Christian Andreacchio: Part 4

Posted on December 26, 2025 by Life and Lemons

OK, let’s jump right in! I’m going to try and keep this as straight as I can but I tend to go in lots of directions. Sorry for that, guys!

Gun night, what the hell is gun night? To me, it’s a BS excuse they used to explain GSR being present and possibly where the plan/discussion was had about the money Christian had in his lock box and the life insurance policy that W thought had her listed as beneficiary. Rae hired PI’s to find out what happened to her son and part of that included asking Matt and Jett Miller about gun night. At first, Jett Miller claimed the only ones there were him, Matt and Whitley. He claimed they were out on Hayes Rd, a dirt road by his house, shooting his 40. Jett said Whitley shot the gun a few times, along with him and Matt both. He said Matt and W had only been together a week or two and that she was very jealous and had anger issues. When asked why Matt would say W never shot the gun, he said that Matt was just covering for her. Matt, however, says that the attendees were him, Jett, W and some friends. Some friends? So, now there were others there as well? The PI’s found out that Zack Tabb and Hayes Mitchell were other possible participants that evening. Matt said W was too scared to shoot so she just sat and observed. He stated that she sat in his lap while he covered her ears. Do we really believe she was too scared to shoot? While speaking with Matt, the PI’s figure out that W had several burner phones as well. The girl has got some issues! Anyway, the only importance of gun night is it puts Whitley with Matt, which is the reason Christian came home plus the GSR excuse W gave to LE. But if she was so damn scared to shoot and had to have someone cover her ears, how did all that GSR get on her hands?

Arrest report, via Facebook, of Jett Miller

Dallas Steele gave a voluntary statement about gun night. Whitley told her that she and Matt shot guns that night but when she asked Matt, he said W did not shoot. Dallas had a friend of hers call and ask Jett about it and he said no, neither of them shot the gun that night. All these different stories about that night! Who was there and who wasn’t there…who shot and who didn’t shoot…all the stumbling over words and such…make it make sense! When asked about W as a person, Dallas said she is a compulsive liar and believes she had a hand in C’s death.

Rae talked to Zack Tabb and he was there at gun night. He was frustrated for the duration of the phone call and kept his answers short and his tone on edge. He said Hayes was possibly there, if I remember correctly. Here again, why all the haze around this night?

Moving on to the MBI report and the load of BS that came with it! Detective Trent Weeks, with the MBI, met with Rae and Todd. This was his first case and it showed. He never contacted several people involved in the case. He was dishonest with the family and didn’t return calls and such. What the Andreacchio’s felt was a hopeful step forward ended up being major steps backwards. They then decided to meet with Bilbo Mitchell, the DA and Hayes’ father, but he claimed that Weeks agreed that their son committed suicide. When the MBI report was released, it was only released to Bilbo. It was just summaries of interviews and had no details like the MPD report had. Even the additional interviews were left out.

MBI Theories… 1. Blood splatter: they blamed MPD. They claimed that the EMT’s probably shook a sheet and created the blood splatter. Their explanation for the lack of splatter was that Christian wore a hoodie and that it blocked a lot of the blood. Let me remind you though that no fibers from the hoodie were found at the entrance wound and there was no damage to the hoodie. Oh! And they also claimed there was no clean up or staging of the scene. Lawd have mercy!! 2. Gun malfunction: MBI said that the gun was decocked but that the gun had done that itself. People, the gun was checked and there were no malfunctions or modifications. 3. The abrasion on the bridge of Christian’s nose: They claim that the EMT’s probably dropped Christian and his nose hit the tub. EMTs were spoken with and they never dropped him! There was also nothing in the initial report. 4. No rigor mortis: Somehow they claim there was no rigor present. In the EMT and the autopsy reports, rigor mortis had clearly set in. His body stayed in the position it was already in when he was lifted from the tub. He had to be lifted apprx 18 inches to get over the tub, if I’m not mistaken. He obviously had been dead for hours, but they didn’t want to admit that! 5. 911 call: They gave a summary that only covered the so-called address mix up from Dylan and said the call was genuine. That’s an absolute load of shit! Christian had been dead for hours, in my opinion. Both of their performances were just that…performances. Whitley is wailing in the background and at one point yells “WHAT?” and immediately stops crying and acting a fool. Feel free to go back and listen to it! And don’t forget that Dylan called his family, not Christian’s, to come to the scene.

His facebook page showing he was widowed in May via Facebook

MBI “evidence”…1. Test for blood on the gun: negative. 2. Test for prints on the gun: negative. So, Christian shot himself but there’s NO blood or prints on the gun? Seriously?! 3. GSR: They didn’t provide this information in there. Wonder why. 4. Bloody knife turned in by Todd: negative for human blood. Hmmm… 5. Cell phones: Requested C’s 2 phones. The I phone texts between C and W, 140 messages, Christian was questioning why no communication, why is her location off, etc. He then texted that he’s calling the cops in 5 minutes and she finally texted 3 minutes later…couldn’t have him calling the cops! She only texted, “call you later”. Depressing/suicidal messages from C were also included. Now, I want to note here that these messages are suspected of being tampered with. Back then, I read that the Iphone he used could have messages added with the dates and times manipulated. Could he have been upset and sad? Yes. Do I think he was? No. He spoke with people on the boat, including “Mama”. She was like the mom to all the boys on the boat. His demeanor was one of a young man being done with the drama and lies of a manipulative, crazy, drug-using, party girl. He definitely wasn’t heart broken.

MBI also never once addressed Whitley’s jacket that Dallas turned in. Remember that she stayed with Dallas for a couple days afterwards? She left the jacket, after sleeping for a couple days and Dallas turned it in as evidence they may need. The bloody shirt, from behind the toilet at C’s apartment, was magically gone. That shirt right there proved there was a damn clean-up effort. The notebook found in the apartment, in Whitley’s handwriting, with all of Christian’s information was gone. Guys, this notebook had his birth date, SSN, bank account number, credit card numbers, etc!

Crime scene and time of death: Paramedics said the house was an absolute mess! It looked like a 3 day nonstop party had gone on. Trash, food wrappers, beer bottles, cigarettes and the thick smoke smell were everywhere. His hands were under him, outside the tub. No gun could be seen. The correct/usual amount of blood splatter was not present. Based on his body placement, there was no bullet hole in the fiberglass tub wall. Rigor had definitely set it and showed he was placed in the position he was in over the tub. A lot of details were off.

photo via 48 hours of bullet hole in bathroom wall by the door

Consultant, Michael Knox specializes in ballistics and crime scene reconstruction and reported that this was a homicide. He also conducted a luminol test in the bathroom. There was blood on the exterior of the bathroom door (the one Dylan claimed he had to OPEN to go in), the ceiling and also the wall by the door. The bullet hole in the wall by the door proves Christian was facing the left wall and not the tub. Is anyone really believing that he shot himself in the head, turned a full 90 degrees and fell over into the tub? The position of the gun is impossible. The gun being decocked is impossible. Here again, ask yourself…who has the power to shut this down? Who has the power to make this go away? Who could’ve been there that day to make it necessary for someone in power to do all this covering up? Knox even met with Bilbo Mitchell but was pushed aside just like the family. Hmmm….

Dr. Jonathan Arden is a forensic pathologist who looked over the scene, autopsy, photos, etc. He vows that the scene was staged too. The gun was placed between Christian’s left thigh and the tub. The gun was pressed against his head and the angle was slightly downward so his arm would’ve been at an awkward angle, weirdly raised higher than normal and uncomfortable. The bullet never hit the tub wall and did not ricochet across the room to the tub. The bullet did have wall board material on it, so someone removed it and placed it in the tub.

The time of death does not match up at all. The lavidity shows that he was in a completely different position before being placed in the tub. The rigor proves he’d been dead for hours before the 911 call was placed.

One neighbor came forward about that day and provided an account that would match up with what the evidence shows concerning the time of death. She had laid her baby down for a nap, at a window, and heard a gunshot between 12:00-1 pm that day. She grabbed her baby and went into her bathroom and sat in fear for quite a while.

There was a friend that kept an eye on the apartment when Christian was away on the tugboat. She was asked by Rae to do this because Whitley and others were using it as a party house while her son was away and she simply didn’t trust W with anything that belonged to her son. On the day that C was killed, Rae had hired a PI to check on the place since C was gone. When Rae’s friend was getting ready to go on her lunch break, she phoned Rae to say she’d stop by but Rae said she didn’t have to since someone else was going. With a gut feeling, the friend went anyway around 12:30-1:15. Thank goodness she went too. The PI that was supposed to go accidentally went to the Andreacchio home instead of C’s apartment. She saw a black 4×4 truck with a grill on the front. 2 men came walking out of the apartment and entered the truck. She assumed one was Dylan. The other had on a hat and his head was down, so she couldn’t really see him. After finding out what happened to C, she told Rae she had stopped by that day and described what she had seen. Rae showed her pictures and to her surprise it was NOT Dylan that she saw! It turns out that those two gentlemen were Hayes Mitchell and Jett Miller! Now, before you jump up and say, “She only saw one guy’s face and you named two!”….I have another person to tell you about. The man that she saw was Hayes. Hayes told someone else he was there with a friend. There was a man working on the same tugboat as Hayes not long after this happened. The two men were talking when Christian’s name and death were brought up. Hayes began talking about it and claimed he was there with Jett that day and said, “It wasn’t supposed to go down like that, man. It wasn’t supposed to happen like that.” They kept talking and Hayes realized this guy knew Christian. When asked, the guy said he was from Meridian and knew C. A couple days later Hayes left the boat saying he was sick with kidney stones or something and never returned to work on the boat again. Remember all the haze around gun night, Hayes being there and now he was at the scene? Makes me wonder why Bilbo Mitchell, after 3 years, recused himself from the case. The arrest warrants were signed for Whitley and Dylan in January 2017. No arrests were made and it was going to have to go to the Grand Jury. Bilbo recused himself (he would have had to present the case!) and the case had to go to the Attorney General’s office. In October 2017 it was no billed and Bilbo retired in 2018. Things that make ya go hmmm…..

photo via Facebook of Hayes with a black truck

There was a leaked audio that had the new DA, Cassie Coleman, Gypsy Ward, Mark Gillespie and others on it. Basically the info from it was that the DNA on the gun was never tested. Arrests could have been made but they pushed for the Grand Jury issue because of Bilbo. They didn’t want to “bend” to the Andreacchio family. A powerpoint presented to the Grand Jury suggested a suicide would create just a “drippage” of blood. Coleman wanted to know if someone made a FOIA request, now that the case is closed, would they have to turn over everything. She also agreed on the recording that they (Whitley and Dylan) moved the body. After this “meeting”, the AG’s office released the file to the family plus the damn public!

I also found out a few more things. Christian was checking Jett, Matt and Zach Tabb’s Twitter accounts days before he died. What did he know or suspect? Capt. Arrington was a detective with MPD and his report backed up the evidence! He knew Christian was killed, yet somehow his report was NEVER presented to the grand jury and he was not invited. DA Coleman said that she would fix this if the Arrington report was not presented, but when she was told about a grand juror coming forward and saying it wasn’t, she did nothing. How can one case have so much done wrong? Why?

NOTHING lines up in this case! The only conclusion that can be drawn is that Christian was murdered and Dylan and Whitley have the answers. I also believe that Jett has answers. Hayes died several years ago but he probably had information as well. Draw your own conclusions and let’s all hope there’s justice for Christian and his family one day.

Christian Andreacchio: Part 3

Posted on January 21, 2025 by Life and Lemons

I’ve been trying to arrange all this in some kind of order and I’m afraid it’s going to be all over the place. Information overload and the OCD brain are quite the combination! Stay with me as best you can please!

I’ve been going back through my notebook and reading and rereading everything. Some of this needs to be mentioned and some needs to be elaborated on a little more. Christian was not “friends” with Dylan and wanted him to stay away. Dylan went to the emergency room, due to drugs, two days before Christian died. On the morning of the 25th, he checked himself out of detox. I’m assuming, like several others, he needed money fast for his next “fix”. The first 911 call is next.

When the 911 operator asked about the emergency, Dylan’s response was, “We’ve had a suicide.” This speaks volumes to me. It’s like he and Whitley were a team and possibly others. Using the word suicide sets the narrative. Why would he do that? Think about it. How does he know it is suicide and how does he even know Christian is dead? He didn’t stay with him during the 911 call. Dylan was calm and using his manners. During a tragic situation, most innocent people are frantic and rushed. They will speak quickly and even use harsh language, due to the intense moment. We know C had been dead for hours (4.5 hours +) before this call was made, yet Whitley is wailing in the background like she just discovered him. At one point in the call, Dylan calls her name and she immediately stops wailing and putting on a show and yells “WHAT?”. Neither one of them seems concerned for Christian. They aren’t checking him for signs of life or simply being by his side while trying to get help for him. Dylan deliberately gives the wrong apartment complex and is too concerned with getting off the phone. He called his step-brother after the 911 call and made sure to give him the correct complex address. His brother, by the way, works for EMS that are being dispatched to the scene with the wrong address! Law enforcement lost 9-13 minutes due to this. He also sounds like he is doing “forced” breathing, but when he answers questions he is calm and not frantic. Dylan was downstairs and outside when on the phone, according to witnesses. His main concern was making other calls and even asked the operator if he could put her on hold. What the hell?!? He called Whitley’s mom and aunt, his grandfather, Dallas (friend of Whitley), and the aunt again. There were even 2 three-way calls that involved his grandad, her aunt and someone in Florida. At the scene there was Dylan’s mom, Pam, Whitley’s mom, aunt and her fiance, Christie, Kimberly and Houston and Dylan’s step-brother, Ben. Not one call to Christian’s family was made. Not one!

The second 911 call was because law enforcement and EMS couldn’t find the apartment. The operator is trying to get the right address out of Dylan but HE PUTS HER ON HOLD TO ANSWER A CALL! He’s not asking Whitley what the address is. He’s not yelling for anyone to help. Once the correct address is established, he almost sounds relieved. He already had his step brother at the scene and others on the way or already there too. He even makes a remark that the “Police secured the scene.” Using that phrasing suggests someone is coaching him, in my opinion. That is something EMS would say, not the average every day citizen. With his brother working for EMS, it makes one wonder how much he coached those two before they spoke with LE. The phones are an issue for me too. They both used their phones that day but began using Christian’s a lot. D acted like he didn’t have his. W claims her phone was broken.

Life insurance. Who thinks about life insurance at 20 years old? No one I know but Whitley did! Whitley had told C at one point that she thought she might be pregnant. While discussing the matter, she brought up his job and how dangerous it could be. She wanted to know what would happen to her and their possible child is he were to die while on the tugboat. C did, in fact, have a policy, but the beneficiary listed was his ex girlfriend. He spoke with his dad about it and his dad discouraged him from putting W on the policy. Whitley, on the other hand, thought C had changed the policy and so did Dylan. After C’s death, Dylan went to C’s grandfather claiming he was sent to ask when the life insurance policy would be paid out. D found out no policy had W’s name on it as the beneficiary. Is this really what two people would be concerned with after a dear friend allegedly commits suicide?

Christian had 2 guns. One, which was taken from the jeep and ended up in the bathroom, was the 45 you’ve seen pictures of and the second one was in a lock box that was thought to be under his bed. Perhaps this is why his mattress was slashed with a hole cut in it. C had told others on the tugboat that his lock box was kept because he needed a place to put his other pistol and the $7000 he had saved. Not only was his hand gun taken from the jeep but the jeep had been moved from where Christian had parked it. The security cameras in the lot were unfortunately not recording. Dylan and Whitley both knew the gun was kept inside the jeep, in the driver’s side door. A couple of co-workers on the boat knew it was there too. Oh, and no one in law enforcement talked to a single soul he worked with on the tug boat. And remember, Dylan had more than enough time to get the gun from the jeep before picking up Christian that morning. Moving along…

There were texts between Whitley and Matt Miller right before Christian got home. Here they are. Feb. 26 at 11 am: W-Hey! Christian is kicking me out. I need you to come get me please. M-I went to work. W-Please! I have nowhere to go! Call! M-I really can’t leave now. W-After last night you can’t leave? M-It’s a job. I was already late. I swear I would but I can’t. W-Did I say your name last night? M-No, why? W-Cause I normally do. Duh lil boy. M-What do you mean? W-I don’t remember shit from last night. M-Nothing?….Do you remember her saying anything in her statement about Christian kicking her out and trying to get Matt to come pick her up? How about mentioning Matt at all? Neither do I!

In December, a couple of months before the murder, Christian was buying some furniture for the apartment. He sent Whitley to the bank with his card to get cash for some of the things he had found. She called and told him that the bank wouldn’t give her any money because he was the only account holder. So Christian already knew giving his card to someone wouldn’t work! He wouldn’t send Dylan to the bank to “take all his money out” knowing the bank would never give him a penny. Whitley told her lawyer, at one point in time, that Christian’s body was moved because Dylan went through his pockets. On the flip side, Dylan said Whitley is the one who went through Christian’s pockets to find cigarettes.

Dylan sure seems like a good buddy, huh?! This POS only cares about himself!

On the night of Christian’s homicide, when his Uncle Chris went to the police station, he asked for the keys and Christian’s phone. The officer went to ask Whitley about them. She said she didn’t have them. The officer told her she wasn’t leaving until those two items turned up. She reached in her purse and provided both to the officer. Law Enforcement never pursued, to my knowledge, why she had his phone for hours. Christian had two phones as well. Whitley didn’t mind using either. And before you ask about a lock code on the Iphone 4, Whitley had it. She used Christian’s phone that day to call and message Dylan after Christian was killed. Dylan called his phone at 12:40 pm, knowing Whitley would answer. There was no activity until 3:44 pm on the phone after that call. From 3:44 – 3:54 pm Christian’s phone was used to call Matt Miller 6 times! There was another call to Matt from that phone at 5:11 pm. None were answered. I, along with others believe Christian was dead before 12:30 pm and the coroner listed the time of death as possibly 3:30. Shit isn’t adding up! And by Dylan’s timeline they were all watching a movie at 3:30 pm. Remember the 911 call and Dylan trying to get off the phone to call family? Christian’s phone was used for those calls too! At 4:48 and 4:55, Dylan used Christian’s phone to call a close friend and his own mom, not Christian’s.

timeline found online that is backed up by screenshots and statements

Law enforcement told Dylan and Whitley they were going to test them for GSR. Whitley immediately said she would have it on her hands and test positive because she shot a gun the night before with Matt Miller at his cousin’s house. That cousin is Jett Miller and we’ll go into that soon.

“Gun Night” is referring to the night before Christian’s homicide. Allegedly, Whitley, Matt Miller, Jett Miller and Zack Tabb. Not sure if I spelled that name right or not. No two stories match about that night and one has to wonder if it even happened at all. I will talk a little more about this night when I address what the private investigators found out.

On March 1st Whitley texted Matt: This is Whitley. Wyd? I feel like you’re avoiding me. On March 3rd she texted him again: Hey! Because I had gun residue on my hands from us shooting guns. You’re not a suspect. They’ve already ruled it a suicide. They know by the ballistic test what gun was used and what time and the GSR on Christian’s hands. (Not only did LE not know what gun left the GSR but the results were not even released until March 31st!!!) W:When did they question you? M:They didn’t. His family did. W:What did they say? M:Saying that it wasn’t suicide and that I better pray I wasn’t behind it. Like I always get caught up in shit because of you! W:I’m getting threatened too but I can’t help it. That’s not even the issue to me. The issue is he’s gone and there’s no way it was a homicide either because he was shot in the side of the head. I didn’t even know that till yesterday. And I didn’t have his kind of gun powder on my hands. M:And I’m sorry he’s gone but I didn’t talk to him or nothing but I’m in it. W:Because I shot guns with you the night before he shot himself Matt! >Here again, she’s obviously lying. The results from the GSR tests were not even back yet. The type of gun powder wasn’t even in the report from March 31st. And she definitely knew before “yesterday” where the gunshot was on Christian’s head.

Here’s a statement from Dallas Steele from April 15, 2014. Whitley went to shoot guns with Matt and Jett Miller. Matt said he didn’t remember shooting a gun and Jett said they didn’t shoot guns. Whitley said Christian was shot in the temple. When Dallas was asked how well she knew Whitley her response was, “Which side of her? She has many. She’s a compulsive liar. When asked about Matt Miller…She said they hung out before and were texting afterwards. Dallas didn’t believe Christian killed himself and thinks Whitley was involved. She said Whitley gave many different stories.

Matt Miller told law enforcement that he met Whitley at 20 years old and hung out years before, but a few days before Christian’s death she messaged him out of the blue about hanging out. He asked about Christian and she told him they broke up and that he was seeing another girl. They agreed to hang out at Jett Miller’s house. Jett is Matt’s cousin. They went to the pasture down the road and shot some cans, but Matt said that Whitley wouldn’t shoot. Around midnight he took her back to her car. Whitley then said she wanted to stay with him, so he took her back to his place. Matt said they had sex and woke up around 6:30 -7 am. He said he was late for work, dropped her off at her car and figured she went to Christian’s apartment. He got off work, went home and took a nap. Jett called and told him about Christian. Remember this because I think this is rather significant! When he called Whitley she told him that Christian had found out about the two of them. Whitley told him that she and Christian rode around and talked for a while and then came back to the apartment and slept. She told him she woke up to the gunshot, ran upstairs and found Christian dead with a bullet hole to the throat. I question the whole “throat” comment since that makes zero sense! But didn’t Whitley say she slept through the gunshot and that Dylan woke her up? Matt said he tried to call her around 8 pm and got no answer so he called Dallas. He said he talked to Whitley and when she tried to call later, he ignored her call. A week later was when he heard the different story of Dylan finding Christian and waking Whitley up. He then called her to ask about what he heard. She said Dylan did in fact find Christian and that he was shot in the head. She also said Christian had threatened suicide that day and that she told him if he was going to do it, just don’t do it in the face. She started asking Matt why he was putting this on her and just quit talking to her. Investigators asked what kind of person Whitley was. Matt said she is a compulsive liar, cheater and very sneaky. When asked if she could’ve done this, he said yes. He said Christian had threatened to kick her out and take back the car. But added that he didn’t think Dylan had anything to do with it.

Text messages between Whitley and Matt on March 4, 2014 M-Did you find Christian or did Dylan find him? W-Dylan M-You told me you woke up to a gunshot and found him. W-No, Dylan found him and told me I found him M-Your story has changed so much! W-What? M-So where was he shot? You told me something completely different. W-His head. I didn’t even know where he was shot when it happened because it didn’t go through. I just found that out. How did I do that? M-You told me ya’ll fell asleep together, you woke up to a gunshot and found him. You said nothing about Dylan. You said you found him. W-Dylan didn’t even go upstairs. Dylan told me to go check on him and I did. He was dead. M-Dylan said he found him but you told police a whole different story. W-You’re trying to say I’m guilty? M-I don’t know. Nobody knows. Why would he kill himself: Everybody’s trying to find out. W-Wish I could tell you. M-Yea

March 23, 2014 W-My story did change because I didn’t wanna make you feel bad. You have to consider I went through way more than I should have. I was cleared as a suspect and it was ruled a suicide. Did anyone stop to think my whole entire life ended by finding what I found in the bathtub for one night of fucking up? I’m not saying this cause I wanna get high with you, just to clear stuff up. Life’s too short, smoke one.

Looking at statements, text messages, evidence and the crime scene makes me wonder why Dylan and Whitley weren’t actually interrogated. They were only interviewed. This case is insane. An arrest or two should’ve been made that same year! Records of Whitley and Dylan’s phones are not known, pings and such. Whitley had Christian’s phone for HOURS after his death and Dylan could change dates, times and add texts to it. And we know she definitely had his passcode. She was making calls and sending texts to Matt from it after Christian died. His bank account had about $1300.00 in it and his $1000.00 jumpsuit was gone. Law Enforcement didn’t canvas the complex but one neighbor is in a report. He left work at 3 pm, went home, then to Dollar General and back to the apartment around 4:15 pm. There was a gold Chevrolet or GMC truck parked next to the silver BMW, Christian’s car that W drove. It was idling in the parking spot. It left soon after, went around the bend and left the complex. He went into his apartment and after 5 pm the police showed up at Christian’s apartment. He personally knew C because he worked for his mom, Rae. He claimed the truck being there was strange. I think this is going to be important in just a bit! Whitley set up hanging out with Matt and none of the stories match from that night. She also texted him about C kicking her out. She claims she couldn’t remember anything from the night before but remembers gun night somehow. She says she shot guns the night before but Matt says she didn’t. He said she was too scared to shoot.

Possible planted text by Dylan on Christian’s phone

Yes, I really think messages were planted. I looked and found out that messages, times and dates could be altered on the Iphone 4. The messages that Christian typed on the night of the 25th do not match what he actually told people with his mouth! Dylan was known for his tech cracking abilities and such and definitely, according to friends, could’ve altered those things. Do I think he was suicidal? No. Do I think Whitley was narcissistic and made him feel guilty? Yes. And remember, more than just a few people have said out loud she likes to play victim!

Another neighbor came forward saying she heard a gunshot that day. She even took her sleeping baby away from the window when the shot rang out. She said the baby was napping so it had to be between 12-1 pm. See? Christian died before Dylan went to the bank at 12:30! This neighbor also said law enforcement never questioned her.

Another lady had some information about that day. Rae, not trusting Whitley at all, asked this lady to just keep an eye on the place. On the day he died, she saw 2 guys coming out of the apartment between 12:30 – 1:15 pm. They were in a black 4×4 with a grill on the front. One was wearing a hat and had his head down and the other’s face was seen. She thought it was Dylan until she was shown pictures. It wasn’t Dylan…remember this for the next post! It ends up making a lot of sense!

I’ve listened to the audio of Dylan’s interview too. He said Christian held the gun to his head in the earlier argument but they made up very quickly. He said Whitley was on drugs and said she only cared about having all Christian’s money. Investigators told Dylan she was stealing money from Christian and that she took the rent money for the past 2 months. Christian and his brother would send her the rent money to pay the office. And remember, Dylan said Christian wanted him to have all his money that day. Seem a little odd to you? He told them that Whitley had cheated and got caught. He brought up the money again and said he was on the phone with Christian while at the bank. We know that’s not true because Christian knew the bank wouldn’t give him any money. It may have been Christian’s phone but Whitley was on the other end. He said he left the bank, got the food and went back to the apartment. They all separated the food and ate. Go back and see what was in Christian’s stomach. It wasn’t Chick-Fil-A. He said that they left and he took a nap after eating. He said when he woke up he talked to Christian and went to Best Buy and came back to him being dead. He said Whitley had no real tears at all.

Is your head spinning yet??? All the he said, she said, mumbo jumbo will make for a nice headache! Part 4 will cover the “gun night”, politics, MBI’s report of the case, theories, private investigators, crime scene reconstruction, etc.

Christian Andreacchio: Part 2

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Life and Lemons

Before we get into the crime scene, I want to point out that there are two 911 calls. The second call is due to Dylan giving the wrong apartment complex. Remember during the first call he kept wanting to get off the phone with the operator to make calls to family? He specifically gave the wrong complex, called certain people and gave them the correct address. Those specific people, which we will get into later, were there before law enforcement. Think about that as we go through the scene of the crime.

Willow Ridge Apartment Complex showing apartment 801 via Google Earth

Christian and Josh’s apartment via Google Earth

EMT’s arrive on scene and note that there looked to have been a 3 day drinking, partying and smoking event. The smell of cigarette smoke was heavy, ashtrays galore, beer bottles and food wrappers were everywhere. The apartment was an absolute mess! In the upstairs bathroom, there was Christian leaning over the bathtub, blood in the tub, and they began looking for a gun based on the 911 call. They wanted to locate the weapon to avoid an accidental discharge. The gun was on Christian’s left side between his left thigh and the bathtub. Christian was right handed by the way. They noted no blood spatter and his body was stiff. Christian had to be lifted a good 18 inches due to rigor and the way he was placed. Yes, the way he was placed! The bullet and casing were located in the tub.

The first officer arrived on the scene at 5:08 pm. Dylan was at the front door. The “crime scene investigation” had begun. EMT’s noted the lack of blood at the scene. There wasn’t spatter on the walls like one would expect to see in a suicide. There was blood on the outside of the bathroom door, which is odd. The bullet and casing were found in the tub, yet there was no bullet hole in the tub wall. Things were starting to look “off”.

Looking at the diagram of the tiny bathroom, there should have been a bullet hole in the bathtub wall and a lot of blood spatter based on the position of the Christian’s body. So how is there a bullet hole in the wall on the opposite side of the bathroom? If he was sitting on the toilet when this happened, the bullet would’ve entered where the wall socket is.

If this doesn’t scream staged, I don’t know what does! How did he end up in that position with his hands and arms on the outside of the tub? Why isn’t the left side of the tub wall, bathroom wall and shower curtain covered in blood? If he’s right handed, and the wound is in the right side of his head, how does the gun end up on his left side wedged between his left thigh and the bathtub? It was also reported that the shower curtain appeared brand new and still had crisp creases in it.

A photo of the gun that law enforcement placed on the counter. Note the hammer placement.

This photo is also very significant. This weapon is decocked. This 45 has to be manually placed in this position. You cannot do that if you’ve shot yourself in the head. I also want to tell you that this particular gun WAS INSIDE CHRISTIAN’S LOCKED JEEP IN VICKSBURG!!! Remember the post that Dylan made about his “trip” that morning? Christian and Dylan spoke on the phone about Dylan coming to get him at 1:37 am. From Meridian to Vicksburg is 2 hours. From Vicksburn to St. Rose is 3 hours. If Dylan left by 3 am, he could’ve made it to Christian by 8 with no problem. They leave and head back to Meridian and get to the apartment around 11:30. Dylan accidentally told on himself by posting that on social media.

Bullet hole in wall near the bathroom door, opposite of tub

This photo shows where the bullet entered the wall. Later on you’ll hear how it somehow ricocheted out of the hole and landed in the tub. Was someone hoping normal people wouldn’t understand physics?

Based on where the bullet hole was in the bathroom, where is the blood? Where is it??? That counter, sink and wall should be covered. Use common sense please. Think about it! Don’t fall into the magic bullet theory. Bullets aren’t magical. Science shows definitive proof with angles and trajectories.

Photo showing spatter on outside of bathroom door via 48 hours

Dylan said he knocked on that door, not once but twice. He knocked and asked Christian if he was ok. He then went downstairs, woke Whitley and went back upstairs to knock again before entering the bathroom. How in the hell did blood spatter get on the OUTSIDE of the door?

Photo showing the lividity in Christian’s right calf

Lividity is the pooling of blood by gravity. It starts to develop in 2-4 hours after death. This proves that Christian was lying on the floor with his calves face down for at least 2 hours, possibly longer. Blood cannot pool in the calves if the calves are face up like he was found. When removed from the scene, Christian’s body maintained the “bent over” shape, which means rigor mortis had definitely set in. Rigor mortis starts to set in around 2-4 hours after death and is fully set in 12 hours. After that, the muscles begin to relax. Based on the science, Christian was dead for 2-4 hours before he was moved and the scene was cleaned. Going back to the 911 call, at 4:45 pm, Christian was dead by 12 – 12:15 pm. I say this because GSR (gun shot residue) was on Dylan’s hands and he was at the bank at 12:30 pm. The time of death was listed at 3:30 pm (that’s wrong), when he claimed to be at Best Buy too.

GSR results: came back and released on March 31, 2014.

Christian: present on right palm and back of left hand.

Dylan: present on right hand, back of left hand and left palm

Whitley: present on back of right hand, back of left hand, right palm and left palm

Christian’s GSR results make sense. Being in the vicinity of a gunshot will put it on anyone’s hands. Dylan claimed to be outside the apartment and nowhere near Christian. Whitley said she was asleep downstairs when it happened. The next post will go into what Whitley and Dylan said about the presence of GSR on their hands.

I want to go back to the Chick-Fil-A for a moment. The receipt, drink and food was found in the apartment. The receipt showed the time of 1:06 pm for the amount of $20.04. Christian was negative for drugs and alcohol. Dylan and Whitley were not tested for either. Christian had caffeine in his stomach and a bit of partially digested food, which I believe is from the gas station he and Dylan stopped at on the way to the apartment. If he had consumed any of the Chick-Fil-A, it wouldn’t have had time to digest. The gun was tested for prints and none were found. So, this is ruled a suicide, yet both Whitley and Dylan had GSR on their hands and the gun was wiped down? How does a dead man wipe the gun he shot himself with? And remember all the talk of money? The bank account, the life insurance policy and Christian paying for Whitley and Dylan’s lifestyle? Well, remember Dylan saying that Christian came down the hill and took off his jumpsuit? That is worth $900-$1000. It wasn’t on the boat, in the vehicle or the apartment. And is was decided that Christian died by a gunshot to the head but the cause was listed as undetermined. The specific location was what stuck out and seemed odd. It wasn’t a shot to the temple. It was above and behind the right ear! Think about that! The coroner did. He gave law enforcement the green light on a homicide investigation right there with the “undetermined” manner of death. There are a couple more pieces of evidence and I’ll get to those in a minute. Finding out what they are and how they were found will shock you. This was ruled a suicide before the autopsy or any tests. I’ll get into it more in another post, but Chief Lee even went to the scene and told law enforcement to “wrap it up”. The investigation was stopped at the 45 minute mark and ruled a suicide. No DNA or prints were taken at the scene either.

The next post will have all the people, statements, texts and such. But I want to bring up Christian’s uncle, Chris Thompson, real quick. On the evening of Christian’s death, 7:30 – 8 pm, Rae called Chris telling him that law enforcement had informed her that Christian was dead. She couldn’t believe it! Christian had talked to her that morning and he was on the tugboat. It wasn’t making sense to her. She asked Chris to go to the apartment and see what was going on. When he got there he saw the crime scene tape and was told to go to the police station. At the station they confirmed Christian was dead and that two people were at the apartment when 911 was called. The officer said they were currently being interviewed. Chris asked about keys to the apartment and if he was allowed to go in. Officer Thompson said he could go there if he wanted to. This shocked Chris! That same evening, just after Christian was taken from the scene, he could just go in and it wasn’t a problem. He went and got as far as the bathroom. He couldn’t do it. He locked the apartment and left.

The next morning Chris and Josh went to the apartment together. Chris noted the size of the apartment, about 700 square feet. How did Whitley sleep through the shot from a 45 in such a small space? Josh said the apartment had been pretty much destroyed in time he was on the tugboat. He said that Christian’s mattress was slashed and a chunk was missing out of it like someone was looking for something or removing something. Josh took pictures of the bathroom and stuff. There was no spatter on the walls. There was a small stream of blood in the tub. He noticed blood on the outside of the bathroom door. There was a bullet hole in the wall at the wall socket. Josh saw a Chick-Fil-A cup in the tub near where Christian’s right shoulder was. One other cup and bags of food were downstairs. A piece of paper was found that had Christian’s banking information and routing # written on it. It was a post it note. There was a 9 inch knife on the floor and another knife that appeared to have blood on it. There was a shirt in the bathroom, covered in blood, dirt and hair, balled up behind the toilet. He said it looked like it was used to wipe blood off the floor. He then, of course, turned all this in to law enforcement.

I’m sure most of you are asking yourselves how this case managed to NOT be worked as a homicide. Let’s go over it all before going on to the next post.

Whitley and Dylan were living rent-free, with bills being paid and food provided. They were free to do drugs and weren’t working jobs. Whitley thought she was added to Christian’s insurance policy. She knew she was caught cheating and knew Christian was coming home to kick her out. Dylan ratted himself out with his Vicksburg post on social media. Both Dylan and Whitley’s stories and timelines don’t add up. Dylan’s 911 call was BS. The people that showed up to the scene before EMT’s and law enforcement mean Dylan gave them the correct address. Christian’s jumpsuit was missing. Dylan and Whitley had GSR on their hands and palms. The location of the bullet wound is odd too. The wound being above and behind the right ear seems like an odd angle and not your typical shot to the temple or under the chin in a lot of suicides. Based on the receipt, bank surveillance camera, the lividity of Christian’s calf muscle and the full onset of rigor mortis Christian was dead before 12:30 pm. The bullet hole in the wall by the door, the placement of the gun between his left thigh and the tub, the spatter on the outside of the door, the lack of blood at the scene, the new shower curtain and lack of blood on it, the bullet and casing being in the tub with no bullet hole in the tub wall, the bloody shirt bound up behind the toilet, the slash and chunk missing from Christian’s mattress and the gun even being in the apartment prove this was a homicide.

I don’t know about you but I’m sick to my stomach.

The murder of Stephen Smith

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Life and Lemons

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.

Stephen’s shoes still on his feet and in tact

The two orange circles are marks made by LE to label where his feet were.

Red dot indicating the location of Stephen’s body

Orange box indicates where his body was found.

Stephen’s phone after being retrieved from his pocket

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.

The actual location where Stephen’s car was found via Google Earth

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.

Back seat of passenger’s side after LE moved things

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.

Back seat floorboard after LE dump out bag of trash

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.

Front passenger seat showing wallet in between the seat and door

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.

Picture showing tire impressions left in the grass to the left of Stephen’s car

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!

Image depicting the huge laceration of the forehead and the major fracture to the back of his head

Model showing the 7.25 inch laceration of Stephen’s forehead

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.

Stephen’s shirt. This is a screenshot from a video on that YouTube channel and I apologize for the “line” going down the shirt. The screenshots from this video all have that line in them.

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!

The front of Stephen’s shorts with what appear to be blood stains

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.

This shows blood drop and smear on front and side of shoe plus sand on top of the shoe

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.

Sand in bottom right of picture and blood drop on front toe area of shoe

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?

Close up of blood droplets on front toe of shoe

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.

This shows the sand on the bottom and side of his shoes. This is how his feet were positioned when he was found.

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 is the “unknown substance” discussed in the video.

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!

The Murdaugh family – L to R: Buster, Maggie, Paul and Alex

Google Earth image showing Murdaugh property and location of Stephen’s body

via TMZ showing the exhumation of Stephen’s body on 3/31/23

#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.

Buster looking into camera and hesitating before answering SLED about Stephen

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”?

A post made by Shawn showing the tag #mcmillanfarms. McMillan Farms was not far from where Stephen was found and his grandfather owns the farm.

The distance is awful convenient, I think. Was the heat too hot for the Murdaugh family? Could this “tip” really be worthwhile and end up the slam dunk of this case? I’ll let ya’ll be the judge.

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!

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