After a rare week off, FITSNews’ ‘Week In Review’ returned to action this week – covering some explosive revelations (and a few redundancies) related to the ongoing investigation into the 2015 murder of Stephen Smith.
A 19-year-old from Hampton, South Carolina, Smith’s body was dumped in the middle of Sandy Run Road near Crocketville, S.C. in the early morning hours of July 8, 2015 – where it was discovered by a passing motorist (a tow truck driver) at approximately 4:00 a.m. EDT.
The case has been closely linked to the once-powerful Murdaugh family of Hampton … but this week began with 26-year-old Buster Murdaugh issuing a statement denying any connection to the murder.
Initially misclassified as a vehicular hit-and-run, the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) opened a homicide investigation into Smith’s death shortly after the savage slayings of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh on June 7, 2021 at Moselle – the Murdaugh family’s 1,700-acre hunting property straddling the Salkehatchie River on the border of Colleton and Hampton counties.
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Disbarred attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of those killings and sentenced to life in prison earlier this month.
Why did SLED open a homicide investigation? Because we provided the agency with this report (.pdf), in which the Murdaugh name was referenced dozens of times.
Will Smith’s case ever be solved? This news outlet – and many others – are certainly pushing hard to see that it is. Several prime suspects are coming into view, sources close to the investigation say … but evidence and witnesses have proven hard to come by (thus far, anyway). And as I have often noted, those prime suspects do not have the last name ‘Murdaugh.’
Hopefully, we will see the renewed focus on this case shake loose some truth … no matter where that truth leads.
Another case we dove into this week – the ‘Rose Petal Murder’ case out of Greer, South Carolina – took a decidedly ominous turn thanks to some incredibly disturbing revelations. Our research director Jenn Wood has been all over this case and will be filing a report of her own soon.
This case is only beginning to heat up, people …
Speaking of heat, the 2024 ‘First in the South’ presidential primary is finally beginning to generate some of it. Which is probably why it’s a good thing we launched our Palmetto Political Stock Index so you can keep track of the latest machinations … and decide where to invest your political capital.
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SHOW NOTES …
STEPHEN SMITH
SLED ISSUES STATEMENT
CASE FILES: HIGHWAY PATROL REPORT
CASE FILES: FIRST AUTOPSY
CASE FILES: SANDY SMITH LETTER
ROSE PETAL MURDER
BESTIALITY ALLEGATIONS EXPOSE DARK SIDE OF INVESTIGATION
PALMETTO POLITICAL STOCK INDEX
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
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