Mother Of Buster Murdaugh's Late Classmate Stephen Smith Speaks Out As Police 'Make Progress' After Reopening Death Investigation
March 7 2023, Published 7:00 p.m. ET
The mother of the late Stephen Smith, an openly gay South Carolina teen whose death and alleged connections to Buster Murdaugh have raised questions, has spoken out for the first time since Alex Murdaugh's conviction, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Stephen's mom, Sandy Smith, 56, revealed that she just wanted answers after police announced they are making progress on the investigation after reopening the case.
19-year-old Stephen's body was found in the middle of the road in Hampton County, South Carolina, in 2015. Initially, investigators ruled Stephen had been hit by a car and refused to listen to his family's pleas to look deeper into his death. The family hired an investigator who said the evidence did not make it look like Stephen was hit by a car. Instead, he claimed it appeared Stephen was potentially murdered.
Sandy spoke to The Post following Alex's conviction — and she revealed her thoughts on the rumored Murdaugh connection to her son's death. After the murders of Paul and Maggie at Moselle, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened Stephen's case.
"This circus is over and now it’s time to bring justice for other people," Sandy told the outlet.
For years, rumors have swirled that Stephen and Buster were involved in an intimate relationship when they were both students at Wade Hampton High School. Sandy dismissed the allegation, saying that "Buster wouldn’t have been his type" and that her son "liked older people."
Sandy recalled perplexing behavior from the prominent family after her son's death.
She said before the police called her about Stephen's passing she received a phone call from Alec's brother Randy.
"Randy called my husband, Joel, and offered his help looking into Stephen’s death," Sandy said. "And that was before we even knew it was Stephen. Before the sheriff’s department told us that it was Stephen."
Sandy recalled initially thinking, "OK, someone is going to help," and that she was focused on her son's tragic end rather than why the Murdaughs would have an interest in the case.
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"Right then I was a grieving mother. I didn’t care," Sandy continued. "I told them, ‘Yeah if you want to do it, do it.' But then they kept inserting themselves and inserting themselves."
Sandy recalled the Murdaugh family being at her son's crime scene before she was able to see the area for herself.
"I don’t know if they did it or not. I don’t care. I just want to know who and I want to know why," Sandy added. "I don’t care what your name is."
