Justice Report, San Diego, CA (2026)

06/11/2026

Could Stephen Smith's cold case finally be solved? AN ABSOLUTE SHOCK! Investigators unlock encrypted data from a hidden cellphone that could expose the killer after a decade of silence

The death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old South Carolina man found dead on a rural road in July 2015, is back in the spotlight after new information surfaced during the investigation into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh.

Smith’s death was originally ruled a hit-and-run, but his mother, Sandy Smith, never accepted that conclusion. For years, she pushed officials, wrote letters to politicians and contacted the FBI, insisting her son’s case deserved a closer look.

On June 22, 2021, just two weeks after Alex Murdaugh reported finding his wife and son shot dead at the family’s Moselle property, South Carolina investigators announced they were reopening Stephen’s case based on information gathered during the Murdaugh murder investigation.

SLED later confirmed it was treating Stephen Smith’s death as a homicide.

With help from attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter, who took the case pro bono, Sandy Smith raised more than $130,000 through GoFundMe to exhume her son’s body and conduct an independent autopsy.

Rumors of Murdaugh involvement have surrounded the case for years, especially involving Alex Murdaugh’s surviving son, Buster. Buster has strongly denied any involvement, calling the claims “baseless,” and his attorneys say they know of no evidence linking any Murdaugh to Stephen’s death or a cover-up.

Investigators have not publicly revealed what evidence from the Murdaugh case led them back to Stephen Smith. Sandy’s legal team says SLED now has Stephen’s phone, tablet and other evidence.

Independent experts working with the family have reportedly ruled out the baseball bat theory and believe Stephen died from a single fatal blow to the head on the road where he was found.

Sandy Smith is offering a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

06/11/2026

Could this single piece of clothing completely flip the Murdaugh narrative? THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING! Inside the explosive visual evidence and the STAINED T-SHIRT experts claim holds the ultimate truth

Pre-trial filings in the murder case against disbarred South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh reveal a major battle over key forensic evidence: the white T-shirt he wore the night his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and son, Paul Murdaugh, 22, were killed.

Murdaugh is accused of fatally shooting Paul with a shotgun and Maggie with a semi-automatic rifle near the dog kennels at the family’s 1,770-acre hunting property in June 2021.

Prosecutors argue the shirt contained more than 100 high-velocity blood spatter stains, allegedly linking Murdaugh to Paul’s shooting at close range. But the defense says any blood on the shirt came from Murdaugh checking the victims for signs of life after finding their bodies.

The defense is seeking to block testimony from blood spatter expert Tom Bevel, arguing his conclusions changed after contact with law enforcement. They also claim testing on cuttings from the upper two-thirds of the shirt came back negative for human blood.

Another dispute centers on the condition of the shirt itself. After state testing, the garment was reportedly cut apart and turned dark, making it unsuitable for further independent analysis.

As jury selection began, Murdaugh’s attorneys also moved to exclude testimony from Deputy Kenneth Lee Kinsey, accusing prosecutors of trying to introduce Bevel’s disputed findings through another expert.

The defense says the blood spatter evidence is central to the state’s theory — and deeply flawed.

06/11/2026

What a betrayal! Did Alex Murdaugh’s own brother Randy secretly see right through his DEVASTATING LIES all along?

In the first major interview since Alex Murdaugh was convicted and sentenced, his brother Randy Murdaugh opened up about the night Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh were shot and killed on the family’s rural South Carolina estate in 2021.

Alex Murdaugh, once part of a powerful legal family, was found guilty after a six-week trial of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. He was sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison.

Speaking to *The New York Times*, Randy said he still cannot say with certainty who pulled the trigger. But he made clear that he does not believe Alex has told the full truth.

“Alex knows more than what he’s saying,” Randy said. “He’s not telling the truth, in my opinion.”

Randy, who worked with Alex at the family law firm, said the brothers were not especially close and had not spoken in about a year. He also recalled spending weeks after the murders calling people and trying to find answers, while he felt Alex did not show the same urgency.

During the trial, jurors heard about Alex’s opioid addiction and years of financial fraud tied to the family law firm. Alex had also admitted arranging a failed assisted-suicide shooting attempt after the murders.

Despite the conviction, Randy said the uncertainty still haunts him.

“The not knowing is the worst thing there is,” he said.

06/11/2026

BEYOND ALL BELIEF! Could the sudden exhumation of Stephen Smith finally unearth the DEVASTATING SECRETS that the powerful Murdaugh dynasty tried so hard to bury?

The body of Stephen Smith, whose mysterious 2015 death gained renewed attention during the Murdaugh murder investigation, has been exhumed for an independent autopsy.

Attorneys for Smith’s family said his body was removed over the weekend, transported for a second autopsy, and then returned to his final resting place. The move comes after the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, known as SLED, confirmed it is now investigating Smith’s death as a homicide.

Smith, 19, was found dead on Sandy Run Road in Hampton County on July 8, 2015. His death was originally classified as a hit-and-run, with a medical examiner citing blunt head trauma from being struck by a vehicle. But investigators at the scene reportedly found no vehicle debris, skid marks or injuries clearly consistent with a traffic collision.

Case files also show early disagreement over how Smith died. Some first responders believed the wound on his head could have been from a gunshot, while others questioned the hit-and-run finding. Smith’s mother has said the family was given several different theories over the years, including a shooting, a beating and a vehicle strike.

SLED reopened the investigation in 2021 after receiving information during its probe into the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. Authorities have not announced any direct connection between Smith’s death and the Murdaugh family.

Smith’s family raised more than $100,000 to help fund the exhumation and private autopsy. Their legal team has also announced a $35,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Stephen’s mother, Sandy Smith, says the family is still fighting for answers nearly nine years after his death.

06/10/2026

Could a bombshell cellphone video finally EXPOSE THE TRUTH about where Alex Murdaugh really was during the murders? This is sickening!

New testimony in Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial put renewed focus on a short cellphone video recorded just minutes before his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, were shot to death.

Two of Paul Murdaugh’s childhood friends told jurors they were certain a third voice heard in the video belonged to Alex Murdaugh. The footage, recorded by Paul near the dog kennels on the family’s Moselle property on June 7, 2021, has become a critical piece of evidence because Murdaugh had claimed he was not at the kennels before the killings.

Prosecutors say the video places Murdaugh near Maggie and Paul shortly before phone activity on both victims’ devices stopped around 8:49 p.m. Paul had been recording a dog for his friend Rogan Gibson when voices believed to be Paul, Maggie and Alex were captured.

The testimony could challenge Murdaugh’s earlier account that he was at the main house before leaving to visit his mother. Prosecutors also suggested Murdaugh was under pressure over alleged financial misconduct, including missing legal fees, at the time of the murders.

Defense attorneys have argued that financial evidence is irrelevant and have suggested someone else could have killed Maggie and Paul. They also questioned parts of the cellphone timeline, including movement recorded on Maggie’s phone after prosecutors believe she was already dead.

Murdaugh, a former South Carolina attorney from a powerful legal family, has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

06/10/2026

What did Alex Murdaugh hide from detectives just days after the murders? NEWLY RELEASED INTERVIEWS pull back the curtain on his bizarre behavior—and the clues he never expected anyone to find.

Jurors in Alex Murdaugh’s double-murder trial heard major testimony from SLED agents about evidence found at the family’s Moselle property, where Maggie Murdaugh and Paul Murdaugh were shot dead on June 7, 2021.

Senior SLED agent Jeff Croft testified about phone activity on the night of the killings, including messages and calls from Rogan Gibson, whose dog was being kept at the Murdaugh kennels. Prosecutors said Paul’s phone “went silent” at 8:49 p.m., shortly after Gibson texted him asking for a photo of the dog.

Croft also described evidence found in the Moselle gun room, including .300 Blackout casings, an empty ammunition box, and rifles capable of firing similar rounds. Prosecutors argued that the casings may support their theory that family weapons were used, though the murder weapons have not been recovered.

The defense challenged the investigation, questioning whether evidence at the scene may have been mishandled or contaminated. Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian pointed to a bloody shoe print that did not match Paul, Maggie, or Alex Murdaugh, and suggested the possibility of more than one shooter.

Jurors also heard an audio clip from one of Alex Murdaugh’s interviews with investigators. Prosecutors claimed he said, “I did him so bad,” while discussing Paul’s body. Murdaugh appeared to dispute that interpretation in court.

Judge Clifton Newman allowed several fi****ms from the Moselle property to be entered as evidence, ruling they were relevant because guns, spent rounds, and multiple-shooter theories had become central issues in the case.

06/10/2026

WHAT A SHOCK! Newly Unearthed Police Files Reveal How Detectives Investigating the Mysterious Death of Stephen Smith Aggressively Pursued Leads Regarding His BOMBSHELL MURDAUGH CONNECTION

South Carolina authorities have reopened the investigation into the mysterious 2015 death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old whose body was found in the middle of Sandy Run Road, about 15 miles from the Murdaugh family’s Islandton hunting property.

Smith’s death was originally ruled a hit-and-run, but his mother, Sandy Smith, has long insisted her son was murdered and that the case was mishandled. Newly reviewed investigative files reportedly show that early responders found no vehicle debris, skid marks, broken bones, or injuries typically linked to someone being struck by a car.

Some officers at the scene believed Smith may have suffered a gunshot wound above his right eye. Notes from the investigation also stated there was a hole in his skull and a possible defensive wound on his hand. However, the autopsy later classified the manner of death as “undetermined” and the case moved forward as a possible vehicle-related death.

The case gained new attention after Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were found shot dead in June 2021. Police said information gathered during that double-murder investigation led them to reopen Smith’s case.

Investigative records also referenced tips questioning whether Smith had any relationship with Buster Murdaugh, Paul’s older brother. However, one tipster later said he was only repeating rumors, and no official charges have been announced against Buster or any member of the Murdaugh family in connection with Smith’s death.

Smith’s mother has called the renewed investigation painful but necessary, after years of demanding answers for her son.

06/10/2026

Could this one hidden clue finally expose the truth? Inside the twisted secrets that destroyed Alex Murdaugh’s powerful dynasty: REVEALING THE TIMELINE of greed, deception, and a family’s tragic end.

Alex Murdaugh, 57, the once-powerful scion of a South Carolina legal dynasty, will get a new trial in the killings of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul.

Murdaugh was originally convicted in one of the country’s most high-profile true-crime cases and sentenced to two life terms for the 2021 slayings. But the court ruled that misconduct and alleged jury tampering by former Colleton County Clerk Mary Rebecca "Becky" Hill compromised the fairness of the trial.

The justices said Hill improperly influenced jurors during deliberations and criticized her conduct as serious enough to undermine confidence in the verdict. Hill later resigned and pleaded guilty to misconduct-related charges in the case.

Prosecutors say they still plan to retry Murdaugh for the murders. He will remain in prison regardless of the ruling because he is also serving lengthy federal and state sentences for financial crimes, fraud and stealing from clients.

Prosecutors maintain that Alex gunned down 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and their troubled 22-year-old son, Paul, on June 7, 2021.

The Murdaughs, a prominent Democratic family, wielded enormous judicial and political power for nearly a century. But the family’s dominance began to wane after Paul was criminally charged for a deadly 2019 boat wreck that triggered a series of lawsuits and threatened to expose his father’s financial schemes.

The accident set in motion a spiral of destruction that has stained the family’s legacy.

06/09/2026

CHILLING NEW TWIST! What did investigators just unearth that secretly places Alex Murdaugh at the bloody crime scene, potentially revealing THE SMOKING GUN?

Since the murders of his wife and son at kennels near the family’s estate, Alex Murdaugh has insisted that he was never there — but that appears to have been proven untrue.

After more than a year, state agents hacked into his son Paul’s iPhone and found a Snapchat video featuring the accused’s voice shot less than five minutes before the victims stopped using their mobile devices, when prosecutors claim they were killed.

Mr Murdaugh is accused of killing his wife, Maggie, and their 22-year-old son on June 7, 2021. He has repeatedly denied any role in the fatal shootings and faces 30 years to life in jail if convicted.

Autopsies show that Paul and Maggie were each shot several times between 9pm and 9.30pm, with the young man's body found inside the kennels and his mother's was found nearby. Two final shots were fired into her head at close range.

The disgraced South Carolina legal scion was already in hot water well before the murder trial began in late January, after being charged with about 100 other crimes, including stealing from clients and tax evasion.

In this week’s shocking evidence, the once-prominent lawyer admitted to bilking clients out of millions, using the money to buy painkillers.

06/09/2026

WHAT A TWIST! With Alex Murdaugh's double-murder conviction thrown into absolute chaos, what does the sudden appointment of a NEW JUDGE mean for the fallen patriarch's ultimate fate?

A South Carolina judge has been assigned to take over Alex Murdaugh’s blockbuster murder case after the disgraced legal scion’s convictions in the slayings of his wife and son were overturned.
South Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice John W. Kittredge signed an order Monday giving Judge Debra R. McCaslin jurisdiction over all proceedings tied to Murdaugh’s murder-case indictments.
The order gives McCaslin authority over "any future retrial on the murder charges" as well as motions, jury trials, civil forfeiture actions and other related matters in the case.

The brief order does not set a new trial date or rule on any outstanding motions. Instead, it puts McCaslin in charge of the next phase of the case.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson's office said: "As always, we look forward to presenting the State's case in court as part of a fair, open, and transparent process."

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