The 2015 death of a teen who was found near the Murdaugh family home is being investigated as a homicide.
on Smith's death noted that the state highway patrol originally suggested the teenager had died"from blunt force trauma on his head," although authorities always disagreed about whether his injuries were consistent with a vehicular strike.
However, doubt among the state police officers who responded can be heard on at least one audio recording, where an officer says"nothing appears to be a vehicular accident" while discussing Smith's death. His case was reopened in 2021 as evidence was collected during the subsequent investigation into the deaths of Maggie and Paul at the Murdaugh family estate.
Alex Murdaugh was convicted March 2 by a South Carolina jury of killing both his wife and youngest son in the gruesome murders, and publicity surrounding the investigation and criminal trial fueled previous suspicions and rumors linking the Murdaugh family to in their community. A Netflix documentary series examining the series of deaths returned attention to Smith's case.with the intention of undergoing an independent autopsy. The family launched a GoFundMe campaign earlier this month to raise money for the process, which Smith's mother, Sandy Smith, said could cost as much as $7,000.
"We need a new, unbiased look at his body and an accurate determination of his cause of death based on facts. There was no debris in the road, and his injuries were not consistent with a hit-and-run," Sandy Smith wrote in a description that appeared on the GoFundMe page. The campaign has garnered more than $87,000 in the few weeks since it became live online, far surpassing its original goal of $15,000.
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