The death of 19-year-old nursing student Stephen Smith has haunted South Carolina for nearly a decade — but with new national attention from the Hulu Murdaugh series, the truth about what happened to him is finally back in the spotlight.



In tonight’s Hidden Killers deep-dive, Tony Brueski breaks down the real story behind the case: the strange crime scene, the contradictions in early investigative reports, the forensic inconsistencies that never should’ve been ignored, and the long-buried leads that investigators are only now pursuing.



We walk through Stephen’s final night, the discovery of his body on a remote rural road, and the major red flags that made troopers question the hit-and-run narrative from day one. We also address — directly and responsibly — the long-circulating rumors involving the Murdaugh name, explaining what was speculation, what investigators actually found, and why SLED says there is no evidence tying the family to Stephen’s death.



More importantly, we highlight the real investigative leads resurfacing today: individuals who made suspicious statements in 2015, inconsistencies in witness accounts, and the newly reclassified finding that Stephen’s death was a homicide, not an accident. With a grand jury working behind the scenes and national pressure mounting, the case is closer to answers than it has ever been.



Stephen Smith was more than a rumor in a small Southern county. He was a son, a brother, a friend — a teenager with dreams of becoming a nurse — and someone out there knows exactly what happened to him.



If you’re here for real reporting, grounded analysis, and a breakdown that cuts through the noise, you’re in the right place.



Subscribe for continuing coverage of the Stephen Smith investigation, Murdaugh updates, and the biggest cases shaping the true-crime world today.





#StephenSmith #MurdaughCase #TrueCrime #HiddenKillers #JusticeForStephen #SouthCarolinaCrime #ColdCase #Investigation #TonyBrueski #TrueCrimeCommunity





Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?



Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/

Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod

X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod



Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872