The Murdaughs also ran a big law firm in the area. The defense called Buster Murdaugh on February 21 to shed light on his father's loving treatment of his family. It is also believed that Buster was a close friend (and rumored boyfriend) of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old who was killed under mysterious circumstances in 2019. Around 1:15 a.m. the group re-boarded the boat with Paul still driving over the objections of his friends. Ultimately the 88 indictments for financial fraud amounted to around $9 million. What started out as an unfortunate accident at the hands of the scion of the powerful Murdaugh family, turned out to be just an isolated dot in a line of deaths and financial frauds. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Duncan said the Murdaugh family name came up in the initial accident investigation but didnt go anywhere. It was clear that this case was not handled correctly. A passerby in a car called in a 911 report, and by dawn the local highway patrol was conducting an investigation, collecting evidence, trying to piece together what might have happened. Mom found several bags of pills in your computer bag, Pauls message to his father on 6 May 2021 read. Daten ber Ihr Gert und Ihre Internetverbindung, wie Ihre IP-Adresse, Browsing- und Suchaktivitten bei der Nutzung von Yahoo Websites und -Apps. Satterfields next of kin was supposed to receive a substantial insurance settlement due to accidental death. The Murdaugh family law firm, The Parker Law Group, previously Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth & Detrick (PMPED), specializes in personal injury litigation. theyve uncovered new crimes committed by Alex Murdaugh, SLED elected to re-open Stephen Smiths case, Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 3 Episode 1 Review The Apostate, Unforgotten Series 5 Review: Bleak, Angry, But the Old Magic is Still There, Recently, Buster Murdaugh took the witness stand, Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence Is a Harrowing Watch. Buster said that Mr Murdaugh called him that night and asked him if he was sitting down. On June 7, 2021 at 10:06 p.m., Alex Murdaugh called 911 and reported he had discovered the dead bodies of his son Paul and his wife Maggie near the dog kennels at their hunting lodge. The five county area that serves as the 14th district was the Murdaughs political dominion for nearly a century. Rather soon after the double murder, Law Enforcement announced that they were RE-opening the Stephen Smith case. 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. SLED agents reopened the investigation into Smith following the brutal double homicide of Maggie and Paul at the family's private hunting ranch, Moselle, in June 2021. Daily. 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. The documentary also includes mention of the hit-and-run death of Stephen Smith, a former friend and classmate of Buster's, which remains unsolved. Perhaps by the end of it, Netflix will feel compelled to order Murdaugh Murders season 2. He is accused of buying alcohol for his younger brother Paul prior to the 2019 fatal boat crash. In fact, it was one of the first files I ever received related to this story, Folks said. But the real break in Smiths case came after the double murder of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. The former lawyer Murdaugh currently faces a grand total of 106 grand jury criminal charges! Alex Murdaugh reportedly told emergency responders that she had fallen down the stairs. On Feb. 23, 2019, a group of South Carolina teenagers decided to spend the Saturday night drinking. Before the beginning of the murder trial on January 23, 2023, a lot more charges were brought against Alex Murdaugh as a result of the financial fraud he had continuously committed over the years. Reporter Will Folks with FitsNews told NewsNation Buster Murdaughs name often came up in connection with the Stephen Smith case. While police were still searching for Mallory Beach, Alex arrived at the hospital and went room to room to speak with the survivors. In this episode, we take a trip to Hampton South Carolina, home to the Murdaugh family, and explore the mysterious death of a young man named Stephen Smith. 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). 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. In the year and a half since, no new details have come to light but SLED reports it has "made progress" and the case remains "active and . And thats just me. I don't hate you. Klicken Sie auf Einstellungen verwalten um weitere Informationen zu erhalten und Ihre Einstellungen zu verwalten. You may recognize the name Paul Murdaugh from three second ago when we talked about him accidentally killing Mallory Beach. CELEBRITY NEWS. The case was reopened when a coroner found that the medical report stated the reason behind Gloria's death to be a natural one, eliminating the need for an autopsy at the time. Maybe it was simply incompetence. Alex's trial began on January 23, 2023. Officials still don't know who or what killed 19-year-old Stephen Smith six years ago but his death has been widely associated with the Murdaugh family. Recently, Smith's family friend, Susanne Andrews, revealed "progress" has been made since Paul and Maggie's 2021 murders. Such are the circumstances with the story of South Carolina lawyer Alex Murdaugh. There was clearly a Murdaugh tie into the death of Stephen Smith, because if you read the investigatory reports from his death back in 2015, the Murdaugh name is mentioned dozens of times. ALL FREE. Miss Manners: I shouldn't call because the phone scares people? While he said he wasnt often present for the confrontations, he said he believed his fathers response was usually apologetic. Three miles away, Stephen Smiths body was found, in the middle of the road with no skid marks or other physical evidence that a car had hit him. Moselle crime scene: What will Murdaugh jury see? The body of Stephen Smith, a friend and classmate of Buster Murdaugh, was found on a road in Hampton County, South Carolina. Stephen Smith was studying to be a nurse at the Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College, hoping to eventually become a doctor. The mystery surrounding the fatal shootings at the home of a prominent South Carolina family connects to the deaths of three people and a roadside shooting. But I do believe that the truth is going to come out. Maybe it was purposeful. Judge Clifton Newman is said to have issued multiple warnings to several members of the Murdaugh family about their behaviour in court and they were told to move to the back of the courtroom. The death was never reported to the coroner, and no autopsy was conducted. Where Is Buster Murdaugh, Did He Kill Stephen Smith? 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. No autopsy was performed. In fact, even though the trial of Alex Murdaugh is ongoing and fresh revelations about his crimes are being uncovered almost daily, one could argue that Netflix is getting into the Murdaugh game late with its three-episode series, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal. However, his law firm has since disputed that, putting out a statement denying it ever happened. But why though? Following the deaths of Mallory Beach, Paul Murdaugh, and Maggie Murdaugh, SLED elected to re-open Stephen Smith's case. No one is sure why the brothers were there. He said that he didnt want to hunt there and that neither he nor his father had never stayed a single night at Moselle after the murders. Deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, June 7, 2021. Sandy Smith holds a photo of her son Stephen Smith. While SLED (and documentaries the world over) delve into the circumstances of Smiths death, there is currently no public-facing evidence for the Murdaugh familys involvement in his murder. Murdoch testimony could be sharp dagger for Fox News: Expert, East Palestine residents report unusual symptoms, John Oliver on new AI tech: Stupid in ways we cant predict, Why TikTok is being banned on govt phones in US and beyond, COVID-19 origins drawing further scrutiny in Washington, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Bank of Dave: What Happened in Real Life? Celebrity news. Did Buster Murdaugh kill Stephen Smith, and his own brother Paul Murdaugh? Ultimately the wound was just a graze and Murdaugh was released from the hospital that day. RADAR and RADARONLINE are registered trademarks. The two were shot and killed in June 2021. In 2015, 19-year-old Stephen Smith was found in the middle of a rural road. An August 2015 tip accused Buster and Smith of having a forbidden relationship that would have been damning for the prominent family's reputation. Smith's body was found in . A man was arrested after an explosive was found in a bag checked onto a Florida-bound flight at a Pennsylvania airport, authorities said. He hid a mystery blue item upstairs in the home and then left again, she said. Nobody knows. He suffered what police described as a superficial gunshot wound to the head.. Worst of all, with at least one of those deceased clients, its suspected that Murdaugh may have assisted with their death. Alex Murdaugh is indicted on two counts of murder. 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. Often, Alex did not pass on the money that he won from financial settlements to the kin of the deceased after suing the insurance companies. "He called his sister one night [when] he ran out of gas, and he hid in the woods, and would not come out until he was sure it was her. Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of a country road 15 miles from the Murdaugh family's Islandton hunting lodge on July 8, 2015. In 2015, Smith was mysteriously found dead in the middle of the road, and his death was ruled a hit-and-run, even though other evidence shows that he could have died by gunshot or some other attack. Harriette Cole: I don't want the neighbor's kids at my house, Dear Abby: My wife said she doesn't like it, but it's part of my life, Ask Amy: I feel guilty for not speaking up about my co-worker's activities, Ask Amy: I'm your cabin housekeeper, and you apparently have no idea what I do. 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. The first was that of a high school student, Stephen Smith, back in 2015. 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. by Matt Dillane. 2. At the time of his death more than two years later, Paul Murdaugh was out on bail and awaiting trial on felony charges of boating under the influence. Long before any of the Murdaugh family's criminal activities came to light, a good friend of Buster's, Stephen Smith, passed away. He died of blunt force trauma to the head, but there were no signs to. Police determined it was a hit and run. In early August 2015, authorities received a tip about Smith and Buster Murdaugh possibly being in a relationship, per Live 5 News. The Murdaughs were members of a prominent South Carolina legal family that first made regional headlines in February 2019.. In 2015, Stephen Smith was killed in a hit-and-run accident, in which Buster Murdaugh was reportedly involved. Stephen Smith's family reacts to Murdaugh indictment in killings of wife, son. Picking up from the accidental death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal traces the series of events that made the suspicious history of the powerful Murdaugh family of South Carolina national news. 1. He asked if I wanted to go hunting out there again after the murders and suggested I could, said Buster. Perhaps by the end of it, Netflix will feel compelled to order murders! 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