Sandy Smith (L) with Stephen Smith (R) The Bland Richter Law Firm this week announced that South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Chief Mark Keel told them during a disclosure phone call that the death of Stephen Smith is now considered a homicide. The announcement comes eight years after Smith’s death was proclaimed to be the result of a highway vehicular manslaughter.
This announcement comes after a phone call between Bland Richter co-founder Eric Bland and Chief Keel, who say they have both committed to combining efforts as the state moves forward with exhuming Smith's body and subsequent investigations.
“We have a chance to right eight years of wrongs, and we intend to do just that,” said Bland.
Smith was found dead on a South Carolina road back in 2015, and state police first said that Smith had car trouble, was walking for help, and got hit by a car. Smith's family believes he was murdered, so his mother, Sandy Smith, opened a GoFundMe page in March to raise money for an independent autopsy. At the date of this publication, the Go Fund Me has raised over $100,000. Mrs. Smith retained Bland Richter this week to represent her.
State police reopened Smith's case in June 2021 after discovering new evidence during their investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. SLED has also revealed that they were waiting until the Murdaugh trial was over before making this announcement out of concern that witnesses would not be as forthcoming under the “Murdaugh sphere of influence.” Since the conclusion of the Murdaugh trial, more resources have – and will continue to be – devoted to Stephen Smith’s case.
“SLED officials have revealed that they did not need to exhume Stephen Smith’s body to convince them that his death was a homicide,” Bland and Ronnie Richter said in a joint statement. “However, they will be present and participate in any exhumation of Stephen’s body to gather more evidence. We are committed to finding out what really happened, and getting the peace and justice the Smith family deserves.”
The investigation into the death of Stephen Smith is ongoing, and SLED officials are urging anyone with information about the case to come forward. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact SLED’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-SLED.
