Buster Murdaugh, son of Alex Murdaugh, released a statement through his attorney about rumors surrounding the death of his classmate.
The family attorney, Jim Griffin, posted the statement on Twitter Monday.
“I have tried my best to ignore the vicious rumors about my involvement in Stephen Smith’s tragic death that continue to be published in the media as I grieve over the brutal murders of my mother and brother. I love them so much and miss them terribly,” Buster Murdaugh said.
The statement shared Buster Murdaugh had not “spoken up until now because I want to live in private while I cope with their deaths and my father’s incarceration.”
According to Buster Murdaugh, “Before, during and since my father’s trial, I have been targeted and harassed by the media and followers of this story.”
He added that it has “gone on far too long.”
The statement continues, “These baseless rumors of my involvement in Stephen’s death are false. I unequivocally deny any involvement in his death and my heart goes out to the Smith family.”
Concluding the statement, Buster Murdaugh, said, “I am requesting that the media immediately stop publishing these defamatory comments and rumors about me.”
“Today” reported Smith’s mother wants her son’s body exhumed and an independent autopsy performed.
Joseph Scott Morgan, associate professor of applied forensics at Jacksonville State University, told the network, “When it comes to an exhumation, there are several pitfalls that you have to look out for.”
He explained, “Namely, the preparation of the remains.”
https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/1637782652290846720
Smith died in 2015 in what police had previously said was a hit-and-run accident.
The accident took place just miles from the Murdaugh’s hunting estate.
“He was found in the middle of a country road in Hampton County, and … the highway department said he was hit by a car, but there was no broken glass, no car parts,” attorney Eric Bland, who represented the Murdaughs’ late housekeeper, Gloria Satterfieldtold, said.
He added, “His clothes were intact, his shoes were on, and he had … a clear head trauma injury that looked like it was done by something other than a car.”