A Death in Murdaugh Country
This episode appears to contain dynamically inserted ads. Transcript timestamps may be approximate.
You can now listen to 48 hours ad-free on Apple podcast with a 48 hours plus subscription. This has been a Hampton County story. This has been a Hampton County scandal. A jury found the disgrace South Carolina attorney guilty of murdering his wife and his youngest son. This has been the downfall of a family dynasty. Today is not the end. It's the next step in a long road to justice for every person who has been victimized by Alex Murdoch. Justice received it, Smith's Alex. Stephen Smith was another body in this orbit of the Murdoch family. Stephen was a gay young man in the low country of South Carolina that is courageous in and of itself. I can't imagine the terror he was in that night. In the early morning hours of July 8, 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of a rural road. It was an autopsy that basically said it's a hit run. There was no vehicle debris, no broken headlight, paint scrapes or anything. You never believed it? No, not at all. They never would have been walking in that road, not voluntarily. Do you believe Stephen was murdered? I do. An investigation of some sort took place that led nowhere and then it went cold. I wanted a second opinion. Sandy Smith is unique in this whole story. She doesn't know who killed her son. She doesn't know why. People in town really believed that it was connected to the Murdochs in some way. The name of Buster Murdoch kept coming up. I never had anything to do with his murder and I never had anything to do with him on a physical level of any regard. The rumors also suggest a cover-up. We are aware of no evidence today that would suggest that any murder at all played any role in Stephen Smith's death or played any role in trying to cover up the investigation into his death. All I want is peace and no one. What happened to my son? He's my world and I'm gonna fight to the end. This is a woman that has fought this battle alone since 2015. Screaming as loud as she could with not a lot of people listening. CBS News confirming that the South Carolina law enforcement division is now investigating Stephen Smith's death as a homicide. The Murdoch case for all Stephen's cold case to life. Somehow some way in the Murdoch murder investigation a new thread was opened up into Stephen Smith. Our primary function right now is it had that body exhumed have a true independent set of eyes look at it and tell us once and for all what really happened to Stephen Smith. The gash was from part of this eyebrow across here. The injuries can tell us so much about what happened and in this case they did. I did. Set the scene for me on July 8th 2015 here. Stephen was somewhat right here in the road. How confident are you that you know what happened to Stephen Smith that night? I'm as close to a degree of scientific certainty as I've ever failed. [Music] Like his mother Sandy, Stephen Smith was born a fighter. He was a preemie who weighed two pounds twelve ounces. A twin? Yeah a twin. Born at 27 weeks with his sister Stephanie. Sandy says Stephen couldn't breathe on his own. After several months she was told he might not make it and she was finally allowed to hold her baby for the first time. How was that moment? Oh my gosh it was amazing. It was supposed to be my goodbye but he started breathing on his own because he felt you. Yeah that's why he was my heart. Sandy never dreamed she'd one day be fighting for answers in her son's death. How would you describe the journey that you've been on for justice? It's been a hard journey. Just living day by day and fighting day by day. On July 8th 2015 Stephen was found dead on a country road in Hampton County. The same county where three generations of
Transcription truncated.
New evidence discovered after Murdaugh murders reignites a cold case. "48 Hours" obtains findings of independent forensic experts. CBS News national correspondent Nikki Battiste reports.