Live updates Friday: $100K reward in Murdaugh case; former trooper disputes Smith hit & run
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Murdaugh murders in Colleton County
Two members of a powerhouse legal family were shot and killed June 7 in Colleton County, SC. Read more of our coverage.
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This story first published June 25, 2021.
The Murdaugh family announced a $100,000 reward for information in the killings of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, with Alex Murdaugh issuing a public statement for the first time since the June 7 homicides. While many remain riveted to every snippet and rumor in the case, attention is increasingly turning to Stephen Smith’s death in 2015.
The S.C. Highway Patrol’s lead investigator in the Smith case is talking publicly for the first time in six years, saying he doesn’t believe the death was caused by a hit and run.
The S.C. Law Enforcement Division said this week that it was investigating the 2015 cold case after receiving information during the probe into the June 7 killings of Paul Murdaugh and his mother Maggie outside their home in Colleton County.
No official statement has connected the Murdaugh family to Smith’s death.
$100,000 REWARD POSTED IN MURDAUGH CASE
Friday, 10:34 a.m.: Alex Murdaugh, with his older son Buster, announced a $100,000 reward for information in the killing of Paul and Maggie.
In his first public statement, Alex Murdaugh said:
“I want to thank everyone for the incredible love and support that we have received over the last few weeks. Now is the time to bring justice for Maggie and Paul. Buster and I, along with Maggie’s mother, father and our entire family, ask that anyone with helpful information immediately call the SLED tip line or Crime Stoppers.”
SLED established a tip line dedicated to this homicide investigation. Anyone with information about the case can call (803) 896-2605. The line is being monitored 24 hours a day.
Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry can be reached at (843) 554-1111 with callers remaining anonymous.
- Lana Ferguson, John Monk
INVESTIGATOR of 2015 SMITH DEATH SAYS NO HIT AND RUN
Thursday. Todd Proctor, S.C. Highway Patrol’s lead investigator in the 2015 Stephen Smith case, tells multiple news outlets that he still doesn’t believe Smith died as a result of a hit-and-run. The former trooper points to a lack of evidence to prove that.
He also stands by his disputes with the autopsy findings, he told the Aiken Standard.
He told NewsNation that it looked like Smith’s body may have been placed in the roadway.
“Every once in a while, a new lead would come in and we’d try to track it down and see if anything panned out,” Proctor told the newspaper. “Unfortunately, we weren’t able to solve it.”
Proctor told Fox News that during the investigation, there “were a lot of people who didn’t want to assist or communicate with us” and “were very withdrawn with what they knew or thought.”
Among those unwilling to speak with investigators was the Murdaugh family, but there wasn’t enough evidence to legally compel them at the time.
Smith’s case went cold until SLED acknowledged this week that it was investigating, a move prompted when it obtained information during the Murdaugh double homicide investigation.
No official statement has linked the Murdaugh family with Smith’s death.
- Lana Ferguson
NATIONAL NEWS SHOWS HIGHLIGHT MURDAUGH, SMITH CASES
Wednesday and Thursday: Ashleigh Banfield of NewsNation discusses the Murdaugh double homicide and new Stephen Smith investigation on her talk show.
On Wednesday, she spent the entire hour discussing updates in the Smith case, including The Island Packet’s reporting on the Highway Patrol documents from 2015. The investigative reports mentioned the Murdaugh family name nine times.
On Thursday, she talked about the $100,000 reward the Murdaugh family plans to offer.
In an interview, Todd Proctor, the former state trooper who led the Smith investigation, said it appeared that Smith’s body could have been “staged” in the road where he was found because there was no evidence his death was from a hit and run.
“Why on earth was Stephen Smith’s death classified as a hit and run?” Banfield asked Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic scientist, death investigator and associate professor at Jacksonville State University.
“I have no idea why anyone would do that,” Morgan said, noting the injuries Smith had on his hands that the investigative notes from 2015 referred to as defensive wounds. He says Smith did not have injuries consistent with a hit and run.
- Lana Ferguson
Follow our previous coverage here.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 11:47 AM with the headline "Live updates Friday: $100K reward in Murdaugh case; former trooper disputes Smith hit & run."
