Smith's injuries suggested a more nefarious cause of death. What follows is our best attempt at capturing all of it. He had blunt force trauma. Buster testified that he never saw a gun loaded with both types of ammunition and didnt know anyone who would do that. There was no blood. His death was initially deemed a hit and run but the case remains unsolved. He determined the placement of the body in the road and the injuries Smith suffered did not appear to be a hit-and-run. The documentary series comes from directors Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst and explores the rise and fall of . The patriarch is currently on trial for the 2021 murders of his wife Margaret and younger son Paul, but the disgraced attorney has also allegedly engaged in various financial crimes. As per the testimony and interviews of Paul's friends, who became surviving victims of the accident that took Mallory Beach's life, Paul drove the boat that they were riding on into the Archers Creek bridge. Rather soon after the double murder, Law Enforcement announced that they were RE-opening the Stephen Smith case. He was found dead in mysterious circumstances in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag, Pauls message to his father on 6 May 2021 read. She asked the FBI, the governor and others to keep investigating but the case went nowhere until Mallory Beach was killed on the Murdaugh boat four years later. The Murdaugh family law firm, The Parker Law Group, previously Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED), specializes in personal injury litigation. On Feb. 23, 2019, a group of South Carolina teenagers decided to spend the Saturday night drinking. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, During calm testimony, Buster appeared to water down but not refute some key points in the prosecutions case, including the police interview where his father appeared to unwittingly confess to the murders, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. On July 8, 2015 he was on his way home from school when he ran out of gas. He certainly knew the area. Stephen Smiths father died three months after his son. Many media entities have already tried their hand at explaining this shifty saga of murder, corruption, and cover-up from HBO Maxs Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty to IDs The Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty. Miss Manners: I shouldn't call because the phone scares people? He had a sister. They had friends in common and they didnt move in the same circles. No coroner was notified of Satterfields death. He sounded odd and then he told me that my mom and brother were shot, he recalled. We would normally make phone calls while we were riding in the car it was very normal for him to call, Buster said. Murdaugh had hoped his surviving son, Buster, could collect a $ . Former lawyer Alex Murdaugh, Buster's father, is facing charges with the murders of his wife, Maggie, and his . Like several other Alex Murdaugh documentaries before it, Murdaugh Murders brings up the curious case of Stephen Smith. [12] Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is a new Netflix three-part documentary series on the titular Murdaugh Murders. The latest Netflix docuseries focuses on the series of events that led to the fall of the Murdaugh family legacy, starting from the death of Mallory Beach. Accident investigators agreed. Nobody knows. But despite the many attempts, Paul ended up being charged with the death of Mallory Beach. He told the court it was normal for his father to shower a lot as it gets very hot at Moselle in the summer and Mr Murdaugh was a lot bigger weighing around 250 or 260 pounds at the time of the murders. Shooting of Alex Murdaugh, Sept. 4, 2021. Curtis "Eddie" Smith, who allegedly received about $2m from Murdaugh in the apparent fake-suicide scheme, was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for his . Brothers Paul and Buster Murdaugh the sons of Alex Murdaugh, who is one of the sons of Randolph. Is Chinas threat akin to rise of Nazi Germany? Alex Murdaugh called 911 around 1:30 p.m. to report he had been shot at the side of Salkehatchie Road. A cellphone video captured by Paul minutes before the murders also appears to place Mr Murdaugh at the murder scene. Investigators with the S.C. Highway Patrol ( SCHP) received. Durch Klicken auf Alle akzeptieren erklren Sie sich damit einverstanden, dass Yahoo und unsere Partner Ihre personenbezogenen Daten verarbeiten und Technologien wie Cookies nutzen, um personalisierte Anzeigen und Inhalte zu zeigen, zur Messung von Anzeigen und Inhalten, um mehr ber die Zielgruppe zu erfahren sowie fr die Entwicklung von Produkten. Postal Service will buy more than 9,000 Ford electric delivery vehicles, one year after an initial plan to buy predominantly gas-powered vehicles sparked controversy. During calm, controlled testimony, he appeared to water down but not refute some key points in the prosecutions case, including his fathers behaviour on the day of the murders, the clothes he was wearing and the police interview where he appeared to unwittingly confess to killing his wife and son. Ultimately the 88 indictments for financial fraud amounted to around $9 million. The final state witness SLED Agent Peter Rudofski laid out a detailed timeline of both the final movements of the two victims and the movements of their accused killer. Several people came forward with rumors of a "fling" between Smith and Buster Murdaugh. Doctors prescribe Ozempic 'off label': Is that OK? Around 1:15 a.m. the group re-boarded the boat with Paul still driving over the objections of his friends. On a remote country road sometime around 3:00 a.m. Stephen was killed. 2. Buster's name has also cropped up in connection with the mysterious death of Stephen Smith - a 19-year-old gay teenager who was found dead at the side of a road in Hampton County in 2015. The teenager was found with blunt force trauma to his head, which appeared to first responders as a possible gunshot wound. The following week, state police said Murdaugh had confessed to hiring someone to kill him so his surviving son could collect life insurance. I cant tell you. Long before any of the Murdaugh family's criminal activities came to light, a good friend of Buster's, Stephen Smith, passed away. One of the challenging things about fully understanding the scope of the Murdaugh story is comprehending its timeline. Gloria Satterfield was the Murdaugh familys longtime housekeeper. Bombshell testimony from his mothers carer Muschelle Shelly Smith previously disputed Mr Murdaughs alibi, saying that he showed up at his sick mothers house for only 20 minutes that night before telling her to tell authorities he was there double the length of time. Smiths mother, Sandy Smith, has been relentless in her quest for answers. However, the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in June 2021 shocked the nation after the mother and son were fatally shot. Witnesses interviewed as part of the original investigation into Smith's death repeatedly implicated Alex Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster, as having been involved in a relationship with. He is accused of buying alcohol for his younger brother Paul prior to the 2019 fatal boat crash. Busters name has also cropped up in connection with the mysterious death of Stephen Smith a 19-year-old gay teenager who was found dead at the side of a road in Hampton County in 2015. Mallory Beach's death brought enough bad PR to the Murdaughs to bring them under scrutiny, but a greater tragedy was waiting to strike them. He, Paul, Maggie and his father would call each other and speak on the phone pretty much every day. The other passengers were Murdaughs girlfriend, Morgan Doughty; Beachs boyfriend, Anthony Cook; Anthonys cousin, Connor Cook; and Connors girlfriend, Miley Altman. Copyright 2023 Radar Media Group LLC. Because of this, his other son Buster Murdaugh is also facing intense scrutiny. There was been much speculation around whether Mr Murdaugh said they or I in the audio, which is difficult to distinguish. And as Murdaugh Murders recounts, Alex curiously arrived on the scene before the EMTs did and loudly declared that Satterfield blamed the dogs for her fall (in the seconds between her falling and losing consciousness presumably). The 19-year-old nursing student who had been a classmate of Buster Murdaugh at Wade Hampton High School was found dead with a head wound on Sandy. I don't hate you. Life became particularly messy for Alex soon afterward as a row of financial crimes that he committed also came to the forefront. Thats right: Alex Murdaugh (ALLEGEDLY) murdered his estranged wife and youngest son. In the aftermath of the murders, Buster said that he was with his father almost all day every day for a good while and kept a close eye on him. Copyright 2023 Distractify. The case of Stephen Smith a 19-year-old man from Hampton, S.C. who was found dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road on July 8, 2015. The five county area that serves as the 14th district was the Murdaughs political dominion for nearly a century. Stephen Smith was studying to be a nurse at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, hoping to eventually become a doctor. South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) certainly did. I just want to say I forgive you. Ron DeSantis explained his feud with Disney in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, saying the corporation helps advance the lefts woke agenda.. Buster said that there was a negative reaction in the community in the aftermath of the boat crash and it consumed his mother, making her anxious. His car was found down a dark rural road in Hampton County, South Carolina with the gas cap off. Map in Murdaugh murder case: 5 deaths and a, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Map in Murdaugh murder case: 5 deaths and a mysterious shooting. Included in this group was Alex Murdaughs youngest son Paul Murdaugh. Meanwhile, Mr Murdaugh appeared to smile at his son at several points. Personally, I think there was some type of pressure or just lack of investigation upon other agencies to do anything, he told NewsNation. Alex Murdaugh reportedly told emergency responders that she had fallen down the stairs. So thats about it! Six years later, state police opened their own investigation because of information they had gathered in the aftermath of the Murdaugh deaths. He even had his shoes on. On July 14, 2022, Alex Murdaugh is indicted on two counts of murder. His car was three miles away. It was updated with the events of the week of Sept. 12, 2021: Alex Murdaughs alleged confession that he hired someone to shoot him, and the opening of an investigation into Gloria Satterfields death. Smith was found laying in the middle of the road by a bystander around 4:20 . The Mallory Beach incident led to Murdaughs legal career coming under scrutiny by SLED, other lawyers representing Murdaughs victims, and Murdaughs own law firm. However, when authorities reopened the case in June 2021 and looked into Buster's potential involvement, police were "never able to formally tie Buster Murdaugh to the case nor track down the original source of the rumors.". The defense called Buster Murdaugh on February 21 to shed light on his father's loving treatment of his family. The Murdaughs also ran a big law firm in the area. Sandy Smith, Stephen's mother, released a statement Thursday after a Colleton County Grand Jury indicted Alex Murdaugh on two counts of murder and two gun charges in connection with the shooting deaths of his wife and son. Paul is the platonic ideal of the spoiled rich boy archetype and the police arriving on the scene of the accident certainly treated him as such. At first, Buster said that he just sat there in shock. Smith was found dead just before 4:00 a.m. on July 8, 2015 in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County, South Carolina. The fall from grace began for the respected and somewhat feared Murdaughs when on a fateful February night in 2019, the actions of Paul Murdaugh, the younger son of Alex Murdaugh, leads to the death of Mallory Beach. "There has to be something to it, whether indirectly or directly there has to be some kind of tie to that.". The case remains unsolved. Consequentially, Alex was forced to resign from the law firm, which is now known as Parker Law Group. His body was found about 15 miles from the Murdaugh's Moselle estate. The 26-year-old testified that his fathers demeanour was normal and no different from how he had been earlier in the day. That's the day that his father, Alex Murdaugh said he came home and found his wife, Maggie, 52, and their son, Paul, 22, gunned down on . "Another rumor claims Buster Murdaugh and two other boys were responsible for [Smith's death]," said the outlet. The case of 19-year-old Stephen Smith is often mentioned in the same sentence on . The coroner declared the death a hit-and-run collision. But the more devastating reality behind this unfortunate incident is that another rescue attempt was going on at the same time. Naturally, many people began to wonder if Paul and Maggies murder was connected to the boating case. Years before Maggie and Paul. The nights that followed witnessed the search for Mallory. Netflix's Murdaugh Mysteries: A Southern Scandal unpacks the many crimes of Alex Murdaugh. His mother referenced an earlier instance to Live 5 News where Smith ran out of gas and immediately contacted his sister for help. While this was a tragic enough story to begin with, what elevated it in the public eye was the influential players involved. Video from the 10 June 2021 interview Mr Murdaughs second interview after the murders was previously played in court, with the sobbing legal scion speaking about the killings. After that, Buster Murdaugh's name kept coming up. CELEBRITY NEWS. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. The U.S. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division re-opened the case in June 2021, shortly after the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh based on information discovered during that initial investigation. A wrongful-death suit filed by Beachs mother named Paul Murdaughs father, Alex, and older brother, Buster, alleging they facilitated his underage drinking. On Feb. 2, 2018 she supposedly fell down the front steps of the Murdaughs estate, and received traumatic head injuries (including a stroke) that she later succumbed to on Feb. 26, 2018. Among the timeline was newly-obtained car data which placed Mr Murdaughs car at the spot where his wifes phone was later found dumped before he quickly sped away from the scene. Murdaugh isn't the only one in the family who has been involved in a mysterious death. Ten days later, SLED uncovered that Curtis Edward Smith, an associate of Murdaugh and his oxycodone dealer, had been hired by Murdaugh to kill him. Did Buster Murdaugh kill Stephen Smith, . Following the deaths of Mallory Beach, Paul Murdaugh, and Maggie Murdaugh, SLED elected to re-open Stephen Smith's case. I do believe that were going to get answers. All free. As previously mentioned, Alex Murdaughs murder trial is ongoing. Busters name has also cropped up in a series of other scandals surrounding the once-powerful family. The killer shot Maggie multiple times with a 300 Blackout rifle believed to be a replacement rifle that Mr Murdaugh later bought for Paul to replace the one he lost. Stephen Smith died in 2015 and, the docuseries alleges, may have had a relationship with Alex Murdaugh's other son Buster. The same month, Alex is disbarred by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Here's what we know. Three members of the family had served as district attorneys since 1920. Growing up, he said that his parents attended every game he and Paul ever played in sports and that his father coached their little league teams. Buster testified that he helped pack his father a bag of clothes from his closet to take with them. Under brief cross-examination, the prosecutor brought up that Mr Murdaugh had suggested his son went hunting at Moselle after his mother and brother were gunned down there. However, not a penny showed up at the doors of Gloria's family. All Rights Reserved. From left to right, the Murdaugh family: Buster, Maggie, Paul, and Alex Credit: Facebook Maggie Murdaugh Who is the Murdaugh family? All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Murdaugh, a well-known lawyer, found. The first one was that of Stephen Smith, who was found dead on the side of a road in 2015. It turns out that Alex Murdaugh had a nasty habit of winning financial settlements on behalf of his clients and then just keeping the money. While Mallory's boyfriend Anthony stayed back at the scene of the incident to wait for his girlfriend to be found, the others in the group witnessed Alex's manipulation at work as he tried to pin the blame on Paul's friend, Connor. Alex's trial began on January 23, 2023. 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