. >> his mother sandy smith never lost her belief that something more happened to her son.ted a gofundme link in the hopes of exhuming her son's body to re-examine his cause of death. she is said to raise more than $90,000. >> a loving, beautiful child, had ambitions, he wanted to be somebody, he was working on that and somebody stole it from him. >> i know sandy smith has been pushing, fighting, trying to get anyone to pay attention to stephen's case. now nearly eight years. >> for eight years, having to live with that, to be told for the first time you are not easy, we believe you, we think you're right and we are going to find out the truth. >> the south carolina law enforcement division sled team said that while they do not need to exhume his body, they will be present and participate in any exhibition of his body together more evidence. bustbuster murdaugh breaking his silence to address the rumors of his involvement saying the statement "i have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in stephen smith's tragic death that continue to be published

put this weight down. >> reporter: a hope shared by sandy smith, still desperately seeking the truth.ther. i need answers. >> reporter: sandy smith hopes to see a private independent medical examination of her son's body. a judge has to grant permission in order for that to happen. back to you. >>> high winds and extreme flooding aren't letting up in california. where yet another atmospheric river is hammering the state with more dangerous weather on the way. we've got a live report and a forecast next. get directv with a two year price guarantee. pain used to keep me from what i love most. not anymore. blue-emu gave me my horsepower back. it's the powerful relief my joints need. blue-emu, it works fast and you won't stink. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. with the money we saved, we tried electric unicycles. i think i've got it! doggy-paddle! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ need relief for tired, achy feet? or the energy to keep working? there's a dr. scholl's for that. dr. scholl's massaging gel insol

sandy smith says she doesn't know who's responsible for her son's death. >> but i want to know why youns body's exhumed and an independent autopsy performed. >> when it comes to an exhumation, there are pitfalls you have to look out for, namely preparation of the remains. >> reporter: despite the potential hurdles, sandy smith says she remains

it's all validation for sandy smith who told us before the news she never believed her 19-year-old son'seath was an accident. >> in my heart this was not a hit and run. i think he was murdered and i just need the proof. >> reporter: smith's body was found lying in a rural south carolina road back in 2015, state investigators initially ruled it a hit and run and no one has ever been charged. in june of 2021, s.l.e.d. reopened the case based on information gathered during the curse of the double murder investigation of paul and maggie murdaugh. the agency has not said what that information was. a netflix documentary raised the possibility of a relationship between smith and buster murdaugh. >> there were so many rumors swirling around that buster and stephen were intimate together. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news this week, buster murdaugh calls the rumors baseless and denies any involvement with stephen's death. no one in the murdaugh family has been implicated in stephen's killing. it comes weeks after alex murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison for killing his wife and son. la

the onion, you keep peeling and you never get to the core. >> right. >> mike is the attorney for sandy smithteven smith, was found lying in the middle of a hampton county road in july 2015. >> the highway patrol's incident report notes that he suffered from blunt force trauma to the head. >> his death was initially deemed by the south carolina law enforcement division or sled, as a hit-and-run. >> steven's case, it was cold for quite some time and now sled is taking another look at it because of what they say was something that was discovered after the double murder of maggie and paul murdaugh, which is really interesting. >> yeah, because it was like mind-blowing, and i've been begging. you know, nobody ever returned my calls. >>> coming up -- >> you're talking about a young man who's a homo sexual. you're talking about a small southern town. it's taboo. somebody didn't like it. >> and later -- >> 911, what is your emergency? >> my housekeeper has fallen and her head is bleeding. i cannot get her up. >> long time housekeeper for the murdaugh family died after suffering some kind of fall at

sandy smith says she doesn't know who's responsible. >> i want to know why you did and i want to findou are. >> reporter: now thanks to thousands of dollars in online donations, she wants stephen's body exhumed and an independent autopsy performed. >> when it comes to an exhumation, there's several pitfalls that you have to look out for. namely preparation of the remains. >> reporter: despite the potential hurdles, sandy smith says she remains hopeful. >> peace, my closure. it will never be closed because he's forever gone. >> reporter: catie beck, nbc news. >>> this is a scary one, a legal street racing is taking over towns and cities across the concern, and police say it is getting more dangerous, even deadly. nbc news correspondent sam brock reports. >> reporter: the chilling scenes playing out on streets across the country. tires screeching, donuts dominating intersections. it looks like an action movie, but this isn't a film set. it's austin, texas. passengers dangling out of windows. it's also west palm beach, florida, and nearby broward county. drivers blocking roads and doing

now there will be an independent review and the lawyers for sandy smith will move forward to try to getmitchell picks up with more news after a quick break. you could save hundreds. [ audience laughter ] thanks, tv dad. we'll think about it, okay? look what i found. -a puppy! -a puppy! oh, no, no. i wish tv dad was always in charge. [ dog barks, audience laughter ] listen to your tv dad. drivers who switch and save with progressive save nearly $700 on average. (cecily) it's probably gonna take us a while to move this sign. (vo)rivers who switch and save time to get moving, because this offer won't last. switch to verizon and get welcome unlimited for just $25 a line. (seth) i love that it's guaranteed for 3 years. (cecily) yeah, get an awesome network and save money doing it. (seth) not bad. (cecily) you get to keep your phone. more savings. (vo) switch and get welcome unlimited for $25 a line. guaranteed for 3 years. (cecily) hey, that could catch on. (vo) yup! don't wait. switch to verizon today.

well according to sandy smith, steven's mom, stephen smith, and buster played baseball together , theynded school together , but in terms of how it's mentioned, i mean, i've listened to some of these audio interviews in the case file. you hear? you know, you just hear people saying, well, i keep your keep hearing buster's name thrown around but again. it's really important to note here that buster is denying any involvement in this having any knowledge of this and it could just be people talking in that in those audio interviews with those investigators, right, rainy day again. we appreciate you getting to us so quickly with this information will let you get back to work. thank you. coming up the big names in music design in television, whom president biden honor today at the white house. what will you do? will you make something better? create something new technologies advisors can provide you with the tools and expertise you need. to bring out the innovator in you. you love closing a deal, but hate managing your business from afar you need to hire need indeed, indeed, you do indeed,

>> that connection was made by sandy smith, the mother of stephen the, who said that randolph murdaughey with the old pmpd law firm, he supposedly show up on the accident scene and according to sandy smith he -- she received a telephone call from him where he offered to represent her, and she was very confused as to why she would need representation. and that is really where we are with what the public knows about that supposed accident. s.l.e.d. has been investigating for a solid two years, and nothing has been released. but now you heard on friday the public is turning its attention back to that what we consider to be a murder. pete: well, as more details come out, keep us updated. it just seems to be one of those things where a lot of bad things happen around this family, -- >> it's peeling the onion, pete. you keep peeling it, you find more. pete: incredible. eric bland, thank you very much for your time. >> thank you for having me. pete: you got it. i'm going to toss it over to rachel for a few headlines. rachel: thank you, pete. turning now to this tragic story. the family of a b

it's validation for sandy smith. accident. >> in my heart, this was not a hit and run. i think he was murdered. i just need the proof. >> reporter: his body was found in a rural south carolina road in 2015. state investigators initially ruled it a hit and run and no one has ever been charged. in june of 2021, s.l.e.d. reopened the case. the agency has not said what the information is. a netflix documentary raised the possibility of a relationship between smith and buster murdaugh. >> there are so many rumors swirling around that buster and steven were intimate together. >> reporter: in a statement to nbc news, buster calls the rumors baseless and denies any involvement with steven's death. no one in the murdaugh family has been implicated in smith's killing. the new development comes weeks sentenced to life in prison. lawyers believe that frees up more police resources and they hope will encourage more potential witnesses to come forward. >> someone's soul is burdened with this information. whoever that person is, i'

catie beck reports >> reporter: sandy smith has lived with unexplained loss for eight years. >> it'sn a rough, rough, rough road. >> reporter: she believes it wasn't by accident that her 19-year-old son stephen was killed, found dead on a rural road in hampton county, south carolina in 2015. >> in my heart, this was not a hit-and-run. i think he was murdered, and i just need the proof >> reporter: the case reopened by south carolina investigators in june of 2021. saying it was based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of paul and maggie murdaugh attentioion to the c case pepeaking in m months leading upup to alexex murdauaugh's trialal for the e crime. and a a new nenetflix docucuseries drarawing ties between smith and buster murdaugh, who were high school classmates and rumored by some to be in an intimate relationship. >> that name was, he goes by buster murdaugh >> reporter: but buster murdaugh for the first time publicly challenging any and all implications that he was involved i've tried my best to ignore the vicious rum bers my involve

. >> reporter: sandy smith one step closer to justice for her son. >> it's going to be hard to open anight years but it has to start with an investigation of his body. >> it's important to me because i just love my son and since i couldn't protect him, i'm going to fight for him. >> reporter: stephen smith, a 19-year-old with dreams of becoming a doctor, was found dead about 4 a.m. july 8th, 2015, on sandy run road in hampton county. >> in the road, a boy. he's been dumped. >> reporter: at the time it a peerpd stephen was the victim of a hit and run but the south carolina highway patrol's incident report noted they didn't find any debris or injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle. according to the case notes stephen died from blunt force trauma to the head and stephen's loosely tied shoes remained on his feet. >> if he was hit by a vehicle that's going fast enough, it's going to project you. your shoes are just going to fall off. >> reporter: along with exhuming stephen's body, she hopes to gain access to his phone calls and text messages in the months and hours leading up t

sandy smith says she doesn't know who's responsible for her son's death. >> but i want to know why you did it, and i want to know who you are. >> reporter: she wants stephens body's exhumed and an independent autopsy performed. >> when it comes to an exhumation, there are pitfalls you have to look out for, namely preparation of the remains. >> reporter: despite the potential hurdles, sandy smith says she remains hopeful. >> peace, not closure. it will never be closed because he's forever gone. >> reporter: catie beck, nbc news. >>> we have a lot to cover in our second hour of chris jansing reports, let's get right to it. >> at this hour, after a weekend of deadly violence, miami beach imposed a cur few overnight and this afternoon, a vote on another curfew. what it means for thousands upon thousands of spring break visitors. the world's top climate scientists issuing a survival guide for humanity. you've got to hear their dire warnings and the major course correction they're recommending. republicans circling the wagons ahead of a potential indictment of donald trump, with one of the f

sandy smith has a gofundme. she has raised $75,000 that she plans to use for the independent autopsy and to exhume her son's body if a judge signs a petition allowing it. we asked about the investigation. they told us they had made progress and said it was active and ongoing. diane gallagher, cnn, charlotte, north carolina. >>> ukrainian authorities say a russian attack last year on a couple in their car is a clear case of a war crime. it's also the subject of a new documentary by a ukrainian filmmaker. cnn's ivan watson has our exclusive report. >> reporter: from a battlefield in eastern ukraine, a desperate call for help, as a ukrainian woman pleads for her wounded husband's life. footage from last june, shows the moment when a ukrainian couple took a wrong turn towards an active front line. the car came under fire from nearby russian forces, badly wounding the driver. >> translator: i saw his head was injured and i immediately began to bandage his head. >> reporter: it was later compiled into a documentary by

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i mean, i definitely think he was he was murdered steven's mother, sandy smith, and tommy more, spoke to our abc affiliate wc. i've the former highway patrol lieutenant who responded to the scene says he believes steven smith was murdered. saying smith shoes were still on his feet and his road rash was minor, suggesting it was something other than a crash things that come to my mind either. he was murdered there. or he was murdered elsewhere and dropped their more says he took his concerns to law enforcement officials. but the corner insisted smith died after a hidden run. smith's family has already raised thousands of dollars to exhume his body for an independent autopsy. so there now just waiting for a judge's approval. sports some late night, march madness and the women's tournament. miami facing number one indiana with seconds left when it's just pure destiny , the shot drops in by destiny harden, and that gave the ninth seeded hurricanes a 72 68 when they move on to the sweet 16, along with the men's team. indiana is the second number one seed to lose in the tournament this year.

. >> reporter: sandy smith has lived with unexplained loss for eight years. >> it's been a lrough, rough, rough road >> reporter: she believes it wasn't by accident that thher 19-year-old son was found dead the case reopened by south carolina investigators in june of 2021, saying it was based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of paul and maggie murdaugh attention to the case peaking gn monthshs leaeading u up toto a murdaugh's trial for the crime and a new netflix docuseries drawing ties between smith and buster murdaugh who were rumored by some to be in an intimate relationship >> that name was, he goes by buster murdaugh. >> reporter: but buster murdaugh for the first time publicly challenging any and all implications three was involved. i've tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in stephen smith's tragic death that continuing to published in the media as i grieve over the brutal murders of my brother and mother i love them so much and miss them terribly. murdaugh adding that he's still coping with their loss and th

today, new private efforts launched to uncover the circumstances, spearheaded by smith's mother, sandydy. >> we think we have good cause to show why a fresh set of eyes on this would be beneficial. it kind of has to start with a fresh new look at the body. >> reporter: initial reports said the nursing student died on july 8th, 2015, from blunt force head trauma, originally said to be the result of a hit and run. but the accident investigation team cited, quote, no vehicle debris, skid marks or injuries consistent with someone being struck by a vehicle. >> i just love my son. and since i couldn't protect him, i'm going to fight for him. >> reporter: smith's mother said she worried her son may have been targeted because he was gay. according to police files during interviews with friends and family after smith's death, the murdaugh name kept coming up, but no suspect has ever been named and authorities have never connected anyone in the murdaugh family to smith's death. still, rumors and innuendo persisted as t spawned documentaries and social media following often with buster must dau a

>> reporter: so, i think that sandy smith, the mother of steven smith, would say that she would havehad the money to do so. and part of the reason why she's able to try for this right now and, look, her attorneys still have to petition a judge to get permission to exhume his body, is because of roughly $70,000 worth of donations she's been given through a gofundme. much of them coming from the those who followed the murdaugh double murder trial online. millions of people watch that unfold. alex murdaugh was convicted in the murders of his wife and son earlier this month. and, look, there is no direct connection between buster murdaugh and steven smith. aside from the fact they went to high school together. but there has been a lot of innuendo and rumors included on podcasts and social media and much stems from a 2021 announcement from the state law enforcement when they auns noed they were opening an investigation into steven smith's 2015 death, quote, based upon information gathered during the course of the double murder investigation of maggie and paul murdaugh. now, look, smith's

something his mother sandy smith never accepted. in june 2021 based on information brought to light in the investigation into maggie and paul myrdal's murders. one day after buster spoke out about his empire involvement after hbo and tied him to the specials on his father's murder trial. buster writes, "these baseless rumors of stephen's death are false. i have to publicly deny any involvement in stephen's death and my heart goes out to his family." ." but attorneys for smith's family say this is not about the murdaughs. >> this is about stephen smith and get answers to questions his mother desperately needs answers for. so there is no reason to discuss buster murdaugh and no, it to be made back to murdaugh. god willing, court willing what was stephen smith's true cause of death? >> in the meantime, the sons of the murdaugh's former housekeeper calling for justice for their mother who died on the front steps of the family's homes. her death was ruled an accident but an autopsy was never conducted. the prosecutors say the disgraced l

so this morning, buster murdaugh made a statement ahead of sandy smith. olvement in the death of stephen smith that have swirled in the media as i grieve over my viciously murdered mother and brother. i unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out the the family. now, there is a gofundme that has raised more than 60,000 which the family is going to be using to and they noticed of course, erica and john, it is not their job to determine who killed him and perhaps this grieving mother can get answers nearly eight years since her son was killed. >> thank you, dianne gallagher. >>> could there be a strike tomorrow shuting down the nation's largest school district? stay with us. . suv. subaru's first all-electrtric, zero-emissions suv. (man) we've got some catching up to do. (woman) sure do. (vo) built to help you protect the environment as you explore it. love. it's what makes subaru, subaru. couldn't use cpap. now i have this. inspire is a sleep apnea treatment that works inside my body with the click of this rote. no mask, no ho, ju

. >> sandy, smith now one step closer to what she hopes will be justice for her side. >> it's hard tor a, years but it needs to start with an examination of his body. >> it's important to me, because i just let my son, since i couldn't protect him -- >> stephen smith, a 19-year-old with dreams of becoming a doctor, was found at about four a. m. july 8th 2015 on sandy ron rhoden hampton county. >> it was -- >> at the time a pathologist setup here steven was the victim of a head imran. but the south carolina highway patrol incident report noted they didn't find any vehicle debris or injury consistent with someone being struck by of. according to the case, noticed even died from blunt force trauma to the head. he had no broken bones, and evidence from the scene shows stevens loosely tied shoes remained from on his feet. >> if you're hit by a vehicle, that's going fast enough, it's gonna project you. your shoes are just gonna fall off under those circumstances. >> along with exhuming stevens body. sandy's lawyer also hope to gain access to worsens phone calls and text messages in the mont

. >> reporter: sandy smith now one step closer to what she hopes will be justice for her son. >> it willd to open an investigation after eight years, but it has to start with an examination of his body. >> it is important to me because i love my son and sense i couldn't protect him, i'm going to fight for him. >> reporter: stephen smith, a 19-year-old with dreams of becoming a doctor, was found dead about 4:00 a.m. july 8, 2015 on sandy run road in hampton county. at the time, a pathologist said it appeared that stephen was the victim of a hit and run, but the south carolina highway patrol incident report noted they didn't find any vehicle debris or injuries consistent with someone being struck by a vehicle. according to the case notes, stephen died from blunt force trauma to the head. he had no broken bones and his loosely tied shoes remained on his feet. >> if you are hit by a vehicle going fast enough that will project you, your shoes will fall off under the best of circumstances. >> reporter: along with exasexashuming stephen's body, they also want to gain access to her son's phone c

sandy smith started a go fund me. her son if a judge signs off allowing it. we asked sled about the investigation into stephen smith's death. they said it is ak tich and ongoing and they have made progress. >> thank you very much. >>> next, dramatic new video this hour of riot police facing off with protestors setting fire across a major city tonight. research shows people remember ads with a catchy song. so to help you remember that liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's a little number you'll never forget. did you know that berty mutual custo— ♪iberty mutual. ♪ ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ ♪ custom home insurance created for you all. ♪ ♪ now the song is done ♪ ♪ back to living in your wall. ♪ they're just gonna live in there? ♪ yes. ♪ only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ keeps flaring, put it in check with rinvoq, a once-daily pill. when uc got unpredictable, i got rapid symptom relief with rinvoq. and left bathroom urgency behind. check

sandy smith has said she feared her son was targeted because he was gay. an openly gay young man. in an area of the state where it's not popular to be an openly gay man. and it probably had to do with one of his relationships, friendships or something. that, um he was involved with tuesday brought the first real update in smith's homicide investigations since june 2021 when state law enforcement were sled investigators announced they were opening a case into his killing based on information gathered during their investigation of the murders of paul and maggie murdock. sled has never revealed what that information wants. verdict guilty, but the trial of alex murdoch was discussed on that tuesday phone call with the sled chief. he said that now there's been a conviction of alex murdoch. he thinks that people are more apt to come forward. and discuss what they know about stephen smith. the murdoch name is mentioned dozens of times in the original case, like in this audio interview with the trooper mentions buster murdoch was on our radar. the murdochs know th

sandy smith joins anderson cooper. her son, stevens, 2015, death miles from alex murdoch's home was called a hit and run now, nearly a ever ingredients to help you lose fat get lean absolutely free now, 321321. eva longoria searching for mexico premiere sunday at 10 on cnn. in ukraine . tonight at least one person is dead and dozens injured after russian missile strike on an apartment block in zaporizhia, cnn's senior international correspondent ivan watson, watson visited the scene. even now, at nighttime, you can see the destruction caused by what ukrainian officials say was a russian missile that hit these 29 story apartment buildings around midday here in zepa asia, killing ukrainian authorities say at least one person and wounding at least 32 more. now, this city is located just about a half hour's drive from active front lines, and it has been pummeled in the past by russian missiles and markets that have hit apartment buildings here with deadly results these buildings kind of face towards the southwest, and that

sandy smith has said she feared her son was targeted because he was gay. he was openly gay young man. in an area that state where it's not popular to be an openly gay man. and it probably had to do with one of his relationships , friendships or something that , um he was involved with tuesday brought the first real update in smith's homicide investigation since june 2021 when state law enforcement were sled investigators announced they were opening a case into his killing based on information gathered during their investigation of the murders of paul and maggie murdock sled has never revealed what that information was. verdict guilty. pile of alex murdoch was discussed on that tuesday phone call with the sled chief. he said that now there's been a conviction of alex murdoch. he thinks that people are more apt to come forward. and discuss what they know about stephen smith. the murdoch name is mentioned dozens of times in the original case, like in this audio interview with the trooper mentions buster murdoch was on our radar. the murdochs know that, but th

. >> reporter: a hope shared byñr sandy smith, still desperately seeking the truth. >> i'm a okmother.w3ts or evidence prompted authorities to investigation this now as a t(e1 homicide? >> reporter: we do not. ,actly what evidence authoritiese1 have, bu according to lawyers for thet( family, they say that sled/ that their team does have enough evidence toe1 investigate this a homicide. the road to answers starts with a private examination of her son's body. the judge does havee1 to rule f this to take place. >> sandra, tha%c■ you very much >>> a couple years ago i interviewed steven smith's mother. i asked her because at the time she was convinced that her son had not died the way authorities said. i said, what gives you this certainly? and o#átrj likeçó mother's intuition. i just qknow. >> because it was initially ruled a hit-and-run accident? >> yeah,e1 exactly. >> and she knew it wasnk an accident. >> this was two years ago. >>> coming up,w isturbing new details in t$b case of a colorado dentist accused in the poisoning death of his wife. what investigators are learning. >>> first, ja

. -- spearheaded by smith's mother, sandy, and two attorneys. the first goal? s to show why, a set of eyes on this would be beneficial. it has to start with a fresh new look at the body. initial report says the nursing student died on july 18th from blunt force head trauma, originally said to be the result of a hit and run. but the acid investigation team reports, quote, no debris -- smith's mother says he married her son may have been targeted because he was gay. according to police files an interviews with his death, the murdaugh name kept coming up. but no suspect has ever been named, and authorities have never connected members of the murdaugh math family to his death. still, innuendo persisted, and they spawned documentaries, and rapid social media following. often with buster murdoch, former classmate of mr. smith at the center the speculation. he broke his hands with a statement provided to cnn this morning. , saying in part, i've tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors involving his try to get, if they continue to be published in the media, as i griev

listen first of all to what stephen smith's mother sandy said about what she was told by sled it couldand since i couldn't protect him i'm going to fight for him. i hope to find the real reason for stephen's death. and the real why. >> john: and what she said to the hampton county guardian last night, i've been waiting on this news for almost eight years. i'm in shock, i'm elated, i'm waiting for the next chapter. not often, mark, you hear a parent say they are elated to find out their son was murdered but she has long suspected there was foul play here. >> yeah, i get it. i'm a father of three and if i learned that they said my kid was involved in an accident and i knew that there was something nefarious like she's alleging her son would not have left his wallet in the vehicle and then walked along a roadway, or that there was no skid marks at all on the asphalt to indicate that somehow this was the accident they are claiming it to be. no vehicle debris, no parts of the vehicle left, no evidence consistent with him being dragged at all. you know, that's hokey, and you don't just as a

something smith's mother sandy never accepted.opened in june of 2021 brought to information brought to light into the investigation ever the murders of maggie and paul murdaugh news coming one day after buster his involvement documentaries on hbo and netflix revealed rumors of romantic buster and smith. buster writes these baseless movements in my involvement in steven's death are quote. i unequivocally deny any involvement in smith's death and my heart goes out to the smith's family. the sons of murdaugh's former housekeeper are also calling for justice. their mother died on the front steps of the murdaugh family home, her death ruled an accident, but, an autopsy was never conducted. their attorney says, quote: they want to see that he has to pay just like everybody else does to get their full cup of justice when they commit a crime. prosecutors say the disgraced lawyer and now convicted murderer alex murdaugh secured $4.3 million in insurance settlements for their family but he kept most of it. steve, ainsley, brian, back to you

today, new private efforts lash to uncover the circumstances, spearheaded by smith's mother, sandy, andide of eyes on this would be beneficial. it has to start with a fresh new look at the body. >> initial reports that the nursing student died on july 8th, 2015, from blunt force head trauma, originally said to be the result of a hit and run. but the accident investigation team reports cited, quote, no vehicle debris, skid marks or injuries consistent with someone being struck by a vehicle. >> i just love my son and since i couldn't protect him i'm going to fight for him. >> smith mother said she's worried her son might have been targeted because he's gay. during interviews with friends and family after smith staff, murdaugh name kept coming up, but no suspect has ever been named. authorities have never connected anyone in the murdaugh family to smith's death. still, removes an empty window persisted as the murdaugh case spawned podcasts, documentaries, and rabbit social media following, often with western murdaugh, a former classmate of smith at the center of the speculation. he broke h

investigating stephen smith's death as a homicide since they opened this case now attorney for stephen smith mothers. sandytells us that the chief of sled the state, the state law enforcement division, told him that they were waiting until the murdoch trial wrapped up so they could basically devote more resources to this but also in case of the witnesses in the low country area people who had information about the death of stephen smith that maybe they would feel more comfortable coming forward. now we need to be very clear about something. there have been no suspects named in the death of stephen smith. there have been rumors and there are a lot of documentaries and podcasts and people on social media talking, but nobody in the murdoch family has ever officially been named in connection with stephen smith death. in fact, look, they're still asking for information and tips right now, but buster murdoch's name did get thrown around in some of the interviews after stephen smith's body was found with highway patrol investigators again, not a suspect in buster murdoch released a statement this week saying that

but look attorney for stephen smith's mother. sandyaid that yesterday the chief of fled, called him and said that now that the murdoch trial is over, they are able to put more manpower more investigative power into steven's homicide investigation and also noted that perhaps more people would be willing to speak about anything that they may know. so again. there have been no suspects named in stephen smith killing but back in 2015 when highway patrol was doing an investigation. there were plenty of people who mentioned the murdoch name and including buster murdoch, the only surviving son of alex murdoch. he of course, issued a statement this after this week, saying, explicitly denying it that he had nothing to do with it. he said that this has gone on for far too long. these baseless rumors of my involvement with steven and his death are false, unequivocally deny any involvement in his death. and my heart goes out to the smith family. kate. look her. the family of stephen smith is asking anybody who has any information, please contact s

i spoke with stephen smith's mom, sandy, and that attorney eric bland. appreciate you joining us. you have been fighting for nearly eight years now, too. to get justice for your son. how do you feel now that the investigation has been is being looked at as a homicide now, finally. i'm just overwhelmed. um, i've been fighting. this is what i've been fighting for. and i'm finally getting it. um. i don't know how to explain it, but i have a little bit of peace in the hall. yeah. do you know? as you said, you've been fighting to get more attention on and find out exactly what happened to your son, really? from the beginning , and it has been nearly eight years now. it'll be eight years this july. did you know i mean when, early on when they said, well, it looks like it was. you know, it was blunt force trauma , you know, motor vehicle accident. he was probably hit on the road walking on the side of the road. did you believe that at all? i did not told him that i said there's no way this is a hit and run. my son would not walk in that road. there was some at

times the money they were seeking to commission an independent autopsy on the smith family's gofundme page steven's mother sandirug, we will pursue exhumation and steven smith 19 at the time of death was openly gay and had been high school classmate of murdaugh's oldest son buster. steven's body was found on july 8th, 2015 near the murdaugh family's hunting estate where buster's mother maggie and paul were fatally shot six years later and informed the smiths about the biden's identity. attorney reportedly contact to offer help. police ruled hit and run but reopened investigation following the deaths of maggie and paul murdaugh. >> this was. >> he had a clear head trauma injury that looked like it was done by something other than a car. >> attorney who you saw there represents the family of gloria, housekeeper who died in 2018 after what was described as a trip and fall accident at the murdaugh family home. alec murdaugh pocketed money intended for sarah field's money. mike: so this may not be over. jonathan reporting live. jonathan, thanks a lot. >> certainly. >> the western u.s. potentially bracing for another

sandy and two attorneys. the first goal, exhuming smith's body. >> we have cause to believe that -- fresh eyes.> an initial report said that the nursing student died on june 8th, 2000 -- of a hit and run. but the accident investigation team reports cited quote no vehicle debris skid marks or injuries consistent with someone being struck by a vehicle. >> i just love my son and since i couldn't protect him, i will fight for. him >> smith smothers says she's worried that her son was targeted because he was. gay according to police files, with during interviews with friends and families after his death, the murdaugh name kept coming up, but no substack has been named and authorities never connected any one of the murdaugh family to switch the. still, rumors and window persisted as the murdaugh case spawned podcast, documentaries, and a rapid social media following. including buster murdaugh, a classmate of smiths. he broke his silence and spoke to cnn this morning saying apart, quote, i tried my best to ignore the rumors that suggest my involvement in the death of -- this baseless rumors of my invo

friends and relatives of steven smith have raised more than three times ma they to commission an independent autopsy. dismissed family go funny saves steven's mother, sandywrites thank you for not telling steven sorry to be swept under a rug. we will exhume immediately and provide updates on the way. steven smith was 19 at the time of his death was openly gay and been a high school classmate of roberto's older son buster. as eight, 2015 near the murdaugh family hunting estate or buster's mother, maggie and brother paul were fatally shot six years later. saint investigators the information discovered during the murdaugh investigation led them to reopen the smith case which they had initially determined was a hit-and-run accident. >> there is no broken glass, no car parts is closer intact he had a clear head trauma injury that looked like it was done other than a car progress attorney eric represent the family of gloria satterfield the housekeeper who died in 2018 after what was described as a trip and that. this meant taking place on the murdaugh family property just outside the main home. i like the admittedly pocketed insurance settlement money, intende

stephen smith was a classmate of buster in high school. his mom, sandyost" the family kept inserting themselves in to the case. she's not directly accusing them of being involved. saying "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. i don't care what your name is." jonna, let's start with randy and get to the stephen smith case, which people are intrigued by. randy did not testify. john martin did testify on behalf of his brother, alec. randy said he's sad and confused and he wants to know what his brother knows and what he didn't tell them. >> i agree with that. randy doesn't necessarily agree with the jury's verdict in this case. he's supportive of his brother to a certain extent. he does think that alec murdaughs knows more, perhaps know whose did it, has some more connection than he led us. we all know he's a liar. if you watched the trial, you know that alec murdaugh is a liar. he also had a relationship with maggie and paul. of course he wants to know what happened to them. i don't believe he buy

smith, nbc bay area news. >> skyranger was over the bay area mountain tops. check out the snow still there on the tops of those mountains. this is lake del valle. >>> you see sandy parker here relying on generators there to keep the lights on. >> it'setting old. usually we can do one to three days, and then it's back on. and now it's, li oh. it's day six. and so it just gets old. we have to run downtown and get gas for the generator. >> it gets old, like she says, because she relies on electricity to pump water from her well, she's also had no running water. so she goes down the hill into los gatos to shower at the gym. pg&e crews have been out all week working to restore the power. but getting into those trouble zones has been difficult. parts of the bay area are also going to be under a freeze warning tonight. >> jeff is going to check in, in about ten minutes to tell us how cold it will get and when the rain will return. >>> we have a developing story that we're working on right now the not a lot of details but here is what we know. a body has been discoveredhead. what you're looking at is the thornton stateeach i daly ty. a body was found in that area. we do

there was one visible wound to stephen smith's head, about a 7-inch laceration on one side of his head. but what troubled his mother sandythere is no debris like glass or plastic from a car. nothing to indicate that there was actually a car accident. there was about 3:00 in the morning. interesting, it was staged, according to some sources to look like he had run out of gas. but he had a cell phone with him. and he never tried to call anybody. also, his body was in the middle of the road. as if it had been put there on purpose for somebody else to run over, for somebody to find? i drove the area it's about 8 miles from where pat, maggie and paul were murdered and it's pitch dark. i guarantee if stephen smith had been walking in the middle of the street which i doubt he had would have seen car lights coming. >> ainsley: if it's a hit and run the shoes usually fly off. his mom thinks he was murdered somewhere else and placed there in the road. we will see. also, you have a very interesting special coming up. oh, by the way buster said he did not do this. we do want to say this. he is not guilty of this. they are going to i