Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP Remastered #17 - Who Killed Stephen Smith? Part Four

Episode Date: October 31, 2025

In this haunting installment from November 10, 2021, journalist Mandy Matney revisits the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, exposing how South Carolina’s Highway Patrol let the case go cold—and we ask why. Mandy’s new commentary reveals how incompetence blurred into intentional avoidance and how political pressure protected the powerful. In this episode, we revisit the December 7, 2015 anonymous tip to South Carolina Highway Patrol, examine the December 9, 2015 alternative theory presented by Hampton law enforcement, and the eventual interview six months later which concluded the SCHP investigation into Stephen's brutal death. Stephen’s story is no longer a rumor whispered down rural roads—it’s a call for accountability.Lots to cover, so let's dive in... 🥽🦈 🔗 Watch Murdaugh: Death in the Family — now streaming on Hulu and Disney+ 🔗 Watch the MDITF Official Companion Podcast featuring interviews with the cast, crew, and creators behind the series on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ or listen to extended audio episodes wherever you get your podcasts. hulumurdaughpod.com. LUNASHARK Premium Members are also getting access to a wealth of additional content matched to each Hulu series episode… We’re calling it LUNA VISION! Soak up The Sun Members get to explore the case documents, new case videos, ad-free video episodes, invitations to live events and so much more.  Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more.  Premium Members also get bonus episodes like our Premium Dives, Corruption Watchlist, Girl Talk, and Soundbites that help you Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Here's a link to some of our favorite things: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[e-mail]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lunashark.supercast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/mandy_matney⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   |   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/elizfarrell⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bsky.app/profile/mandy-matney.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠bsky.app/profile/elizfarrell.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TrueSunlight.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tiktok.com/@lunasharkmedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When I first began investigating Stephen Smith's case back in 2019, I assumed the lack of answers was about incompetence. Smalltown investigators who didn't have the training or resources to handle a homicide. But the deeper I went, the clearer it became. This wasn't simple ineptitude. It was avoidance. Somewhere between 2015 and 2016, the South Carolina Highway Patrol stopped looking for Stevens' killer. Why? I believe to this day that it's because the truth threatened people in power. The Highway Patrol is not billed to investigate murders. They reconstruct crashes.

Yet, even after acknowledging that Stephen was not struck by a vehicle, they kept the case rather than transferring it to sled. It's hard not to see that as intentional misdirection, a bureaucratic handoff that never happened because someone didn't want it to. A 19-year-old boy was left in the middle of a rural road with catastrophic head injuries, and yet the system turned away. Over the years, I've wrestled with that. Was it fear, political pressure, or the weight of the Murdoch name that quietly shut every door? I still don't have the answers.

But what gives me hope to this day is that silence around Stephen's death is finally breaking. With new state investigators, South Carolina's midterm election, will select a new Attorney General. And check out Cup of Justice 152 featuring one of those candidates named David Pasco. And with a global awareness brought by Murdoch Death in the Family, people are finally asking the right questions. And as for Sandy Smith, Stephen's mother, she remains one of the bravest people I have ever seen.

She has carried her grief with grace and turned it into purpose. Every time she speaks her son's name, she pushes the investigation forward. Despite years of being dismissed, gaslit, and ignored, Sandy has never stopped fighting. You can see her light up and shine in the Murdoch Death in the Family Official Podcast, episode 5 on Hulu and YouTube 2.

This remastered episode reminds me why we started all of this, to expose how systemic neglect protects the powerful and erases the vulnerable. Stephen deserved better from his community, from his state, and his justice system. His mother deserves the truth. And until it finally comes out, I'll keep asking the hard questions, no matter who they make uncomfortable. Here is our fourth installment of our Who Killed Stephen Smith series, MMP 17, published November 10, 2021. I don't know who killed Stephen Smith, but I know his family.

has now waited 2,316 days to get justice. And now, after a particularly painful few months for the Smith family, I'm more determined than ever to get answers for them. My name is Mandy Matney, and I've been investigating the Murdoch family for more than two and a half years now. And this is the Murdoch Murdoch's podcast. Previously on the Murdoch Murders. On June 22nd, huge news broke in this case.

I was the first to report that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, also known as SLED, the same agency investigating the Murdoch murders, opened an investigation and did Stephen Smith death. Sledd told me that this was based on information gathered during the course of the double homicide investigation of Paul and Maggie Mardock. So what happened to Stephen Smith? 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. 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.

Stephen had a seven-inch gash on the right side of his forehead. His head was warped by blunt force. The family kept the casket open so that people could see what was done to him. Evidence here, there's only evidence of where the body was found. There's no car parts, no any type of parts to a car, or truck, or any other vehicle. A bunch of people, like, I just left the house the first official time yesterday, and I went into the store, and a bunch of people kept coming up here and I'm like, as you know, the Murdoch boys are behind it. This name, people associated with this name have been going to the store.

around kind of threatening or putting the heat on people saying, you know, keep your mouth closed if you heard something, whatever. First we heard he was shot, then we heard it was a hit and run. But recently, probably a week ago, week ago, we could have a go, I'd say something like that. I heard that these two, maybe three young men were in a vehicle. We're riding down 601, saw the car on the side of the road, I guess saw the boy walk in, 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 and stuck something out the window in 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 the name was, he goes about Buster Murdoch. Buster was on our radar long before you were, you know. Yes, sir. The Murdochs know that. They know that he's on our radar. I don't have anything against them, but if it happened, like you said, I mean, if it happened. On December 7, 2015, the South Carolina Highway Patrol receives an anonymous tip,

and I'm quoting directly from the case file here, quote, Donterio Iggin, along with another black male and a white male, parentheses Murdoch, are the ones involved in death, end quote. December 18, 2015, Proctor receives information from Duncan about a man named Daryl Williams, who says his stepson, Patrick Wilson, told him that Sean Connolly struck and killed Stephen Smith. And then Todd Proctor writes something very interesting in the case file. Quote, Mr. Williams stated that the reason that he was passing this information along was because Randy Murdoch told him to call.

So that brings us to December 21, 2015. Corporal Duncan at the Highway Patrol interviews Nick Ginn of the Hampton Police Department in reference to, quote, a tip that came in from Sergeant Barnes. This is about Patrick Wilson. To recap, a few weeks after a newspaper story mentioned the possibility of a prominent Hampton County family being involved with Stephen's death. Randy Murdoch supposedly told this man

to call the Highway Patrol and tell them a story that suspiciously fits into the police narrative that is supported by no evidence, and that is that Stephen was hit by a car. In this episode, we're going to take you through the last few months of the initial investigation to show you where police were at when the case went cold in 2016. We highly suggest you going back and listening to episodes 2, 4, and 9 for this one to make a whole lot more sense. In our last episode on the Stephen Smith investigation, we teased an interview between Corporal Michael E. Duncan of the Highway Patrol and Nick Ginn at the Hampton Police Department. This case that we've got, you know, I'll go over a little bit about, we've got some information, you know, about certain things.

And this was a tip that was given to us from, I believe, Patrick Wilson. If he said, she said, deal, that we gather that information so far. And I believe this comes from, is it a Darren Williams? Is that correct? It's Darrell. Darryl Williams? Okay. Yep. And do you know Darrell?

Yes. Okay. How do you... He is my stepdad technically. Okay. All right. And supposedly Patrick Wilson told him this information about... Right.

Daryl was dating Patrick's mama. Okay. So Patrick's kind of looked at him as a father figure. How long they've been? they were together, but in hunting and things of that such. Okay. Can you tell me what was told to you? We've tried to get in touch with Patrick, but he, you know, he's kind of avoiding the call,

the contact and all. Basically, Darrell called me and he said, look, he said, this is what I was told. He said, Patrick, come over here to the house. He said, he told me that Sean Connolly talked to one of the cops, And then he learned, I guess, by media that somebody had been killed. Okay. So with him telling, he said that Sean called him. Okay.

Patrick was telling Darrell. And Darrell told me that Patrick was crying, telling him. And after he got finished telling the story, he walked outside of his house and threw up. Here, Nickon, who just won a special election in September 2021. for a seat on the Varnville City Council, by the way, is telling Duncan that Patrick Wilson threw up after he told the stepdad that his friend hit Stephen with his truck. Why would a teenage boy throw up after telling that story?

Okay. And he said, Nick, he said, this is just me thinking. He said, but I think that Patrick was with him. He said, why else would he throw up and get all upset like that had done something? Right, right. Did he go into any detail about how it happened? Do you know? I mean...

Supposedly he had fixed his mirror. He had patched one of the mirrors up on the truck. Okay. All right. I pulled all of his records, and I was looking to see, you know, what kind of vehicles they had. And I didn't know if he described basically how he hit him

or, you know, what happened. It was supposedly the mirror. And I've got, I don't know, I got Mitch, sent him to picture and then he would have been driving that night. Okay, all right. I want to say that I sent everything to Mitch. Mitch? Yeah, Altman. Okay.

Okay. Because he, you know, him and my brother, Earnall grew up, and, you know, he and I are pretty good friends. And I didn't know exactly who to contact. So my first thing when I got off to. phone with Darrell was, all right, Mitch popped in my head, highway patrol. So I called Mitch. And he said he would get that information where it needed to go. All right. And so basically, just your knowledge of it is, is a third party is from what Darren is telling you. Right. He said he was concerned and somebody needed to know because somebody's lost a, you know, a son.

stuff like that. And he said, that's just something that you don't just sit on if you know something anything about it. When did he come to you about this? I mean, we got this, I'll let me see it. We got this tip. We got this back on December the 9th. And we've had, you know, a couple people out looking for Patrick.

But then my thought was, well, let's just, you know, let's see what was told from, you know, someone else. Right. But when did he come to you about that? Do you recall, I mean, it comes up December the night. Okay, all right. And then I found it was Wednesday, December 9th at 7.58 a.m. Okay, December night. I'm going to write that now.

That's when I sent it to Mitch. I told him I needed him to contact me ASAP. Wednesday, December 9th would be just two days after the Highway Patrol received a tip that Murdoch was involved in Stephen Smith's death. Keep in mind, Duncan is saying here that he received this tip from True Mitch Altman on December 9th. And according to the Highway Patrol's case file, they essentially sat on it until Proctor got word of this tip and tried to track down Patrick Wilson on December 18. That's 11 days, where it looks like nothing happened. Why would it take so long for them to

investigate this tip? And how hard would it be to track down a teenager in a small town? Okay, all right. As far as Patrick goes, what do you feel about Patrick? I mean, what kind of, I mean, what kind of person you think he's, you know, as far as a good-hearted person, I think he is, but I think he's a little. Is he shady? Yeah, I'm not trying to be, I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. don't get wrong, but that's the best way I can kind of describe people sometimes when...

Well, that would make a better way to put it. I understand. His dad is not, his real dad is not a outstanding society member. Been arrested, you know, before? Yeah, and I think he's in some drugs and stuff like that. Well, you think Patrick has, does he have a criminal background as far as that goes as well? I mean, all the reason why I'm asking... He was charged with attempted murder,

but I'm not exactly sure what the circumstances behind that was. I want to say that that was one of them times that they may have charged him a higher charge to work their way down. Yes, sir. I understand. Oh, I understand. Yeah, but, I mean... Any time I ever have any dealings with him, I mean, he's very respectful and stuff like that, but he's a little shady.

That's probably the perfect word to use. There is no record that the highway patrol looked into Patrick Wilson's quote-unquote shady past, but I did. Wilson was charged with three counts of attempted murder on April 17, 2015. According to arrest warrants in the case, Wilson got into an argument with a man and fired his gun at the man's car, which had two passengers inside of it. This incident happened on Prince William Road in Brunson, South Carolina. Here is a clip from the 911 call. Yeah, the fellow did a little bit of work for us. We told him we'd have his money Monday.

He has now following us around. He just fired a gun and shot at us. And now I'm trying to have fallen to get his tag number, ma'am. He's driving a Chevy full-sized Chevrolet. It's David Wilson's son. We had pulled over at Prince William Church here because he was following us. He wanted his money. We told the child to call us Monday.

We would have a check Monday. And he wanted to sit there and argue, we pull off. If we pull off, he sits in the road and fires the gun at it. It hits the sign right beside us. Okay. Is he still there where y'all are at or is he gone? No, he turned around, ma'am. He is out of sight.

According to the arrest warrants, all victims were afraid for their lives. John Connolly, the person who Patrick Wilson allegedly later claimed hit Stephen with his truck, was in the car with Wilson when the shooting occurred, according to his witness statement. Connolly told police that Patrick Wilson grabbed his gun and shot at the sign after he argued with a man. The case file includes multiple witness statements and a photo of the bullet launched into the crossroad sign. A Hampton County grand jury later indicted Wilson on attempted murder and assault and battery in August 2015. While Wilson was out on bond, the family he allegedly shot at filed multiple harassment complaints against Wilson. And guess who Patrick

Wilson's attorney was? Corey Fleming. Corey Fleming's name comes up a lot throughout the Murdoch Murder Saga. For a reminder, Corey Fleming is a close friend of the Murdoch family and was an attorney in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 2018, Fleming represented Gloria Satterfield's family in a very botched wrongful death settlement against Elyke Murdoch. In 2020, In 2019, Fleming temporarily represented Connor Cook in the boat crash incident that killed Mallory Beach. And two recent lawsuits accused Corey Fleming of misconduct in those separate incidents. Fleming just got his law license temporarily revoked for his alleged involvement in the Satterfield case. In February 2018, Wilson's indictments were all Noel Prost,

which means that the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office, where L.A. Kmerdoch worked as a part-time solicitor decided to not prosecute Wilson's charges and the charges were dropped. But this looks like a clear scenario of a violent crime with victims who appeared to cooperate that the 14th Circuit no prost without a plea deal. And Wilson's connection isn't the only link to the powerful family of Hampton County. Two lawsuits were filed against Sean Connolly by the Murdoch law firm in the year after Stephen died. On August 7, 2015, Randy Murdoch filed a motor vehicle accident lawsuit against Connolly. On behalf of his client, Christopher Still, that lawsuit was dismissed in November 2016. Perry Buckner, a well-known friend of the Murdox, was the judge in that case.

And on May 17, 2016, Neil Alger, who is an attorney at PMPED, the Murdoch family law firm, filed a motor vehicle accident lawsuit against Sean Connolly. That lawsuit was also dismissed in September 2016. So yes, both Patrick Wilson and Sean Connolly have a number of connections to the Murdoch family and their law firm. At the very least, the fact that we've found two teenagers in this investigation who were sued multiple times by the Murdoch law firm for car accidents shows how far reaching the Murdoch's power was in a place like Hampton County. Even teenagers without a penny to spare were being sued by this powerful law firm. And then we have to think of the worst case scenarios, what if these lawsuits and charges were used as leverage? We have found more troubling

information about the Patrick Wilson-Shon-Connelly connection to the 2021 SLED investigation, and we will get into that later. But for now, we're going to get through the case files and answer the question, what happened to the Stephen Smith investigation before it went cold. Which brings us to December 29, 2015. Now, the Highway Patrol apparently didn't do any follow-ups with Sean Connolly or Patrick Wilson, according to the case file. There's no record of the Highway Patrol speaking with either one of them. And really, there was very little movement with the case before it went cold. But on December 29, 2015, I noticed something.

A video related to this case that was taken by Trooper G.N. Hoffman was disposed of. Why would the Highway Patrol destroy any evidence in this case in December 2015 when The case was obviously running out of Leeds and nowhere close to being solved. According to the case file, progress and the investigation slowed to a snail's pace in 2016. On January 26, 2016, Todd Proctor of the Highway Patrol got a search warrant for Stevens' phone at Cellco Partnerships slash Verizon Wireless. All have David read that search warrant. Description of property sought.

The target phone is to be identified as having the number of 8.4. and is further known as Target Phone. Any and all incoming and outgoing historical call data to include cell sites, text messages, to include content, identify cell site information, subscriber and phone toll information to include but not limited to, target number, main number, account status, type of phone, subscriber name, published status, service address, billing address, other numbers, former service number, UFMI, and IMSI numbers for each call from June 9, 2015 to July 9, 2015. Any and all information submitted pursuant to this search warrants shall be in electronic format

unless otherwise requested. Reason for Affian's belief that the property sought is on the subject premises? The owner of the above described cell phone was fatally wounded in an incident on or about July 8th, 2015 on Sandy Run Road within the County of Hampton, South Carolina. The uses of the phone before the incident are pertinent to the ongoing investigation. The individual was found deceased in the middle of the roadway with severe head trauma. The investigation has led to this individual not being struck by a vehicle. vehicle and possible foul play. The information on the phone would help determine who the victim had contact with prior to the events that led to his death.

So why did the Highway Patrol take so long to get the search warrant? Stephen's phone would hold so many answers to this investigation. Who did he speak to last when he was coming home from school in Orangeburg on July 7, 2015? Did his car actually break down? Where was he? Who was he with? The Highway Patrol should not have taken six months to get the search warrant. They should have tried to get this immediately, and there's no signs of that.

And if the South Carolina Highway Patrol's investigation led to the fact that Stephen wasn't killed by a car, and it says that in the search warrant, why were they still investigating this case? They don't investigate murders. Sledd investigates murders in South Carolina. Why didn't they at least attempt to give this investigation to Slech? back in 2016 when they knew that their investigation was not into a vehicle accident. In this document, in January 2016, is the last mention of Stevens' phone in the case files. According to the case files, there was no movement whatsoever in the investigation until June

2016 when trooper J.D. James of the Highway Patrol interviewed Donterio Aiken. For a reminder, the Highway Patrol received a tip on December 7th, 2015 that said Donterio Oaken, along with another black male and another white male listed as Murdoch and the investigation file were the ones involved in Stephen Smith's death. June 13, 2016, time now is approximately 204 p.m. It starts to make a case number of CL-062-15. It's an incident that occurred in Hampton County in 2015. Currently speaking with Donterio Aiken, we're on a case number.

This is just off of SC3 by the train traps here and Bill Dock. Lance Corporal Hoffman's with me. Can you just tell me your name just for the record? Donatorial. Okay. Anybody else live there with you? My mom, mom's tip day. And, um, I guess it occurred, I believe it's July 8th.

It was Sunday, Saturday night and Sunday morning. James apparently isn't too keen on details in the case because Stephen was killed on a Wednesday. Granted, police can lie during interviews to trick people, but why would he lie about that? Tell me what you know about what happened to him? I really don't know too much about him. I mean, I heard of, I don't know he got killed for that was this. I ain't never heard of what really happened to him. How?

How do you get killed? Somebody I know went to school with me and Facebook, social media pretty much. Really? Yeah. Who was that? Post that stupid thing. I can't remember who posted, but I remember seeing it on Facebook. Somebody paid. Now he goes to Facebook, he'll just be strolling. And then somebody was like, Stephen, I was like, Stephen. Then I seen somebody had a picture of it. I was like, oh, that kid, he said, I'm going to go to school with me.

That's all he died. That's how he died. What he said how he died? I don't get me. Somebody said you're hit by a car or something. That's what you heard. How you didn't get a hit by car? He didn't? Someone murdered him.

So I have to say this again. If Stephen was murdered, then why is the Highway Patrol investigating this case still? The Highway Patrol specializes an accident reconstruction. They are not equipped for murder investigations. And this is so obvious during this interview. That's what I'm saying. Thanks, Craig. Why would somebody do that, Sam?

I have no idea. He wouldn't bother nobody, I don't think. Because he was out, when I played football, he was all a trainer. Too much, I don't ever seen him talk too much. I mean, I don't see him. Every now I didn't have in school, but on that, nothing I've seen. Here, Donario is telling James that he never really talked to Stephen and that Stephen was their trainer on the football team in high school.

He said Stephen didn't talk a lot and he wondered why anybody would kill him. And when did you hear about his death? When I got home? When was that? That Friday? Well, before that Friday, Sunday morning or something like that? No, it was like a week later that when I heard about it. Because I came back home that when I heard about it.

I got this kid down. You know what's happened on the weekend? Yeah, I'm saying. What were you doing that weekend? I don't do. Most time when I come home, I work on, I was doing that. I asked him on the weekend too. James asked Aiken several questions about what he was doing on the weekend Stephen died.

But again, Stephen didn't die on a weekend. And he brings this up over and over again, asking him basically about an alibi for an insignificant weekend almost a year after this event occurred. Did you ever go out to parties out of the country? With some schoolmates? Why in partying so long? I don't know. I mean, that weekend.

What were you doing over the weekend? Working. But you say you're off. You don't work on the weekend. I'm saying I do side work on the weekend. Right. Either people houses and you can't get to my house.

I used to go to Augusta sometimes. That weekend. I think I was in. I did that way. Oh, I'm going to be my name, Giante. I work at his house. All did that be.

It is highly unlikely that Aiken or anyone could have randomly recalled where he was on an uninventful weekend 11 months prior. And again, the weekend doesn't even matter because Stephen wasn't killed on the weekend. But the investigator doesn't know that and he just keeps asking about it. He eventually switches the subject and starts asking about the Murdox. You, uh, did you hear to school with some kids with the last name Murdo? Murdo? Murdoch.

I know, girl. You know the boys? It wasn't too many of my. Well, he graduated me with Steve. Right. You hang out with him? No, did. Did you ever go to any of his parties at any time?

No, sir. Then the interview starts to turn serious. It becomes clear that James is treating Aiken like a person of interest in this investigation. But then again, I have to say the cops can lie in these types of interviews. Do you have any time? No? No. Why would I mean you?

I'm just asking you. What are you saying? You know, your name's been come up and brought up, you know, as a link in his death. Okay. So, I mean, if there's anything that you, that you want to say about it, you know, I'd hate to see you go down with whoever killed this boy. Huh? I wasn't here. Nobody could tell me they'd have to death.

he'd have to eat that on that is it? No, I mean, I don't know. I heard he was hit by a car. Yeah, he wasn't. So we're going around and interviewing everybody that may have had a link based on what everybody's talking about, all right, and he got brought up. So that's what I'm saying.

I'm not calling you, I'm not saying you're guilty of nothing right now, okay? All right? But if you know something, or something comes up in the future, this is by no means they closed investigation. Yes, I don't know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, you know, if something comes up in the near future, you know, and we have leads to go on and we can discover new information about the case,

even if you didn't do it, I mean, if you were tied in with it and didn't cooperate with us, you know, I don't know, I'm saying? I mean, this is pretty, uh, pretty, uh, it has been serious because it's just a lot of life. And that's it. That's the end of the investigation files. What kind of an investigation ends in an interview with a cop saying this is by no means a closed investigation? In a best case scenario, they gave up and stopped caring about Stephen Smith's death.

Maybe they realized that they were in way over their heads trying to solve a murder as accident experts. But why didn't they give the case to sled at the time? And then we have to consider the worst case scenario. Did someone powerful interfere with this investigation and stop the wheels of justice from proceeding? We don't have the answers as to why this investigation ended, but we will find out. And we would most definitely hope that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is now conducting its investigation in this case as if all of the eyes in the world will be pouring through these case files later.

They should know that I won't give up on this case, no matter how long it takes. They should note that sunlight will shine on those case files, and they don't want to look like the highway patrol. We have found more information about the direction that this case is heading and about Sandy Smith's attorney, but we're going to get into all of that in a later episode. For those of y'all who can't wait, subscribe, which brings me to some really good news. The Murdoch Murders podcast team is expanding. I have awesome reinforcement coming in to help us expose the truth wherever. it leads in the Murdoch Murder saga, and I can't wait to tell y'all about it in the next episode.

I want to end the episode by saying thank you to every person who has supported us on this journey for almost five months now. There were a lot of times this summer when I wanted to give up on the podcast, and your support kept me going. Now that we're expanding our team, I'm excited about so many new episodes that we have in store, including one on this crazy jellyfish gambit that David is super excited about. Sure am. Also, happy Veterans Day and thank you to all who have served, including my grandfather, a World War II veteran who turns 97 years old this week.

Happy birthday, Grandpa Rocky. A special thanks to Crisp with Hooked Audio, the team at UTA, and all of our sponsors. Also, the Stephen event was a wild success. I'll talk about that in a later episode, but the GoFundMe to support Stephen's family and a scholarship in Stephen's name is still live. Check it out in the links in the description and I encourage you all to donate. Stay tuned to the Murdoch Murders podcast for the latest updates. Follow me on Twitter at Mandy Matney. That's M-A-N-D-Y-M-A-T-N-E-Y and follow me on Instagram for more updates. There's so much to unpack in this case and Mandy works tirelessly to

expose the truth. But the truth is she works hard and she does get tired. If you believe like I do that Mandy is the best in the business, and I'm a little biased, visit Murdochmurterspodcast.com and click the support-the-show link to learn how you can help. Leave a five-star review to offset the haters. Refer an advertiser and get a finder's fee. Or advertise your company, product, or service. We can geotarget across the globe and find the right audience to suit your needs. Help us get Luna some treats so she doesn't interrupt the show as much.

And absolutely subscribe and your service. subscriptions are invaluable to that mission. Plus, you get awesome content every day. And don't forget to leave a five-star review unless you're going to be nasty and talk about my vocal fright. The Murdoch Murders podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my fiance, David Moses. Produced by Luna Shark Productions. When I first saw Murdoch death in the family bring Stephen and Sandy Smith story to life in

episode four and more so in episode five, I felt the weight of years of unanswered questions once again, but also a new feeling, the power of finally being seen. Roda Griffith's portrayal of Sandy captures the heartbreak and quiet resilience of a mother who refuses to let her child's memory fade. She embodies every sleepless night, every unanswered phone call, and every brick wall that Sandy has faced since 2015. And watching Britney Snow's version of Mandy navigate that story was extremely emotional. In a way, I didn't expect. Their scenes together aren't just a dramatization.

They are a reflection of the bond forged in truth-seeking. Two women from different worlds connected by the belief that justice still matters. This episode, like the show, reminds us that Stephen's story isn't just just about tragedy. It's about persistence, courage, and a mother's love that refused to die in the dark.