Buster Murdaugh, son of former attorney of note and convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh, is pleading to have his name omitted from news coverage of the death of a young man in 2015.
Murdaugh, 26, has not been connected to the death of Stephen Smith, who was 19 when his body was found on a country road in Hampton County, South Carolina. The discovery was made roughly 15 miles from Buster Murdaugh’s home and 2 to 3 miles from Smith’s vehicle, which had apparently run out of gas.
“These baseless rumors of my involvement with Stephen and his death are false,” Murdaugh said in a statement Monday. “I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death, and my heart goes out to the Smith family.”
It’s been widely reported that Buster Murdaugh and Smith may have attended a South Carolina high school together, but that has not been verified by NBC News.
“I am requesting that the media immediately stop publishing these defamatory comments and rumors about me,” Buster Murdaugh said.
A July 8, 2015, autopsy report by pathologists at the University of South Carolina determined that Smith had been struck by a vehicle. It cited as evidence for that conclusion a stretched brain stem, irregular abrasions and contusions, and blood in his airways.
The report also ruled out gunfire, noting the absence of projectiles or bullet fragments in Smith’s body.
The Island Packet, a local publication, reported that nonmedical investigators believed Smith’s body had a defensive wound, a factor that may have led law enforcement to see the case as a possible homicide.
The publication based its story on an early investigator’s report. The document also said there appeared to be no evidence at the scene — such as broken glass, debris, cracked signal covers — of a vehicle hitting a pedestrian.
Medical doctors apparently disagreed that Smith’s demise was anything other than a hit-and-run. The driver of the vehicle allegedly involved has not been found.
On Friday, Smith’s mother, Sandy Smith, confirmed that she…
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