{"id":123970,"date":"2026-03-11T18:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T22:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/star-murdaugh-trial-witness-probes-mysterious-death-of-busters-former-classmate-123970"},"modified":"2026-03-11T18:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T22:48:12","slug":"star-murdaugh-trial-witness-probes-mysterious-death-of-busters-former-classmate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/star-murdaugh-trial-witness-probes-mysterious-death-of-busters-former-classmate-123970","title":{"rendered":"Star Murdaugh trial witness probes mysterious death of Buster\u2019s former classmate"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The star witness in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial<\/a> is now independently investigating the 2015 death of Stephen Smith and says someone “has a good idea who committed this.”<\/p>\n

Kenny Kinsey, a forensic investigator who testified for the prosecution in the 2023 Murdaugh murder trial, said on investigative reporter Anne Emerson\u2019s “Criminally Obsessed” podcast<\/a> that after reviewing the evidence, he believes key opportunities were missed early in the case.<\/p>\n

Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old nursing student and former classmate of Buster Murdaugh, was found dead on July 8, 2015, in the middle of a rural Hampton County, South Carolina<\/a> road just miles from the Murdaugh family\u2019s hunting estate.<\/p>\n

Smith, who was openly gay, had been walking along Sandy Run Road after his car broke down when a passing driver called 911 to report his body. He suffered a 7\u00bd-inch skull fracture. Authorities initially described the death as a hit-and-run.<\/p>\n

MURDAUGH LAWYER \u2018CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC\u2019 COURT CLERK\u2019S MISCONDUCT COULD PAVE WAY FOR NEW TRIAL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Kinsey said he has reviewed the original investigative file, examined findings from the second autopsy, analyzed police interviews and walked the stretch of road where Smith\u2019s body was discovered nearly 11 years ago.<\/p>\n

He said his forensic analysis indicates Smith\u2019s fatal injuries<\/a> were connected to a vehicle, but declined to detail specific wound patterns.<\/p>\n

ALEX MURDAUGH SLAMS NEW TRUE CRIME SERIES DEPICTING FAMILY’S DOUBLE-MURDER: ‘MISLEADING PORTRAYALS’<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

However, Kinsey emphasized that determining who was responsible falls to investigators.<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know the who,” he said. “That part comes from the investigation.”<\/p>\n

MURDAUGH FAMILY HOUSEKEEPER SAYS WHITE TRUCK \u2018HAUNTS\u2019 HER FROM NIGHT OF MURDERS YEARS AFTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

During the podcast interview, Kinsey described what he called “missed opportunities” in the early stages of the case, saying delays and jurisdictional confusion can make cases harder to solve over time.<\/p>\n

“Memories fade. People leave this earth,” Kinsey said. “Those missed opportunities \u2014 you don\u2019t get that back.”<\/p>\n

The investigation into Smith\u2019s death was reopened in June 2021 \u2014 just two weeks after Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were shot and killed at the family\u2019s Colleton County hunting estate.<\/p>\n

At the time, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division<\/a> (SLED) said it had uncovered information related to Smith\u2019s death while investigating the Murdaugh murders but declined to provide details.<\/p>\n

GOT A TIP?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In 2023, SLED announced that Smith\u2019s death was being investigated as a homicide<\/a>. His body was later exhumed, and a second autopsy was performed. The findings of that autopsy have not been publicly released.<\/p>\n

Pathologist Dr. Michelle DuPre, who oversaw the second autopsy, previously told Fox News Digital that Smith\u2019s injuries were consistent with being struck by an object attached to a vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed.<\/p>\n

FOLLOW US ON X<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“Scientifically, medically and forensically, we know what happened, but we don\u2019t know who did it,” DuPre said at the time.<\/p>\n

For years, unsubstantiated speculation circulated publicly tying Smith\u2019s death to members of the Murdaugh family.<\/p>\n

GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Buster Murdaugh issued a statement in March 2023 denying any involvement and calling the allegations “baseless rumors.”<\/p>\n

Kinsey told Emerson he saw no evidence linking the Murdaugh family to Smith\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE US NEWS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I saw nothing that would make me even draw an inference that that\u2019s to be true,” he said.<\/p>\n

Stephen Smith\u2019s mother has continued to push for answers as the case approaches a grim milestone.<\/p>\n

July 8, 2026, will mark 11 years since the 19-year-old was killed.<\/p>\n

Authorities have offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions in the case. SLED has said the investigation remains active and ongoing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/star-murdaugh-trial-witness-probes-mysterious-death-busters-former-classmate <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The star witness in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial is now independently investigating the 2015 death of Stephen Smith and says someone “has a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-123970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStar Murdaugh trial witness probes mysterious death of Buster\u2019s former classmate - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/star-murdaugh-trial-witness-probes-mysterious-death-of-busters-former-classmate-123970\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Star Murdaugh trial witness probes mysterious death of Buster\u2019s former classmate - 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