Murdaugh Family: Was Buster Involved In Stephen Smith's Death?

Stephen Smith's body was found with a fatal head wound on a road in Hampton County, South Carolina on July 8, 2015. He was apparently walking to his home after running out of gas and, according to investigators, died after being struck by a vehicle.

Stephen's mother Sandy Smith told The Augusta Chronicle that she does not accept the coroner’s report, which states that her son was struck in the head by the mirror of a truck.

"It just doesn’t make sense to me. He was struck in the head by a truck mirror? I just can’t see that happening, he would have got out of the way," she said.

Sandy believes her son may have been a victim of a hate crime. Stephen, she explained, "was in the process of discovering himself and his sexuality" at the time of his death.

"He was gay. One rumor is that he may have had a man stalking him, the authorities asked me about that, but I’ve heard other stories I believe more," Sandy said.

Though she refused to give the names of the people she believes murdered her son, Sandy said that he was murdered over his sexual orientation by youths from prestigious local families.

No arrests have been made in Stephen Smith's case yet.

However, as FITSNews reported, South Carolina Highway Patrol investigated in 2015 rumors that Buster Murdaugh killed Smith.

One of the people who were interviewed said "we already knew he got hit or whatever but we didn’t know who did it. We just heard Buster did it."

"Everybody knows who Buster is and his family and all that.. and it was kinda shocking and all that. And I guess we kept talking about it and spreading it around," the person added.

Paul Murdaugh was also allegedly involved in a murder.

According to Slate, Paul allegedly drove a boat into a bridge piling while under the influence, killing a young woman named Mallory Beach.

Paul was charged with operating the boat while intoxicated, but a lawsuit filed by Connor Cook -- who was on board -- claims that Murdaugh-connected investigators deliberately ignored key evidence.

"The suit also includes a truly impressive number of statements about how drunk, obnoxious, and belligerent Paul Murdaugh was even after arriving at the hospital," according to the outlet.