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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - Attorneys representing the mother of Stephen Smith have announced a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for Smith’s death.
The Bland Richter Law Firm said it will allocate $35,000 from the funds raised through a crowdsourcing campaign to fund the reward.
“We understand that providing information about a crime can be difficult and we want to surrpoort the community however we can to bring closure for the Smith family,” attorneys Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter said in a joint statement Monday.
Smith was found dead in the middle of a Hampton County road in 2015. Initial reports from the South Carolina Highway Patrol and a determination from the Hampton County Coroner’s Office stated Smith was the victim of a hit-and-run crash.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division reopened the case in June of 2021, however, shortly after the investigation into the shooting deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh began in Colleton County.
Bland and Richter announced on March 21 that SLED now considers Smith’s death a homicide.
Smith’s mother, Sandy Smith, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her son’s body to be exhumed and independently examined.
Bland Richter confirmed over the weekend that the body had been exhumed and examined over the weekend. His body has since been reinterred.
No suspects have ever been named in Smith’s death. Investigators have not said what led them during the investigation in the Murdaugh killings to reexamine the Smith death.
“We hope this reward will encourage anyone with information to come forward and provide the critical details needed to solve this case,” Richter said.
Anyone with information on Smith’s death is urged to call SLED at 803-737-9000 or email tips@sled.sc.gov.
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