Forensic investigator reviewed original files and walked the road where the 19-year-old nursing student was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ in 2015

The star witness in the Alex Murdaugh double murder trial is now independently investigating the 2015 death of Stephen Smith and says someone “has a good idea who committed this.”

Kenny Kinsey, a forensic investigator who testified for the prosecution in the 2023 Murdaugh murder trial, said on investigative reporter Anne Emerson’s “Criminally Obsessed” podcast that, after reviewing the evidence, he believes key opportunities were missed early in the case.

Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old nursing student and former classmate of Buster Murdaugh, was found ᴅᴇᴀᴅ July 8, 2015, in the middle of a rural Hampton County, South Carolina, road just miles from the Murdaugh family’s hunting estate.

Smith, who was openly gay, had been walking along Sandy Run Road after his car broke down when a pᴀssing driver called 911 to report his body. He suffered a 7½-inch skull fracture. Authorities initially described the death as a hit-and-run.

Kinsey said he has reviewed the original investigative file, examined findings from the second autopsy, analyzed police interviews and walked the stretch of road where Smith’s body was discovered nearly 11 years ago.

He said his forensic analysis indicates Smith’s fatal injuries were connected to a vehicle but declined to detail specific wound patterns.

However, Kinsey emphasized that determining who was responsible falls to investigators.

“I don’t know the who,” he said. “That part comes from the investigation.”

During the podcast interview, Kinsey described what he called “missed opportunities” in the early stages of the case, saying delays and jurisdictional confusion can make cases harder to solve over time.

“Memories fade. People leave this earth,” Kinsey said. “Those missed opportunities — you don’t get that back.”

The investigation into Smith’s death was reopened in June 2021, just two weeks after Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were sH๏τ and killed at the family’s Colleton County hunting estate.

At the time, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said it had uncovered information related to Smith’s death while investigating the Murdaugh murders but declined to provide details.