Murdaugh Murders Podcast - MMP Remastered #24 - Who Killed Stephen Smith? Part Five

Episode Date: November 1, 2025

In this powerful remastered episode, journalists Liz Farrell and Mandy Matney revisits Sandy Smith’s 2016 letter to the FBI — the desperate plea of a mother who refused to let her son’s death be forgotten. With new commentary, Mandy exposes how systemic neglect and media exploitation compounded Sandy’s pain, even as she fought for the truth about Stephen’s suspicious death. This episode tracks the turning points that brought new allies into Sandy’s fight — attorney Mike Hemlepp’s compassionate advocacy, SLED’s renewed investigation, and the community’s rallying support. Mandy also reflects on how Hulu’s Murdaugh: Death in the Family gives global voice to Stephen and Sandy’s story, transforming private grief into public demand for justice. If you know any information that could help SLED solve Stephen Smith’s case, PLEASE, contact [e-mail] please consider donating to the ⁠⁠Justice For Stephen Go Fund Me⁠⁠. 🔗 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

That's annoying. What? You're a muffler. You don't hear it? Oh, I don't even notice it. I usually drown it out with the radio. How's this? Oh, yeah, way better.

Save on insurance by switching to Bell Air Direct and use the money to fix your car. Bell Air Direct, insurance simplified. Conditions apply. When I first read Sandy Smith's letter that she sent to the FBI back in 2016, it stopped me cold. And David and I still have a copy of her investigation binder positioned prominently in our studio. It reminds us we still have work to do for justice, for Sandy, and for so many other victims who await justice. That letter and her pursuit for answers wasn't just a plea from a grieving mother, it was a roadmap of everything that went wrong. At the time, Sandy believed that there was an intentional cover-up in Stevens' case.

And while she believes power played a role, some of what she feared was also the product of a deeply broken system. Today, with new eyes and stronger allies, I see on a daily basis how incompetence and corruption often overlap, and how both robbed her son of justice for far too long. Since this episode first aired, I have been asked where people can send credible tips or information about Stephen's death. The place to send information is by emailing tips at SLED.s.c.gov or calling 803-896-7133, where callers can remain anonymous. There's also a standing $50,000 reward for verified information that leads to an arrest. The summer of 2021 was one of the hardest times for Sandy. After SLED reopened Stevens case, the media descended on her home like Volus.

reporters were camping out in her yard, leaving notes on her door, and calling at all hours. One reporter banged on her door at 2 a.m. Imagine surviving six years of silence, and then suddenly becoming a headline with strangers fighting over your trauma. It was way too much for anyone, and that's when she reached out for legal help. Attorney Mike Himlop stepped in pro bono after Andy Savage's team, including his oddly public-private investigator, Steven Peterson, lost Sandy's trust. And while Mike's involvement brought stability, there was a significant gap between when Savage left the case and when Mike joined,

a gap that meant months of lost investigative momentum. Still, Mike brought a renewed sense of empathy and focus, especially as someone from the LGBTQ-plus community who deeply understood why Stephen's story matters. Mike Hemlip would later become a senior assistant attorney to the city of Columbia, South Carolina, and as a result, had to step back from Stevens' investigation. But we know that he still supports Sandy's mission. After Elyke Murdoch's trial in March of 2023, Attorney Eric Bland and his partner, Ronnie Richter,

they stepped in to help a range of fundraiser, which paid for an independent investigation and autopsy of Stevens' case. and that built a foothold for the Stephen Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund and allocated a $50,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Stevens case. Eric speaks with sled chief Mark Keel, who assigned sled officers regularly to check on updates. Looking back, this episode represents a turning point when truth began replacing rumor

and compassion began replacing fear. It was the moment Sandy. stopped being treated like a burden and started being treated like she is, a mother demanding justice for her son. I don't know who killed Stephen Smith, but I know his mother, Sandy, recently hired a new attorney, and I have a renewed sense of hope that the Smith family will finally get justice after waiting 2,359 days. My name is Mandy Matney.

I'm a journalist and I've been investigating the Murdoch family for almost three years now. This is the Murdoch murders podcast with David Moses and Liz Farrell. Previously on The Murdoch Murdoch, murders podcast, we took you through every detail of the 2015 investigation into Stephen Smith's death. If you haven't listened already, we highly suggest you going back and listening to episodes 24, 9, and 17 before listening to this episode. It'll make a lot more sense. Trust me. To recap, Stephen was found dead in the middle of a rural Hampton County Road in July 2015. His death still remains unsolved.

Stephen's death was mysteriously ruled a hit and run by pathologist Aaron Presnell at the Medical University of South Carolina. And this is despite the fact that investigating agencies reported that there was no evidence to support this claim. His injuries, mostly to his head, were not consistent to those from a vehicular homicide. The ruling sent the entire investigation wildly off course. In the South Carolina Highway Patrol, an agency not equipped to investigate murders of this kind was put in charge of the investigation.

So from early on, the Murdoch name was brought up over and over and over again. I told her that another friend of mine had picked me asking me if Lester 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

and I went into the store and a bunch of people kept coming up me and I'm like you know the Murdoch boys are behind it everybody keeps coming up to me and it was Murdoch I did hear names and I heard a name

that name was he goes about Buster Murdick and yet South Carolina Highway Patrol Troopers never interviewed anyone from the family Buster was was on our radar long before you were, you know? Yes, sir.

The Murdox 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... But perhaps the most mysterious thing about the Stephen Smith case was how it ended.

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, I mean, this is by no means it closed investigation. Yes, I 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 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, that you could get in trouble. You know what I'm saying? I mean, this is pretty, uh, pretty, pretty, it's just a lot of life. said in the previous episode on Steven Smith, that interview that you just heard was the last interview in the case file. It appears to us from the files that we see, the Highway Patrol allowed

the case to go cold right after that interview, which is really weird. Because this is a case of a 19-year-old man who had a really bright future, who was suddenly found dead with his face bashed in on a rural road in a very small town. How could they just give up? How could they just accept that this was going unsolved after so few interviews? Did they even try to get to the truth? These are the questions that we need answers to. In this episode, we're going to take you through all of the significant events that took place in this case between 2016 and now.

But before we get into all of that, we want to remind you of the person that all of this is about, Stephen Nicholas Smith. Here is his incredible mother, Sandy Smith. He was amazing. He was intelligent. He was a clown. When he walked in the room, all eyes are on him. But he loved trying to help people.

He loved trying to make his own medication out of urge because he didn't trust anybody. He's not putting out of my body. But, yeah. and he was a love books his room was a library we had to put shelves on all four walls to hold all his books and he would not put that book down until he was finished they wanted to be a doctor but he said that he didn't because it caused so much money to be a doctor that he would start out in nursing after he finished the nursing he could get a job and then put himself through medical college and become a position for needy children that doesn't have insurance. Sandy Smith knew something was wrong at the time in 2015 when this case was going cold. She sensed it.

They just stopped. And I would call the mate team, which was Lee Wapton. And sometimes they would call that and sometimes they would. I was calling the victim's advocate. And she says, well, let me check and see what's going on. And then nothing, never got another call. Sandy wasn't getting any answers from anyone in South Carolina. At this point, she even reached out to South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley for help.

And the investigation into her son's death appeared to be at a standstill, as far as she could see. At that time, I was, like, devastated, and I was getting no contact from any law enforcement. It was just like Stevens just was wiped out. And his name, his case, everything was just, it all stopped. And I was trying to get it started back, so he wouldn't be forgotten. Sandy Smith refused to accept that the investigation was over. In September 2016, the grieving mother made one final plea in a heartbreaking letter to the FBI. My family is in desperate need of your help, she wrote.

My 19-year-old son, Stephen Nicholas Smith, was murdered on July 8, 2015 in Hampton County, South Carolina. It has been apparent from the first week of the investigation that authorities, are covering up critical evidence, and we no longer know who to trust. In the letter, she said that authorities flip-flopped between theories when they told the smiths of the news of Stephen's death on July 8, 2015. In her letter, Sandy wrote the first police told her that Stephen was shot after he ran out of gas and then was exiting his vehicle. And then after that, she was told that her son was killed in a hit-and-run accident and that the

motorist fled the scene. And then, investigators told her that he was beaten to death by unknown assailants. And to add tragedy on top of tragedy, Stephen's father died suddenly in October 2015, she explained in the letter. She said that her son Stephen was attacked so violently that his entire side of his face was rebuilt with putty for his funeral. To make matters worse, Sandy said in the letter that she was getting mixed messages from authorities in the immediate aftermath of Stephen's death. She said that Hampton investigators actually asked them at the time to continue to publicly say that Stephen was killed in a hit and run. And they claimed to her that they didn't want the killer to know that they were looking for him, which is really, really

weird. In the letter, Sandy said that investigators have failed to access Stevens' phone, a critical piece of evidence that would likely shed light on a lot of the rumors surrounding the investigation. She said that at the beginning of the investigation, they were told that they would not have access to Stevens' text for at least a year. She said that investigators told her that they'd have to send the phone to Apple to get the security features unlocked, and then Months after they told her that, they found out that the phone was never sent to Apple. According to the investigation file, the Highway Patrol didn't attempt to access Stevens' phone until Todd Proctor obtained a search warrant for the phone from Verizon Wireless in January 2016.

That was the last mention of anything happening with Stevens' phone, and there was never any conclusion in the case file about if they found anything with Stephen's phone. In the conclusion of Sandy's letter that she sent in September 2016, she pleaded with the FBI to open an investigation into Stephen's death. We desperately need your help, she wrote. This investigation is being deliberately derailed. We need to hold the investigators accountable to access Stephen's phone. And Sandy did get a response from the FBI.

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Get the new iPhone 17 Pro at tellus.com slash iPhone 17 Pro on select plans. Conditions and exclusions apply. I recently asked Sandy what happened after she mailed this letter to the FBI back in 2016. They sent two agents to my house, and they asked me what I thought the holdup was, and I said, it's all about this phone. They keep saying they can't get the phone unlocked. And so they went and got the phone, signed the phone out, took it to Virginia, the Quantico, and got it unlocked, and got it unlocked, and took it back to mate, and then they offered to process the clothes and all the other evidence.

And then what did they do? That was it, because they weren't invited in. They had to be invited in, and they weren't invited in. So then that stopped also. Sandy is saying here that the South Carolina Highway Patrol, which had been questioning its own involvement in this case from the very start, did not seek the assistance of the FBI. For the FBI to have had jurisdiction over this investigation, for them to have taken this case without getting invited by state

investigators, Stephen's death would have had to have occurred on federal property, such as a national park or reservation, or would have had to involve some other federal crime or ongoing federal investigation. Sandy literally had no one in law enforcement to turn to, especially no one she could trust. Had the FBI been involved, though, it's not clear this would have led to a suspect. While it's generally assumed that the FBI has agents who are highly and specifically trained for cases like this, there were just so many problems with this investigation. But what we have here and what Sandy experienced over and again appears to be a shrug and the constant reassurance from law enforcement from the professionals whose literal purpose is to protect and serve the people

that there's nothing amiss here. What's crazy about this, and all the Murdoch-related investigations, actually, is how often we've been told that the things we are seeing or aren't seeing are not signs of corruption, but rather incidents of incompetence. If we believed every law enforcement agency

that has told us the anomalies in their Murdoch-related investigations are due to officer error, then we'd have to tell everyone in South Carolina to move because we have a big problem. While authorities apparently managed to forget Stephen's case, Sandy did everything so she could find answers. Over the next few years, she filed several Freedom of Information Act requests to get as many records as she could on Stephen's case. She left messages with investigators to remind them that Stephen's case still needed attention,

and she talked about her son's case to anybody who would listen. She truly never stopped fighting for her son. And that brings us to February 2019. In the weeks following the horrific boat crash that killed Mallory Beach, I kept seeing a meme online that said justice for Mallory and Stephen. As we started to piece together who Stephen Smith was and a skeleton of the story about what happened to him, Liz remembered that she got a tip from law enforcement about Stephen's case before the boat crash happened. In the summer of 2018, around the time of the annual Trial Lawyers Association meeting, when all the Murdox descended on Hilton Head to attend continuing education courses

and host lavish dinner parties for judges and politicians, a law enforcement source of mine, who knows the Murdox well, told me about a story he'd heard that he wanted me to expose. The only problem was that the story was about a gay teenager who had been beaten to death in Hampton County, which might as well have been in Iceland because it is an hour and a half away and wasn't in our coverage area.

And I just didn't see how I was going to be able to convince my editor to allow me to spend time investigating it. The Murdoch family was well known, but had somewhat faded into the background in Beaufort County after Randolph retired in 2006. A quick aside about Randolph's retirement party. It was apparently held

at the high school in Hampton County and more than a thousand people attended it. And they had it catered by the Hampton County Jail with uniform inmates serving the food. Nice, right? The law enforcement source who told me about Stephen's case also told me the Murdoch boys did it and that their family and other law enforcement agencies were conspiring to cover it up. He was disgusted by this and by the behavior of Ehrlich in general. Elick allowed his kids to drink underage in public at restaurants and other

events, even ones attended by law enforcement officers. That is how low his regard was for following the law and how sure they were that they could do what they wanted, when they wanted, no matter who saw it. At the time, I was working on another project and put it on hold. Sometime in very early 2019, Mandy and I were talking about stories we wanted to do, and I told her about this case. Not long after, the boat crash occurred, and my law enforcement source reminded me of who Paul Murdoch was. When the memes featuring Mallory and Stephen came out, it gave us the green light to pursue Stephen's story without worrying about her quote-unquote coverage And I also just want to say, thank God for the bravery of these very first people who posted

those memes, because without them, I don't think the pressure on the Murdox and law enforcement would have mounted the same way it did. It was Mandy who first reached out to Sandy through a source. At the time, and still to this day, people were very reluctant to speak about the Murdox over the phone or even at all. They certainly wouldn't go on the record about them. When we first met Sandy in March 2019, it was clear that she had no such fear of them. She was willing to show us everything she had, tell us everything she'd been through. I think it's important to note that when people first meet Sandy, they often comment on how taken they are by her.

She's just a really smart, rational, and very collected person who has also experienced a lot of sadness and a lot of hardship. She wasn't on a mission against the Murdox. She was on a mission to get answers on what happened to her son. At the time of our first meeting, there were rumors going around Hampton County that Sandy had had been paid off by the Murdoch family. And that's why nothing ever happened in Stevens' case. Obviously, this wasn't true, but it certainly gives you insight

into how people think things are normally handled in Murdoch country. So back in March 2019, we left Sandy's house and felt determined to help her, but we didn't know where to start. Over the next few months, on our own time, we chipped away the case files. Months later, both Liz and I left the newspaper. we were at due to management issues, and we never published the story about Stephen. But Stephen's story stuck with both of us. It was a weight we carried knowing that we never fulfilled a promise to Sandy.

And during that time, something weird happened in 2020 that we need to talk about. Two private investigators named Henry Rosado and Max Rotati were allegedly hired by Parker's in the Mallory Beach lawsuit. According to Sandy, two investigators showed up at her door in the summer of 2020. 2020 and said they were interested in Stephen's case. But they just showed up at my house and told me that, and this was, um, after Mallory died, I think it was that June, they said there was a lot of people interested in Stephen's case and had hired them to help with Stevens case, but they never said who they worked for.

Sandy said she was desperate for answers at the time, and she gave them Stephen's iPad, the one that the Highway Patrol apparently didn't find much evidence on, aside from the fact that it last pinged at Orangeburg Technical College on the night before Stephen died. But the weird thing is that Sandy said those two private investigators never gave her the iPad back. And that brings us to June 7th,

2021 when Maggie and Paul Murdoch were murdered in Colleton County, South Carolina. In the days after the double homicide, I noticed the same thing was happening online that happened in the aftermath of the 2019 boat crash. Lots of people from Hampton County were commenting about the Stephen Smith case and connecting the dots between the two. I knew that it was time to tell the world about Stephen Smith. So three days after the murder, I finally worked up the courage that I never had before to write about the Murdoch family and the three deaths they were connected to, Mallory Beach, Stephen Smith, and Gloria Satterfield. In that article that was honestly two years in the making, I was first to report

that the Murdoch name was mentioned more than 40 times in the investigation file of Stephen Smith. And in the week after I wrote that story, Sandy hoped and prayed that the new moment would prompt a new investigation into her son's death. On Thursday, June 17th, 10 days after the double homicide, an agent from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division called Sandy. She was hoping to hear that they had opened a case into her son's unsolved death. I wish I recorded this conversation. I remember hearing the devastation in Sandy's voice when she told me that SLED called her

back and said they were only looking into Stephen Smith's case because they had to see if Stephen's family was involved in the shooting of Paul and Maggie Murdoch. What a slap in the face, Sandy Smith told me at the time. Sandy was so heartbroken and publicly called out sled in an article that I wrote that day. And I didn't know what to tell her at this point. I, too, was devastated and angry. It was the first time I cried at my desk while working. Four days later, Sandy called and told me she had gotten the news that she had waited almost six years for. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was finally opening an investigation into Stephen Smith's death. Thankfully, I recorded that conversation, which will go down, honestly, as one of the best phone calls I've ever had.

I feel like, I've been shaking all over, I've got chills all over me. I've been wanting to cry, but I haven't cried yet. I mean, you've waited to throw down. What they said was the sled that's working in the Murdoch case and stuff like that, they don't even know who they are. They don't know anybody on the mate team. This is like fresh. Okay.

It's like starting from the beginning. Good. We'll be right back. After I got off the phone with Sandy, I called a spokesperson at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division who told me that SLED had opened up the investigation based on information gathered during the course of the double homicide investigation of Matt

Maggie and Paul Murdoch. Sandy was filled with so much hope on June 22nd, 2021. But as much as she had always wanted the eyes of the world on Stevens' case, she soon felt the brunt of the media storm that hit Hampton County this summer. Every day I'd come home from work

and there would be reporters in the yard and there'd be notes on my door. My phone is full of voicemails and I won't erase them because that way they can't leave me another one. But no, it's basically, everybody was trying to make money off of Stephen's story. And it just got so hectic that I just started avoiding them. Me and Mercedes would run and go to my friend's house, and we wouldn't be home.

And we'd drive by my driveway, and if there was a car in the RV, we would just keep going. One of them, not on my door at 1.30 in the morning. New York Times or something, New York, somebody from New York. Well, it got to the point where Mercedes was getting scared, you know. Because you had all these strangers in our yard all the time, and yeah, it was too much. That's why I had to go get, I got Andy to keep the media away from us. As Sandy was so overwhelmed with media requests and didn't know who to turn to, a friend of a friend recommended that she reached out to Charleston attorney Andy Savage for help.

Andy Savage is a prominent Charleston, South Carolina attorney who has taken on several famous cases. Most recently, Andy Savage is known for representing victims of the Charleston Church shooting, along with Ellick Murdoch's attorney Dick Hart-Pitlian in a whopping $88 million settlement with the federal government. This summer, Andy agreed to represent Sandy for $1, but he was very clear about one rule that he had for her. She could not take any media interviews without his permission first. He threatened to drop her as a client if she broke this rule. Keep in mind, this is a time when Steven's case had more media momentum than ever before. Every media outlet in the country wanted to talk to Sandy Smith, and this was a six-year-old cold case.

The best chance that they had to solve this was someone coming forward who witnessed Stephen's death or knew someone who did. Why wouldn't Andy Savage want his client speaking to any media who could help them solve Stephen's death? Apparently just before Sandy hired Andy in July 2021, Andy Savage happened to hire an investigator named Stephen Peterson, who was appointed to work on the Smith case this summer. Over the next few months, Sandy said she communicated a lot more with Peterson than she did with Andy Savage. She said that she almost never heard from her own attorney, Andy Savage. Then on October 27, 2021, just a few days.

before Stephen's first ever memorial fundraiser, Sandy checked her phone and couldn't believe what she saw. It was a headline in ABC News 4 that said focus on the Murdox and Stephen Smith desk may be unfounded, attorney says, with a photo of Andy Savage next to Stephen. That attorney who was saying that was her own attorney, Andy Savage. And Sandy had no idea that Andy was going to say this to media. Sandy could not believe it. Her Her attorney was speaking to media and apparently absolving the Murdox without her consent. I don't know if he was trying to throw the media off, or I don't know exactly what he was doing. It just was very heartbreaking to have to read something that your lawyer says in the media with no warning.

Simon Peterson did speak to her before the story was published and said that they believed that they had a suspect in the case, and they didn't think that the Murdox were connected. But he told her that he didn't want to say anything until he knew for sure. So my thing, well, I guess you would have, I thought that they would wait until they knew for certain before they put it all over the news. It's always a different slap in the face, under the cheek, I guess. Sandy Smith was crystal clear. She was not mad about the conclusion that Savage and Peterson apparently reached in the investigation to a parent. apparently absolved the Murdox.

And also, I want to point out that Savage specifically stated that his comments were about Paul Murdoch, but he did not add that much clarity. All I've ever wanted was the truth. I don't care who did it, what their name was, I wanted an oath who killed my son. After I published this story, Savage replied to my media request and told me that all he did was provide a written statement that said that the media seems to be focused, perhaps obsessed on the Murdoch link to the Smith case. He said, our investigation has not eliminated other possibilities. He said he believed that the SLED investigation continues to explore all possibilities

and good for them. You're about to hear a preview of the Jordan Harbinger show with a skilled art forger who made millions selling his fakes. I was a storehouse of knowledge of how to create an illusion, presented to a experienced expert,

and bring him to the inevitable conclusion that the painting is genuine. We flooded the market with my paintings and eventually the FBI will lead to my door. They uncovered

a mountain of evidence against me. But they never actually got you. Why did it go away? Why did you never get indicted? And how are we having this conversation? I guess that's the greatest story of all. To hear details of how Ken Perenni evaded the scrutiny of everyone from the mafia to the FBI and lived to tell the tale, check out episode 282 of the Jordan Harbinger show.

So Stephen Peterson a few weeks ago, I worked for the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office as the assistant public information officer for just over a year. I was at the office when I got a call from Peterson who told me he was an investigator with Sandy's attorney and was working to get to the bottom of the Stephen Smith case. I had a Google doc with 100 pages of my notes from the Smith case, including a very detailed timeline. And I had already shared that with an attorney friend of mine who passed this on to Savage's Day. team. I figured Peterson was calling me about that, but it turned out he wanted something else. In 2019, Mandy was given an unredacted copy of the Highway Patrol investigation. This included hours of interviews with witnesses, investigator notes, and photos. Peterson wanted a copy of what we had. He said SLED wouldn't give it to him. I would do anything to help Sandy, so I told him I would.

But then I started talking to Peterson and, huh, where to start? I asked him if he was certified with SLED. He wasn't. I asked him what his thoughts were on the case. and he shared them. Now, a day before this, again, in October 2021, Mandy had learned that law enforcement was starting to float the idea that Stephen really had been killed in a hit and run and the Murdox had nothing to do with it.

So it struck me as odd when Peterson began telling me the same details that Mandy had learned. I want to be very clear here. We do not care whether the Murdox had anything to do with Stephen's death, and we certainly are not saying that they did. What we are saying, however, is that no one, No one can claim that the Murdox, quote, had nothing to do with the case when their names and metaphorical fingerprints are all over the case file. If they had nothing to do with it, then they are a very unlucky family.

On his own, and according to him, before Slet had interviewed this person, Peterson told me he had visited Sean Connolly, who was named in the original investigation as a potential person of interest in Stephen's death. You might remember from the last Stephen Smith episode, Sean Connolly is one of two teenagers who suddenly emerged as potential suspects right after Sandy Smith was on the cover of the Hampton Guardian, insinuating that people in Hampton County were covering up for the Murdox in November 2015. Sean's friend Patrick Wilson was facing attempted murder charges at the time they were brought to law enforcement's attention and was being represented by Corey Fleming. You know, ELEC's best friend and Paul's godfather. Neither boy appears to have been questioned by Highway Patrol in Stephen's case at the time.

And Mandy and I have always found their appearance in the file strange. Also a little strange? The 14th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office, of which Ehrlich Murdoch was a member at the time, dropped the attempted murder charges against Patrick Wilson altogether shortly after this. Peterson told me he was a former DEA agent and that he had used one of his super special DEA agent's to interrogate Sean, who, according to Peterson, started to come undone under his questioning. Peterson told me he lied to Sean and told Sean that he had photos of the damage done to his truck the night Stephen died. He told me Sean got quote-unquote squirley and told him that he had hit a deer that

night and that the damage to his truck was from that. When I asked Peterson what he made of the fact that Daryl Williams, the man who came forward about Sean Connolly and Patrick Wilson in 2015 had told a Highway Patrol investigator that Randy Murdoch had urged him to contact police and tell them about Connolly and Wilson. Peterson told me that he had also interviewed Daryl. And guess what? Daryl now swears that Randy never told him this and that he didn't know why it was in the investigator's report. During our reporting, Mandy and I had been told the names of three kids who allegedly witnessed Stevens killing, along with Buster and Paul, again allegedly. When I brought up these names with Peterson, he seemed to dismiss the idea altogether. Again,

We do not care who killed Stephen Smith. We care about finding out who killed Stephen Smith. In that moment, in talking to Peterson, I got a sick feeling and immediately called Mandy afterward. We ultimately decided we would not share the investigation with Peterson until we got the okay from Sandy. In the meantime, though, we cut off all access to my notes and timeline. And shortly after this is when a TV station reported that Andy Savage was declaring that the Murdox had nothing to do with the case. And what's even weirder, a source close to the investigation told me she was interviewed by Stephen Peterson this fall. She told me, like Liz, that she felt sick while speaking to Peterson.

She said that Peterson only seemed focused on information that could clear the Murdoch's name and seemed to ignore all the other details that she was giving him. She said that he had a list of suspects in front of her during the interview and literally crossed off Buster and Paul's names in front of her, despite what she was saying. So, essentially, Andy Savage apparently did three things for Sandy Smith. He appointed a PI on her case who appeared to have conducted a botched investigation that apparently concluded that the Murdox were not involved in Stephen Smith's death.

He silenced Sandy during a time when her son's case needed momentum and the public's attention, and he made a public statement without her consent that attempted to clear the Murdoch's name from the case. So yes, we should be questioning Andy Savage's intentions in this case. I was devastated that he had made a public announcement without consulting me first. I felt betrayed. I felt very betrayed, you know, because I feel if you're an attorney and you're working my son's case, you're working for my son, that all information needs to go through me first. So I can prepare my children from the devastation, you know.

I mean, it was just, I just felt betrayed, very betrayed. After that story ran, Sandy Smith and Andy Savage split ways. At that point, Sandy told me that she felt like she was better off doing this on her own. She was worried that she would never be able to trust an attorney again. Just when she was giving up hope on all South Carolina attorneys, she met attorney Mike Hemlip. Mike Hemlip has over 30 years of legal experience on both sides of the law. He was the first police advisor for the Columbia Police Department

and a prosecutor for several years who handled dozens of murder cases. He's also recently worked as a private attorney handling litigation for car accidents, civil rights issues, personal injury, and in other areas. Mike met Sandy at the Standing for Stephen fundraiser in Columbia, South Carolina, on October 30th. And just like me, Mike was immediately impressed with Sandy Smith when they first met, and he felt compelled to help her and help Stephen's case, however he could. Mike relates to Stephen on a level that most attorneys don't. You know, I think part of, I think one of the things I bring to the table is that, you know,

being part of the LGBT community, Stephen's story is very much the reason why young men and women all over the country don't come out of the closet. Men and women all over this country don't come out of the closet because they're afraid of violence. And we don't know the motive of or even the means of how Stephen passed away. But the implication is scary. We need to solve this. And I've spent 30 years helping victims get to the bottom of their case and helping to fill in the blocks of mysteries,

of criminal and civil liability. I wanted to do that for them. Stephen deserves it. In November, Sandy officially hired Mike as her new attorney, and Mike has one goal for his new client. that's getting justice for Stephen Smith. Justice for Stephen. Justice for this family.

You know, this family, this family went through a horrific experience. I mean, it was, and it was one after the other, right? I mean, it was, you know, the family had to deal with Stephen's death and then right on the heels of that, Joel died. And they had to deal with that as well. and nobody heard of it.

Nobody knew about it. Very few people in Columbia knew about it and we're an hour away from Hampton. Well, then, a bunch of other murders happened and then a bunch of other things happened in Hampton County, a bunch of things that seemingly, you know, they just popped up. And now, Stephen's a national topic.

Yeah. Why wasn't he a national topic before? Yeah. He wasn't a national topic before because there was no money involved. He deserves justice. Everyone deserves justice. Mike told me that he couldn't get into specifics,

but he feels confident that Sled's investigation is headed in the right direction. For far too long, stories and investigations into Stephen's death have blurred the truth, filled it with speculation, and clouded the evidence. But finally, after many frustrating years, the Svens family is building a health partnership with law enforcement. Sandy, Stephen's mother, is being treated by law enforcement

exactly the way a crime victim's mother should be treated. She sat down and met with agents of South Carolina law enforcement division and the agents of the state law enforcement division and Sandy and the family have been meeting and sharing information with each other and because of that we are closer to answers than we have been since this began in July of 2015. But it still remains unsolved and there's work to be done. Sandy's new attorney believes that this case can be solved. I practiced law for 30 years, and the first chunk of it, I had the honor of working for Solicitor John Justice in the Sixth Circuit. I've had cases like this.

There are people out there who know what happened. There are people out there who know parts of the puzzle. And for whatever reason in Hamilton County, those people didn't come forward. and we're now in an environment where Hampton County has a bright light on it. And those people who didn't come forward for whatever reason, those reasons don't exist anymore. And I think people are going to start talking and telling us what they know. So let's be clear here. Hampton locals, I am speaking directly to you.

I know how scary it was to speak up years ago. But things are different now. You do not have to take these secrets to your grave. Whether or not the Murdox had anything to do with this, your tip could help alleviate a whole lot of pain in the Smith family. Your tip could mean that this is the last Christmas, Sandy Smith has to spend wondering what happened to her son. And you didn't have to witness the crime for your tip to be worth it.

We have heard there are people out there who have heard directly from witnesses who drunkenly confess to them what happened. Police need to hear from you. Or maybe you're an investigator who could come forward about what happened during this case. The time to speak is right now. This story is not going away. And the guilt that's inside of you is not going to go away until Sandy gets justice. Please come forward. please help Sandy.

If anyone knows anything big or small about Stephen Smith homicide, please, I beg you to please call crime stoppers and just tell us what you know. The people who do know something by now they're probably mothers or fathers. And how would they feel if it was this same thing happened?

to their child. If people don't talk, then you can't stop the violence. We are begging you. If you know any information that could help SLED solve Stephen Smith's case, call crime stoppers at the low country

at 843-554-1-1-1 or at their website, which is in the description of this podcast. It's important to note that when you call crime-stoppers at the low country, you can stay anonymous. In all my work with law enforcement of different agencies, the Columbia Police Department, the Chester County Sheriff's Department,

the Chester County Sheriff's Department, one of the things that I don't think the public understands is that when you call crime stoppers with a tip, they're followed up. They're read. This is not some, you know, website where you send them an email or you make a phone call and nobody ever paid an answer to it anymore. They're followed up on. And when you, you know, get in touch with the crime stoppers in the loitkentry, if you have information about Stevens, you don't have to give your name.

It can be anonymous. It's not recorded. The phone call is not recorded. The IP address is not saved by crime stoppers. It is a truly, truly safe place where you can give information about a horrific crime and you can stay safe. And by the way, while we're talking about it, crime stopping is a loiter. is eight four, three, five, five, four, one, one, one. Stephen's case is so different from a lot of the other things

that have been happening in Hampton. And there, there, it, it is a mystery. I mean, it is a mystery. But in real life, I mean, this isn't fiction. It's not a movie. And it's not, it's not television. It's not streaming. This is real life.

And in real life, people who don't come forward with the information that they know, Don't come forward because of some fear that they have. And we need to make sure that in this part of South Carolina, that fear doesn't exist anymore. And we hope that the people who know things, including law enforcement officers who are a part of this case, will reach out to us at the Murdoch Murdoch's Podcast as we work to solve this.

Reach out to us at info at Murdochmurterspodcast.com. His case is just beginning, and we're just getting started. I'll be here no matter how long it take. I'm still going to fight. Finally, we want to say, finally we want to say Merry Christmas from the Murdoch Murders podcast crew. Tis the season to be giving, and for all of you in the giving mood, we urge you to donate to this even GoFundMe. Check the link in our description.

And while it's the holidays, the news never stops. So be sure to follow us on Facebook at Murdoch Murders Podcast and Instagram at Murdoch Murdoz Pod. Merry Christmas. And a happy new year. From our family to yours. We'll see you next Wednesday. Stay tuned. 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 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 Murder's podcast is created by me, Mandy Matney, and my Beyonce David Moses. Produced by Luna Shark Productions. Today, Sandy Smith isn't just a grieving mother fighting for

her son. She's a voice for every family that has been ignored, silenced, or forgotten. What began as her search for justice for Stephen has grown into a mission to make sure no other parent has to beg for accountability. When Sandy and I spoke together in

Wichita, Kansas, at the governor's Crime Victims' Rights Conference, I watched her channel unimaginable pain into purpose. She stood before a room of survivors and reminded them that persistence is power, that justice may be slow, but it is worth chasing. Her strength keeps this story alive. Stephen's case isn't cold, it is burning with renewed energy, fueled by truth, love, and the belief that light always wins. And a lot of that, comes from episode 5 of Hulu's original series, Murdoch Death in the Family. Seeing Britney Snow's portrayal of me fight alongside Sandy underscored the connection between

journalists and mother. Two women who refused to accept silence, their shared determination became the heartbeat of this story. For me, this episode, in the Hulu, dramatization, are proof that persistence matters. Because of Sandy's courage, the world of finally knows Stephen's name. Not as a case file, but as a young man whose life deserves celebrating and whose death

still demands justice. Murdoch, 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. Terms apply.