Read 2015 police report on Stephen Smith’s death naming Buster Murdaugh

As South Carolina police review the 2015 death of Stephen Smith, a young gay man found dead in the middle of the road, DailyMail.com can review explosive police reports that reveal investigators’ initial suspicion that he had been killed at shots, and multiple suggestions that Buster Murdaugh may have been involved.

Smith was found dead in the middle of the road in 2015, just steps from his vehicle. His death is highly suspicious: he suffered severe head trauma and was lying in a position that seemed staged, according to some of those involved in the investigation.

Despite possible evidence of foul play, SLED, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, ruled her death the result of a hit-and-run.

Stephen Smith was found dead in the middle of the road in 2015. His death remains unsolved but is now being formally investigated as a murder. Buster Murdaugh, right at the trial of his father, has denied any involvement in his death.

Files from the 2015 investigation indicated that Smith was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road with some form of blunt force trauma to the head and that there were “no vehicle debris, skid marks or injuries consistent with someone struck by a vehicle.”

Smith’s body lay in the middle of the road in a position that looked as if it had been placed there. He was still wearing his shoes, which was unusual for a car collision.

The Murdaughs are one of South Carolina’s most prominent legal families, with family members running the 14th Circuit attorney’s office dating back nearly a century. Pictured from left to right: Paul, Margaret, Alec and Buster.

The police only began to investigate further when Alex Murdaugh got the family back into legal trouble with the murders of his wife and son, Maggie and Paul.

In June 2021, when Alex Murdaugh was arrested, DailyMail.com exclusively revealed the full police report.

It takes on new relevance today in light of the conviction of Alex Murdaugh and SLED’s recent decision to classify Stephen’s death as a homicide.

One of the first responding officers said it appeared to be a homicide and that his injuries were so severe that it appeared he had been shot.

An autopsy confirmed that the injury was not a gunshot wound, but rather blunt force trauma.

From the start of the investigation, the police involved thought that Stephen had been shot because his head injuries were so severe. They immediately ruled it a ‘homicide’, but it wasn’t until this year that the case was formally classified as such.

An August 2015 investigation log note shows one investigator informing another of a lead that questions whether Stephen and Buster Murdaugh “ever had any sort of relationship.”

Another note shows that investigators received an anonymous tip months later stating: “Dontereo Aiken along with another black male and a white male (Murdaugh) are involved in the death.”

Smith’s shoes were still on his feet and were loosely tied.

The files also reveal how police received an anonymous email naming Buster Murdaugh and two other men, including Dontero Aiken, as responsible for her death.

Neither Murdaugh — who this week strongly denied any guilt — nor Aiken have been arrested in connection with Smith’s death.

It wasn’t the only time Buster Murdaugh’s name appeared in the case files.

Stephen Smith’s mother also told police that one of her friends had asked her if she had ever had “some kind of relationship” with Buster.

The police report describes ‘rumours’ that this was the case.

Despite being mentioned several times, it doesn’t appear that Buster was ever questioned.

Also, as the investigation progressed, his grandfather Randolph Murdaugh, who has since passed away, ordered the police to investigate another person for the murder.

Stephen Smith’s mother has always believed her son was murdered