Fact-Checking Buster Murdaugh: Stephen Smith Rumors, Defamation Suits, and What’s True

Everything you need to know about Fact-Checking Buster Murdaugh: Stephen Smith Rumors, Defamation Suits, and What’s True, covering expert perspectives.

To understand Buster Murdaugh's legal fight, one must look at the night of July 8, 2015. Stephen Smith was discovered dead in the middle of Sandy Run Road in Hampton County with severe blunt-force trauma to the head. The local coroner initially classified the death as a hit-and-run, a finding that met fierce skepticism from Smith's mother, Sandy Smith, and responding highway patrol troopers who noted the absence of vehicle debris or skid marks.

During the initial 2015 investigation, investigators interviewed dozens of Hampton High School classmates and residents. Buster’s name surfaced multiple times in casual roadside rumors and hearsay recorded in police files. Rumors alleged an illicit relationship between Smith and Buster, or an assault carried out to protect the Murdaugh family name. Rumors, however, are not evidence.

State investigators never uncovered physical evidence, phone records, or witness testimony linking Buster to the scene. When SLED reopened the investigation in June 2021, citing evidence uncovered during the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, they officially classified Smith’s death as a homicide. Yet SLED officials have consistently reiterated that Buster Murdaugh has never been named a suspect. In early 2023, Buster issued a direct statement denouncing the allegations: "I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family."