Mom of Buster Murdaugh’s slain classmate wants answers: ‘Time for justice’

BARNWELL, S.C. —The mother of a young gay man who was found dead on a remote road near the Murdaugh family’s home is demanding answers about her son’s mysterious death in the wake of Alex Murdaugh’s conviction.

“This circus is over and now it’s time to bring justice for other people,” Sandy Smith, 56, told The Post Sunday.

Smith’s son Stephen, 19, was found dead on July 8, 2015, on Sandy Run Road close to the 1,700-acre Moselle estate where Maggie and Paul Murdaugh would be murdered by Alex six years later.

While the teen was a classmate of Murdaugh’s son Buster, 26, at Wade Hampton High School in the tiny town of Hampton, the slain teen’s mom has been baffled by the well-heeled family’s possible connections to his death.

Before law enforcement had even confirmed to Sandy and her late husband Joel that it was indeed their son’s remains found on the road, Alex Murdaugh’s older brother Randy had called the family, the mom recalled.

“Randy called my husband Joel and offered his help looking into Stephen’s death,” Sandy explained while at a friend’s home in Barnwell, SC. “And that was before we even knew it was Stephen. Before the sheriff’s department told us that it was Stephen.” 

“At first I was like ‘OK, someone is going to help.’ Right then I was a grieving mother. I didn’t care. I told them, ‘Yeah if you want to do it, do it,’” Sandy said. “But then they kept inserting themselves and inserting themselves.” 

When she visited the crime scene, the Murdaughs were there, and state troopers had to tell them to leave, the mom said. 

Sandy didn’t go as far as accusing the powerful family of being involved in her son’s death, but still can’t understand their interest in the case.

“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,” she said of her son’s slaying. “I don’t care what your name is.”

Charleston pathologist Erin Presnell labeled Stephen’s death a hit and run, but police first told Sandy that he was shot to death.

“At first it was a gunshot and then it was a hit and run. And it’s still ruled as a hit and run,” Sandy said, claiming her son had defensive wounds. “It’s not a hit and run. It’s a murder.

“We know he was beaten, I mean, it was horrible … His eye socket was crushed and then his forehead skin was like on top of his head, and they just crushed the whole back of his skull.” 

South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened a probe into Stephen’s death in June 2021 just after Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered. His death certificate listed the official cause of death as blunt force trauma.

Sandy Smith also questioned why her son would be on the remote road near the Murdaugh estate.

“Stephen wouldn’t be walking on that road. He’d have walked through the woods because he didn’t trust people,” Sandy said, adding her son was often worried about his safety and didn’t take risks like walking on the side of a road at night.

“And if he was near the road, he’d have been in the cornfield or he would have been in the woods on the side.”

While rumors have swirled about her son having a possible romantic relationship with Buster Murdaugh, Sandy — who was supportive of her son’s sexuality — doesn’t buy it.

“Buster wouldn’t have been his type,” she said saucily. “Stephen liked older people.”