Rape kit ordered hours after Stephen Smith was found dead has STILL not been tested

A rape kit carried out on South Carolina teen Stephen Smith in the aftermath of his 2015 murder is now in the custody of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, but remains untested.

Police had led the rape pack on Smith’s remains just hours after the openly gay 19-year-old’s body was found dead in the middle of a country road on July 8, 2015 — though his death was then considered a hit. -walk.

But last month, state law enforcement officials announced they are now investigating his death as a homicide based on new information gathered during the investigation into the deaths of disgraced legal scion Maggie, wife of Alex Murdaugh, and his son Paul. .

Police reports from the time of Smith’s death had mentioned the Murdaugh family several times, including rumors that his surviving son Buster was involved in his death and that the two were in a relationship.

However, authorities are now said to be monitoring two other potential individuals interested in the case.

Smith was found dead in July 2015 on Sandy Run Road, about five miles from the Murdaugh estate.

Initially, investigators believed Smith had been shot, with an incident report stating he had an entry wound to his head and a defensive wound to his hand.

But when the autopsy was performed at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the manner of death was not listed as homicide but “undetermined,” and it was ruled a hit and run.

Law enforcement then performed a rape test on the body, which is now in SLED custody, within hours of Smith’s death.

Eric Bland, a lawyer who represented Smith’s mother in the investigation, said The Solar Newshe believes the agency has had the kit since 2021 when it took over the investigation, but it still hasn’t been processed.

It remains unclear why law enforcement would execute a rape pack on what they believe was a hit-and-run victim just hours after he was found dead.

But dr. Paul Uribe, a Texas-based certified pathologist, said rape kits are occasionally collected as part of death investigations, especially if the death occurred under suspicious circumstances.

If there is any inclination that a death could be a homicide, he said, it’s best to collect potential DNA evidence immediately because it probably won’t be possible to collect later.

And even if it’s retrieved, Uribe said, there usually has to be an impetus to test the kit, which usually doesn’t happen unless the death is ruled a homicide, because of the costs involved.

“It’s entirely possible that if a case is reopened as a murder, at the discretion of the detective, they may decide they want to test it,” he said. The Solar News. “At least they have the proof.”

The test looks for DNA profiles other than those of the victim in or around his body. But even if a different DNA profile is discovered, Uribe said, it should match someone whose DNA is already in a criminal database or is a known suspect.

“If they find another DNA profile, does that mean there was definitely sexual assault? No, an investigator has to look at all the evidence in context,” he explained.

‘If she [get a match]it could be a motive.’

But Bland said he doesn’t believe the rape kit will be relevant in solving the murder, as the initial autopsy found no signs of sexual assault.

When his body was found, Smith had no lower body injuries, no vehicle remains were found at the scene, and no tire tracks on the road, indicating a traffic accident.

Smith had also left his car on the side of the road about three miles away, leaving his phone and wallet in the hatchback. His mother Sandy said he would never have left his wallet behind and would have at least called his sister.

“Stephen was discovering himself and his sexuality,” Sandy told local news outlet Bluffton Today months after her son died. ‘He was gay. There’s a rumor that he may have had a man stalking him, the authorities asked me about that, but I’ve heard other stories I believe.’

She went on to say that she thought someone who knew Stephen from school might be involved in his death.

“One of the guys who supposedly did this, Stephen, told his twin sister that he was having an affair with the boy,” Smith said. “He also told me that he and the boy had a deep-sea fishing trip planned for July. Stephen died July 8.”

The following year, Sandy implicated Buster in her son’s death in a letter to the FBI, citing rumors that “Buster Murdaugh (who graduated with Stephen) beat Stephen to death with a baseball bat.”

Investigators have never publicly revealed whether there was any connection between Smith’s death and the Murdaugh family — despite witnesses reportedly tipping off law enforcement to link the classmates.

A Netflix documentary explored their alleged relationship, though Buster declined to comment at the time.

More than half of the people interviewed during the investigation said they heard rumors of Buster’s possible involvement in Smith’s death, but according to the documentaries he was never brought in for questioning.

In a statement last month, Buster said: “I have done my best to ignore the vicious rumors of my involvement in the tragic death of Stephen Smith that continue to be published in the media as I mourn the brutal murders of my mother and brother.

“I love them so much and miss them terribly. I haven’t said anything yet because I want to live privately while facing their death and my father’s incarceration.

“Before, during and since my father’s trial, I have been targeted and harassed by the media and followers of this story.

“This has gone on for far too long. These unfounded rumors about my involvement with Stephen and his death are false.

“I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death and my heart goes out to the Smith family.

“I request that the media immediately stop publishing these defamatory comments and rumors about me.”

He is now believed to have holed up on his lawyer girlfriend’s property in Hilton Head, and to have seen dogs on the property several times during his father’s double murder trial.

Meanwhile, law enforcement is said to be considering Patrick Wilson and Shawn Connelly, both 25, as possible individuals interested in Smith’s death.

According to a report by FitsNews report, Connelly and Wilson, who were both teenagers at the time, were living in Hampton County when Smith was killed.

The article, written by the website’s founder, Will Folks, alleges that five months after Smith’s death, Wilson’s stepfather, Darrell Williams, said his stepson had told him that Connelly “beat and killed Stephen Smith.”

Williams in turn notified the police. Williams later told investigators that Wilson had moved and he did not know where he lived.

When efforts to locate him stalled, Williams said he was initially told by Alex Murdaugh’s brother, Randy, to call the police.

The FitsNews report goes on to say that at the time of Williams’ call to police, Wilson was facing attempted murder charges that were later dropped by a judge described as “serving to the pleasure of the Murdaughs” .

In addition, within 12 months of Smith’s death, Connelly’s two auto-accident lawsuits, both of which were dropped by “Murdaugh-friendly judges,” according to the website.

Online records show that Connelly has a long criminal record in South Carolina.

His charges range from multiple traffic violations, including DUIs, domestic violence, hunting without a license, unlawfully killing a deer without antlers, and purchasing alcohol as a minor.

Wilson has one charge since his attempted murder charge was dropped, in 2017 he was charged with a boating violation.