Stephen Smith's Body Exhumed and Examined Again in Murdaugh Case Investigation.

The body of Stephen Smith, whose 2015 death was initially deemed a hit-and-run, was exhumed for an independent autopsy after South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced it was investigating his death as a homicide based on information gleaned during its investigation into the Murdaugh family murders. Smith's family raised over $100,000 for the exhumation and private autopsy. The initial incident report and medical examiner's report cited the cause of death as blunt head trauma sustained from being hit by a vehicle, but there was no evidence of a vehicle accident. The case file reveals a working theory among first responders at the scene that Smith's death was a homicide, and not the result of being struck by a car.