Cops Ordered Rape Kit After Finding Stephen Smith Dead Near Murdaugh's Property

A rape kit was ordered within hours of Stephen Smith's tragic death, leaving many with burning questions over why one was needed for a suspected hit-and-run case, RadarOnline.com has learned.

The 19-year-old's July 2015 death was ruled a homicide earlier this week in a shocking development nearly eight years after Smith's body was found near the Hampton, South Carolina home of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh.

The mystery deepened as there was no evidence of vehicle debris, skid marks or other tell-tale signs someone was hit by a car.

Smith, a former classmate of Alex's surviving son, Buster, was found on a rural road with a blunt-force trauma injury to the head and a dislocated shoulder close to the hunting lodge that would become a bloody crime scene six years later.

Former South Carolina Highway Patrol supervisor Michael Duncan told NewsNationNow that he did not respond to the Smith scene because he and other troopers were advised to stay away in a bombshell interview amid the revelations on March 22.

"I've never seen wounds like this that come from a car … In totality, it did not make sense why they were calling it a traffic accident," he said.

As RadarOnline.com reported, SLED reopened the investigation in 2021, revealing new evidence had been uncovered while investigating the brutal murders of the disgraced legal scion's late wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

Smith's family announced they will exhume his body following renewed attention on the openly gay teen's case.

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This development comes as Buster, the brother of slain Paul, denied "vicious rumors" that he was involved in his former classmate's death.

A Netflix special on the infamous Murdaugh murders detailed speculations that Buster and Smith secretly dated in high school.

"I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family," Buster wrote in a statement on March 20. "I am requesting that the media immediately stop publishing these defamatory comments and rumors about me."

He fired back at the theories, adding, "I have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith's tragic death that continue to be published in the media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my mother and brother."