South Carolina authorities have zeroed in on two individuals of curiosity within the 2015 murder of Stephen Smith, who was discovered useless in the course of the highway miles from Alex Murdaugh’s former searching property, based on a bombshell new report from FitsNews.
Rumors have swirled that the Murdaughs had been in some way concerned within the 19-year-old’s July eight slaying, and the identify of the once-powerful authorized dynasty is referenced dozens of occasions within the unique freeway patrol report.
However the South Carolina Legislation Enforcement Division (SLED) has recognized Patrick Wilson and Shawn Connelly as individuals of curiosity – neither of whom are Murdaughs, based on the native information website.
SLED did not instantly return a request for remark. Wilson and Connelly couldn’t instantly be reached.
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“Each Wilson and Connelly lived within the space close to the place Stephen Smith’s physique was discovered, and there’s data obtained by SLED investigators which has reportedly drawn a sharper give attention to them as potential suspects,” FitsNews founder Will Of us wrote.
About 5 months after Smith’s demise, Wilson’s stepfather, Darrell Williams, allegedly known as investigators with a tip. His stepson, he mentioned, informed him that Connelly was driving a car when it “struck and killed Stephen Smith.” Wilson and Connelly had been youngsters on the time.
SLED opened a murder investigation into Smith’s demise on June 23, 2021 – about two weeks after Alex Murdaugh fatally shot his spouse, Maggie, 52, and his son, Paul, 22. Smith was discovered 10 miles from the Murdaugh searching property, the place the mom and son had been slaughtered.
Hypothesis raged within the wake of Alex’s conviction for the double homicide that his dwelling son, Buster, was concerned. Earlier this month, Buster issued an announcement denying he had something to do with Smith’s demise.
A lawyer for Smith’s mom, Sandy Smith, informed Fox Information Digital there was no proof the Murdaughs had been related to the killing.
“We’ve got no direct data that any Murdaugh was concerned in any form or type in Stephen’s homicide,” Eric Bland mentioned. He added that Smith was overtly homosexual and that the case had the “earmarking of a hate crime.”
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The native information website additionally printed freeway patrol investigators’ preliminary 2015 interviews with Sandy Smith; Smith’s twin sister, Stephanie Joyner; a person with whom Smith allegedly had a one-night stand; and Smith’s then-boyfriend, Marc Bickhardt.
Investigators interviewed a divorced father of 1 who mentioned he got here throughout an advert Smith had posted on Craigslist, and the 2 had a one-night stand a couple of week earlier than the killing. No cash was exchanged, the person mentioned.
Sandy Smith later contacted him, he informed police, and mentioned she suspected foul play. He allegedly informed her that there was a “distant chance that [Smith’s death] is perhaps in some way associated” to his sexually specific Craigslist adverts. “There are some loopy individuals on the market,” he allegedly informed her.
Bickhardt had exchanged textual content messages with Stephen Smith as late as 3:37 a.m. – lower than a half hour earlier than his physique was discovered.
BUSTER MURDAUGH BLASTS ‘BASELESS RUMORS’ SURROUNDING 2015 DEATH OF CLASSMATE STEPHEN SMITH
Pathologist Erin Presnell dominated that Smith’s demise was a hit-and-run over the objections of freeway patrol officers who responded to the scene and mentioned the younger man’s accidents weren’t constant together with her conclusion.
Smith was discovered on Sandy Run Street three miles from his automobile, which was out of gasoline. There have been no tire marks within the highway and abrasions on his physique that will point out he had slid throughout asphalt or particles from a collision. His pockets and keys had been nonetheless in his automobile.
Bickhardt at one level instructed that an “escort company has one thing to do with this,” referring to a Hilton Head Island-based service that Smith allegedly labored for on the time, based on FitsNews.
In certainly one of their last cellphone calls, Smith informed Bickhardt he was out of gasoline and that he thought he was being adopted earlier than the decision dropped, based on the interview.
“At one level I heard huge mud tires, huge mud tires,” Bickhardt mentioned. “They’re like coming towards him or going previous as a result of they sounded loud – they usually had been getting louder. And that, I consider, was the final time I talked to him.”
This text was initially printed by foxnews.com. Learn the original article here.
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