Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP #4 - Who Killed Stephen Smith? Part Two

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Alec Murdoch. I need police and an ambulance immediately. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast, is here. I'm joining Patricia Arquette, Jason Clark, and the cast to uncover all things Murdoch. Family first. To unravel the story piece by piece was really surprising because you don't want to believe it. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast, Wednesdays. And stream Murdoch, Death in the Family on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers.

Starting point is 00:00:29 Terms apply. I don't know who killed Stephen Smith, but I do know that something went wrong in the investigation of his death. And because of that, Stephen's family has been waiting 2,194 days to get justice in his case. My name is Mandy Matney. I have been investigating the Murdoch family for more than two years now. And this is the Murdoch Murdoch Murder's podcast. So this podcast is different from other true crime podcast because it's all still developing. I'm waiting on Freedom of information request to come back. I'm waiting for different pieces of the story to finally come out. I understand that there's a lot to follow here and it gets very complicated, but we will do our best

Starting point is 00:01:25 to guide you through all of the twist and turns. Two episodes ago, we introduced y'all to the Stephen Smith case. I know so many of you are eager to learn more details of this investigation, so this week we're going to go back and do part two of who killed Stephen Smith. So let's start with a recap. Smith was found dead just before 4 a.m. on July 8, 2015, he was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, South Carolina. On June 22nd, 2021, huge news broke in his case. I was first to report that the South Carolina law enforcement division, also known as SLED, the same agency investigating the Murdoch murders, opened an investigation into Stephen Smith's death. SLED told me that this was based on information

Starting point is 00:02:07 gathered during the course of the double homicide investigation of Paul and Maggie Murdoch. We don't know what information led them to that position, but it's important to look back on the 2015 case and see what went wrong. Like the probe of the 2019 boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, the 2015 investigation and dismissed death was chaotic from the beginning, derailed by jurisdictional perplexity and suspicions of investigative interference. In the last episode, we discussed the evidence or lack thereof found at the scene on Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. So before I get into the details of this case, I want to describe this place for you, because Hampton County is different. If you've driven on I-95 and Southern South Carolina, you wouldn't notice the exit for Hampton. Exit 38 is unremarkable. You'll see a loves travel stop, a dollar general store, and a family dollar, but not much else.

Starting point is 00:03:03 A trip to Hampton County is like a trip back in time. It's about an hour and a half northwest of Hilton Hood Island, but it feels a world away. The town name and the local high school, Wade Hampton High, are named after a Confederate officer. He was one of the largest slave owners in the southeast. As he traveled down Yemisee Highway, railroad tracks follow the route to downtown Hampton. Tall Southern Pines frame the highway. Hampton is along the corridor of shame, counties in South Carolina with failing schools and inadequate funding. Hampton is one of the poorest counties in South Carolina, with a median household income of around 30.

Starting point is 00:03:40 $32,000. Only about 19,000 people live in Hampton County, and that number decreases every year. There are very few jobs and very few businesses. Downtown Hampton is a place where time stood still and hasn't moved much since the 1950s. A large pedestal clock stands in the middle of Lee Avenue, which is the heart of downtown Hampton. Palmetto trees line the sidewalk of the sleepy downtown. You will see some old-fashioned storefronts such as the Palmetto Theater in Olmer's Feeding Seat. Standing watch over Lee Avenue, the historic courthouse built in 1878, is hard to miss. One block from Lee Avenue, there is one noticeably thriving business in Hampton, South Carolina.

Starting point is 00:04:22 That is the Murdoch law firm. Peters, Murdoch, Parker, Ellsworth, and Dietrich, also known as P-M-P-E-D. For decades, Hampton County has been known as a judicial hellhole, a place where you do not want to get sued. A 2004 report by the National American Tort Reform Foundation named Hampton County as the number three judicial hellhole in the United States. While the report is dated, many of the problems and names in the report still exist in Hampton County today. Because of Hampton County's longtime reputation of citing with plaintiffs and rewarding an unusually high amount for damages, a large amount of plaintiffs went to Hampton County to file their lawsuits. For years, South Carolina law allowed plaintiffs to file civil lawsuits against businesses virtually

Starting point is 00:05:13 in any county in the state, specifically wherever the corporate defendant does business or owns property. According to the report, one law firm brings a majority of the major lawsuits in Hampton County, and that is the Murdoch law firm, P-M-P-E-D. The report listed intimidation through the use of subpoenas as one of the reasons why Hampton was a judicial hellhole. The litigation climate hurt the economy in Hampton County by scaring away businesses. In the early 2000s, Walmart considered opening a store in Hampton County. The report said, quote, a lawyer reportedly warned company executives that locating a store there could place the retailer's entire South Carolina operation at risk.

Starting point is 00:05:57 Still today, Hampton remains one of the few counties in South Carolina without a Walmart. There is virtually no industry in the county. And I'm not making a value judgment here. Life in Hampton was hard for a lot of people, and it was not easy for the Smith family. Stephen Smith was born two pounds, 12 ounces at 7.05 a.m. on January 29, 1996. He was a twin and given a 50% chance survival rate. But he always overcame the odds, his mother says. Yeah, well, his room was a library.

Starting point is 00:06:35 Every dollar he got from chores, he spent. in the library buying their old books. It doesn't matter what it was, Greek mythology, whatever. He read it. He was so smart. And he always had a dream of being a doctor, but he said he didn't want to cost us any money. So he had to start from the bottom and be a nurse

Starting point is 00:06:59 until he could become a doctor, and then he was going to go overseas to help children in need. Stephen was in class at Orangeburg Tech, a local community college about 55 miles north of Hampton on July 7, 2015. Just hours later, he was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road, around 4 a.m. on July 8, 2015. For the sluice out there, the closest address to pinpoint the location where Stephen was found, according to the reports, would be 619-9 Sandy Run Road. It's a country road about five miles north of downtown Hampton. The only commercial buildings for miles are the Crockettville Country Store in the Hampton Presbyterian Church.

Starting point is 00:07:40 There is an occasional house every mile or so on Sandy Run Road, and the landscape is shaped mostly by cornfields. In crime scene photos, there appears to be a house adjacent to where Stephen was found. But again, there are no records and police reports of any officers canvassing the neighborhood and asking neighbors if they heard anything strange that morning. Yet, they took several photos of the house nearby. This is one of many investigative peculiarities in the Stephen Smith case. Okay, so in the last episode, we discussed several important factors about the crime scene and evidence in this case, including. Stephen's face was covered in blood. His forehead was heavily bruised and bashed in by blunt force.

Starting point is 00:08:22 His shoulder was partially dislocated, but he had no other major injuries. Stevens loosely tied shoes were still on his feet, and his phone was in his pocket. with his key when he was found by authorities. His car was found about three miles away on Bamberg Highway with the gas cap off. Police could not get his car to start. Highway Patrol searched the scene multiple times, and time and time again, they found no evidence of a motor vehicle accident. They found no tire marks, they found no debris from a vehicle. They found nothing.

Starting point is 00:08:56 So as we explained in the last episode, there was a lot of dispute about the cause of Stephen's death. from the beginning. The first few investigators on scene went back and forth between a gunshot homicide and a hit-and-run accident. South Carolina Highway Patrol officers were told it wasn't a vehicular accident and they didn't have to be at the autopsy. But then at the autopsy, pathologist Dr. Aaron Presnell ruled that Stephen was killed in a hit-and-run crash. Two Highway Patrol investigators who spoke with Presnell described hostile experiences with her and couldn't get a direct answer for why she ruled Stephen's death a vehicle accident. In a month after Stephen's death, the coroner said that he didn't believe that Stephen's death was a hit and

Starting point is 00:09:39 run. And despite the fact that officials rejected the ruling that Stephen was killed by a truck mirror in a hit and run accident, a highway patrol investigated the case. They started by interviewing Steven's family members in a man that described himself as Stephen's boyfriend. Go back to episode two if you want to hear those interviews. In a letter, Forensic scientist, Michael Michael Moscow of the South Carolina law enforcement division said that he tested trace evidence in the case. He tested three items of clothing that Stephen was wearing the night he died and scanned them for automotive paint.

Starting point is 00:10:12 He found no paint on Steven's black Nike shirt. He found no paint on Steven's cargo pants. He found no paint on Steven's blue tennis shoes. But then, when he tested debris from the shoes and the shirt, he found 10, 1 millimeter single-layer blued paint chips. For an idea of how small one millimeter is, it's about the width of a pencil tip, tiny. He indicated that the paint could be from an industrial tool, dumpster, or signpost, and he added that Toyota used this particular paint on its vehicles from 1982 to 1988. But there's something important to note about those clothes. Chain of custody apparently was broken

Starting point is 00:10:52 with Stevens' clothes when they were left unattended at the funeral home on the day of his death. So it's hard to say where those paint chips came from. On August 4, 2015, Duncan, an investigator with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, picked up Stephen's iPhone from SLED. He wrote in his notes, there is no chain of custody with the phone. This is weird, because in another SLED report, it says that Duncan signed a chain of custody form on August 4th and transferred the phone to Jay Connolly of the Highway Patrol on I-95 on August 5th.

Starting point is 00:11:22 The phone is another key piece of evidence in this case that the South Carolina and a highway patrol apparently failed to get answers from. For years, the phone was tossed between agencies and they couldn't get it unlocked. We'll go back to more about the phone later. According to Chain of Custody reports, there was a rape kit done on Stephen. It was transferred from the Hampton County coroner to Highway Patrol investigator Todd Proctor at MUSC. Then Todd Proctor transferred the rape kit to a name that I can't read and edit a location that says TR6A on August 11, 2015. But the rape kit is never mentioned again, which is weird.

Starting point is 00:11:59 They never mentioned what the results are, and none of the investigators seem to care about it at all. The gunshot residue kit was also taken to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for analysis. But like the rape kit, it's never mentioned again outside of the chain of custody report. In another investigative inconsistency, Hampton County Sheriff's Office investigator, Perry Singleton, wrote that Stephen was wearing a white polo shirt when he was found dead. However, in all other reports and photos from the crime scene, Stephen was wearing a black Nike t-shirt. Why would Singleton write that? Not all investigations are black and white, but this just seems odd. So now that we've told you about evidence in the case, or lack thereof, we want to get into the interviews. On August 7, 2015, South Carolina Highway Patrol investigator Corporal Michael E. Duncan calls Steven's friend, who we will call Brittany in this podcast.

Starting point is 00:12:57 We changed Brittany's voice due to the sensitive nature of this topic. Let me kind of go over a couple of things. Just a little information that I got, and you can either confirm or not sure. She told me yesterday, or she called me yesterday, or it might have been the day before him. But she said, as a matter of fact, it's on Wednesday, if I'm not mistaken, that she was at church and that both of y'all has spoken about Stephen's death about Buster Maddoch. Is that correct? Yes, sir.

Starting point is 00:13:24 Kind of tell me what you told her. about that? I told her that another friend of mine had picked me asking me if Buster and Steven worked together, and I told him no. I said, not that I knew of, and then I asked him, why. He said, because he had heard that. And then I asked him who he heard it from, and he said, he didn't know. He just heard it.

Starting point is 00:13:46 Okay. So he didn't have anything to base that upon, just except for more or less a rumor. Is that correct? Yes, sir. Had you ever heard of Stephen and Buster being involved? involved at all before this? No, sir, I haven't. So this was the first time you'd ever heard about something like this?

Starting point is 00:14:04 Yes, sir. Okay, did you know Stephen at all? Yes, sir, he was my best friend. Okay, and did you know Stephen was gay? I did. Duncan asked who Brittany heard this rumor from, and Brittany said she heard it from a guy who we will call Jack in this podcast. Later that day, Duncan makes a note of the rumor that Britney told him about in the investigation file.

Starting point is 00:14:24 This is the first time he ever wrote down the Murdoch name, even though he had heard it in two previous interviews. A couple days later, on August 10, 2015, Duncan notes that Jack's father has called him and wanted to know what was going on. This is a reminder that we are dealing with teenagers here. Very young. All of these kids are around 19 or 20. August 11, 2015, Jack calls Duncan. Hello.

Starting point is 00:14:51 This is corporate Duncan again. Yes, sir. All right, let me pull up this paperwork. Let me kind of go over a couple of things with you real quick and how your name kind of brought about. Long story short, you supposedly sent a text. So let me go, just kind of go in this. Do you know Stephen Smith? Yeah, he was my classmate.

Starting point is 00:15:10 All right. And did you send that text to? What was the text to exactly? Let me pull that up. Let me turn my computer or get it unlocked real quick. All right. It says if Buster Matton and... ever had any type of relationship with Stephen.

Starting point is 00:15:29 Yes. Did you send that text? Yes, sir. And then the question was asked back. How did you know about that? Where are you getting that information from? It was a rumor. Rumor?

Starting point is 00:15:44 Yes, sir. I mean, I've heard it. I just used best breakfast, Stephen, so I just asked. Okay. And so you heard it through just like, people that you know or just people in general comments. All right. Any information that you know, do you know any information about whether that's true or not?

Starting point is 00:16:04 No, not at all. Not at all. All right. Do you know anything about Stevens' death? Not at all. Nobody's come to you and brought any information to you other than what the question you asked. Is that correct? What have you heard otherwise?

Starting point is 00:16:24 Have you heard any other rumors? Nothing. No, sir. So the only rumor you heard is possibly Buster having some type of relationship with Stephen? Yes, sir. Okay. All right. And how long ago was that?

Starting point is 00:16:38 Do you recall when that was? A few weeks ago, maybe. Was it after or before his death? After. Okay, so it was after Stephen had died? Yes, sir. All right. Anything else that you got that I need to know about anything at all?

Starting point is 00:16:57 No, sir. While doing a background surge on Jack, we noticed that he was facing two different lawsuits from the Murdoch law firm. Attorney John E. Parker, a powerful, well-known firm partner, filed two car accident lawsuits against Jack just two weeks after Stephen's death. The lawsuits were both dismissed in 2016. I am noting this only because this is something that I found during my reporting, and I have not yet found an explanation for the timing. It could be nothing, but it's worth mentioning in case any listeners can shed light on this. At the very least, it shows just how small of a web we're dealing with in Hampton County, and just how much of that web is covered by the Murdoch family law firm.

Starting point is 00:17:38 A couple weeks passed, and not much happens with the investigation. On August 27, 2015, Duncan interviews a man, who we will call Ben, over the phone. The day before, Sandy Smith told Duncan that this man had information on Stephen's death. Unfortunately, the interview really doesn't go anywhere. The man doesn't say that much, but he does mention a rumor that he heard. And now let me ask you this. Have you heard anything strange about how Stephen died or any rumors or anything like that? What I heard was they said he was running from somebody.

Starting point is 00:18:13 Said he was running in the woods from a guy. Like he was running from somebody in the woods. Now, who did you hear that? Did you hear that from Stephen's mama? No, I heard this from my classmate. Okay, all right. And did they even describe who it may have been? Yeah, they said it was an older guy who was running from.

Starting point is 00:18:34 Okay. And we was like, we were trying to figure out who can't keep he running from. And we was like maybe it was something like he was messing with that nobody knew us. And I guess Stephen was going to bring them out or something like that. That's what we thought. Okay. The next day, Lance Corporal Conley, interviews a man, we will call him Joe, who lives on Hilton Head. He called Joe after Sandy Smith

Starting point is 00:18:58 found a gate pass for a Hilton Head gated community with Joe's name on it. This gate pass was found inside Stevens' car, which was supposed to be searched for evidence by police, and Stephen's mom was the only one to find this pass. For those of you who aren't familiar, a visitor to one of Hiltonhead's gated communities must obtain a gate pass in order to enter. This is a gate pass. This is a visit. usually means stopping by a gatehouse, producing an ID, and telling an armed guard whose house you're going to visit. Then you are provided a gate pass to enter the community. This man that the highway patrol interviews called in a gate pass for Stephen 10 days prior to his death, and the pass was still in the car, with his name on it. The forensics team must have missed this. And Stephen's

Starting point is 00:19:44 mom must have been the only one who cared enough to examine this, call the source, and motivate investigators to follow up on this lead. Even then, investigators still pretty much brush past this interview. Joe was an older man and recently divorced. He said that he met Stephen online but said no money was exchanged in their encounter. Joe said that he doesn't do this kind of thing often. He said that they hooked up on June 28th, but it was a one-night stand. Joe said that he texted Stephen a few times after that and didn't realize that he passed away until after he was contacted by Sandy. Now keep in mind that investigators just heard the day before that there were rumors that Stephen was running from an older guy when he was killed, a guy that he possibly had hooked up with.

Starting point is 00:20:30 And then they meet a man who fits his description and they don't even bother to ask him for an alibi. So who knows if there's any truth to this older man rumor whatsoever? But all of this shows sloppy police work at the very least. A couple days later, an investigator named Todd Prock steps in. Proctor interviews a man and will call him Kevin and the investigation takes another turn. But I'll tell you, my office is out of Charleston, so I have no ties to Hampton. There's no big name in Hampton that worries me, you know, and I want you to feel at ease about that as well, because I've heard that this name, people associated with this name have been going around, kind of threatening or putting the heat on people saying, you know, keep your mouth closed if you heard something, whatever.

Starting point is 00:21:25 And the conversation gets very interesting. First we heard he was shot, then we heard it was a hit and run. But recently, probably a week ago, week and a half ago, I'd say something like that. I heard that these two, maybe three young men were in a vehicle. They were riding down 601, saw the car on the side of the road. I guess all the boy walking. They turned back around. I guess they were attempting to, I don't want to say, you know, mess around with him or something like that.

Starting point is 00:21:57 And stuck something out the window and it, you know, hit him in. I don't know if he hit him in the head or the back or where it hit him. And then that's pretty much all I heard I did hear names. And I heard A-name. That name was, he goes about Buster Murdick. So there's a lot more to this interview and others. But there's just not enough time in this episode. So stay tuned for part three of Who Killed Stephen Smith.

Starting point is 00:22:28 For the latest updates in all of these cases, and to support our mission, go to Murdochmurterspodcast.com. So for the latest developments on this case, follow me on Twitter at Twitter.com slash Mandy M-A-N-D-Y, Matney-M-A-T-N-E-Y. And don't forget to leave a five-star review unless you're going to be nasty and talk about my vocal fry. The Mardock Murders podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses. Produced by Luna Shark Productions.

Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP #4 - Who Killed Stephen Smith? Part Two

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