The body of a South Carolina teenager whose 2015 death came under renewed interest following the Murdaugh murders has been exhumed, and will now be re-examined. Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of a road in Hampton County. He was at school with Buster Murdaugh, the surviving son of Alex Murdaugh – who last month was found guilty of murdering his wife Maggie and son Paul. Smith, who was openly gay, was initially ruled to have died in a hit and run. But following the flurry of interest in the Murdaugh case, and rumors that Smith and Buster Murduagh had a sexual relationship, Smith’s case was reopened in June 2021. 

On March 23 his death was declared a homicide and his mother Sandy launched a GoFundMe to pay for the exhumation of his body. The campaign has now reached $188,000, and on Friday his body was removed from Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County. A new autopsy will now be carried out.