar and schizophrenia. He talked kind of crazy, in my opinion. He said he met Stephen a year prior when he was 18. Marc said they spoke and texted the night Stephen died. He said, while they were on the phone, he could hear trucks going by and dogs barking. He asked him if he was walking and Stephen said no. He said the last call was at 3 and the last text was at 0337.

Jessica says that Marc claimed he and Stephen got into an argument about a 22 year old man and that Marc showed her pictures of the man. She said the person in the picture appeared to be 13 years old! She doesn’t believe he knew her brother as long as he claimed. And with that, I present you with this screen shot of his Facebook status change. It says May of 2015 but the status change was actually made on June 22, 2015, 16 days before Stephen’s murder. And remember, Stephen’s mom and sister said he was acting different about two weeks before he was killed. Was it because of this man or the “prominent man” he spoke of?

I have a few screenshots of messages, from a month after Stephen’s death, between Marc and the aunt of a child he had been messaging. I’ve chosen not to put those here but she’s extremely upset at Marc for messaging her nephew. She orders him to stop, reminds him of the boy’s age and threatens action if he doesn’t stop. Marc is pretty much rude and denies all she says. He just seems gross and creepy!

#3 In talking with law enforcement, Marc also brings up a possible explanation and motive for his murder. That leads to the third theory and I’ll get to that now. Marc tells LE about an escort service via Craigslist that Stephen was participating in. Believe it or not, Stephen’s sister confirms this. Stephen was using the escort service as a way to make money. Marc said when Stephen came over Saturday, which would’ve been July 4, he said that Marc was gonna have to get waxed. Marc said he told him he wasn’t comfortable with that and they are boyfriend and boyfriend. This makes no sense to me! And I also want to add that on July 4, according to what Stephen told him mom, he was at/on the ocean with the prominent guy. Back to the escort thing. Sandy found a pass to a gated community on Hilton Head in his car. LE reached out to the man that Stephen met up with. He claimed that on June 28th he texted Stephen, due to the Craigslist ad, and that Stephen came over. He insists no money was exchanged. This proves he was actively meeting men through the ads but doesn’t prove it lead to his murder. I have to say that SLED opening a case file on Stephen’s murder, while investigating the Murdaugh murders, poses the possibility that a Murdaugh man could have contacted him via one of those ads.

#4 I found out a tip came in about 5 months after Stephen’s murder. Darrell Williams claims his step-son, Patrick Wilson, told him some interesting information about the Smith case. Patrick claimed a buddy of his, Shawn Connelly, confessed to hitting someone on accident with his truck. He said Mr. Connelly told him that he accidentally struck something with the side mirror of his truck and when he finally went back to see what it was, there was law enforcement everywhere. That’s how he knew he had hit Stephen Smith. Now, I’ll admit, that’s quite unsettling. Could it be true? Sure. But I haven’t found where the tip panned out. I haven’t seen where LE has anything concrete on that story. After some more digging I found more information on this. Wilson and Connelly were originally on the radar. Both were teenagers at the time and lived a few miles from where Stephen was found. I’m not sure which one contacted the other, but Williams verified that Randy Murdaugh told him to send in the “tip”. Randy, as many of you know, is Alex Murdaugh’s brother. It makes one wonder what scheme he was up to. According to FitsNews, Wilson was facing felony charges that were dropped shortly thereafter. Within a year of Stephen’s murder, Randy also filed two motor vehicle lawsuits against Connelly on behalf of clients. Both cases ended up being dismissed by judges who were friends of the Murdaugh family. Sounds kind of convenient, huh? This isn’t the only tip at the time though. Wanna know something crazy? On December 7, 2015, a tip is called in naming Buster and two of his friends as having involvement. I’ve heard audio of LE making contact with one of the friends and asking questions. Now, two days later on December 9, 2015, Mr. Williams calls in his tip as ordered by Randy Murdaugh. Is your head spinning yet? Mine definitely is! Did the Murdaugh men get wind of the tip about Buster and proceed to get Williams to call in that “tip”?

Well, there you have it! I’ll add more at a later date if I come across other things. Stephen’s murder, on the outside, looks like it would be easily solved. Looking inside, it’s a web of hell! Do I have a rock solid opinion of what happened and who did it? No. I will say I’m hoping more people come forward with what they know now that the Murdaugh “hold” on that county seems to have lost it’s grip. I’m hoping Stephen’s phone and tablet give much needed insight into what happened. I hope all questions can be answered as well! I’ll list some of the questions and see what you think. As always, thank you for reading and please visit again!

1. Was Stephen killed in that spot on the roadway or put there?
2. What object hit him that caused those injuries?
3. Who hit him and why?
4. Did he walk that 3 miles from his car or was he picked up?
5. How did blood get on his clothes and shoes the way it did?
6. Why didn’t he just call his sister?
7. What do the phone and tablet show?
8. Where was he, if not walking, during the time he left his car?
9. Why was his wallet in his car and in the that particular spot?
10. Why was his car pulled up on the grass near the woods and not on the paved spot?
11. Who do those tire tracks belong to?
12. Why was the gas cap off?
13. Was the driver’s seat moved at all?
14. Was the car actually out of gas?
15. How did he end up in the middle of the road?
16. What was on the bottom of his shoes?
17. Where was Buster that night?
18. How did the Murdaugh men (Alex and Randy) find out about Stephen so quick?
19. Why were they at the scene?
20. Why did Randy call both parents?
21. Why did Randy order Williams to call in the tip?
22. Did Buster have any involvement?
23. Where was Stephen that week?
24. Did he go fishing?
25. Was he with the “prominent man”?
26. Did he have a relationship with Buster or any Murdaugh men?
27. Was Marc just a fan of Stephen or was there more there?
28. Does the escort service have anything to do with his murder?
29. Could the Connelly tip be real?