Crime scene guru Kenny Kinsey helped convict Alex Murdaugh, now eyes Stephen Smith's killer

Michael M. DeWitt, Jr., Greenville News
·3 min read
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The crime scene guru who captivated jurors and audiences alike with intelligent forensic analysis during the recent murder trial of Richard "Alex" Murdaugh now has a new target in his sights: the person or persons who killed Stephen Smith in 2015.

Attorney Eric Bland, of Bland Richter LLP, the law firm representing the Smith family in this murder investigation, announced Thursday that his firm and the family have retained Dr. Kenneth Kinsey, a forensic crime scene analysis expert with a PhD. who has worked over 850 death cases, to help lead a new investigation into the death of Smith.

Kinsey, who recently launched his own investigative consulting firm, Kenny Kinsey & Associates LLC, told The Hampton County Guardian Thursday that he had officially been retained on March 29, and the same day visited the crime scene in Hampton County to get the lay of the land and for an interview with Court TV.

"I am committed," Kinsey said. "I want to help that family get answers, I really do."

Kenneth Kinsey, a criminal studies professor and chief deputy at the Orangeburg county sheriffs office testifies in the Alex Murdaugh trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool
Kenneth Kinsey, a criminal studies professor and chief deputy at the Orangeburg county sheriffs office testifies in the Alex Murdaugh trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. Grace Beahm Alford/The Post and Courier/Pool

Smith's body was found lying in the middle of Sandy Run Road in rural Hampton County early on July 8, 2015, eight years before Murdaugh was convicted in the June 2021 murders of his wife and son, but Smith's death remains unsolved.

Originally ruled a vehicular hit-and-run homicide in 2015, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened the case just weeks after the Murdaugh murders and on March 23 SLED confirmed to the Smith family that it was officially considering the case a murder investigation.

The bodies of Stephen Smith, at left, and Gloria Satterfield may soon be exhumed from the grave and possibly yield more clues and connections to the Murdaugh crime saga in South Carolina.
The bodies of Stephen Smith, at left, and Gloria Satterfield may soon be exhumed from the grave and possibly yield more clues and connections to the Murdaugh crime saga in South Carolina.

The Smith case drew renewed attention as the Murdaugh crime saga built momentum because of a rumored but unconfirmed possible connection to members of the Murdaugh family. The case exploded into its own spotlight after Alex Murdaugh's conviction, when Bland Richter, a high-profile firm known for defending Murdaugh's victims, announced last week it was now representing the Smith family.

Bland also confirmed Thursday that they have added three pathologists to aid Kinsey's investigative efforts: Dr. D'Michelle P. DuPre, Dr. Dan Schultz, and Dr. Heather Walsh-Haney. Bland Richter may also add an additional crime scene investigator to assist Kinsey later.

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Bland called this group Stephen Smith's "Dream Team."

"We are so fortunate," said Bland. "We are really excited. It's a great team, a dream team of experts. But what excites me most is the cooperation that we have gotten from SLED. Chief Mark Keels has been amazing."

Kenneth Kinsey, crime scene specialist, shows how cartridges may have been ejected from the gun that killed Paul Murdaugh during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, February 16, 2023. Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool
Kenneth Kinsey, crime scene specialist, shows how cartridges may have been ejected from the gun that killed Paul Murdaugh during Alex Murdaugh’s trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse on Thursday, February 16, 2023. Joshua Boucher/The State/Pool

Bland added that SLED, an agency that found itself under attack for its police work for weeks during the Murdaugh murder trial, is "vindicated and emboldened" by Murdaugh's guilty verdict and is ready to devote its full energy to the Smith investigation.

SLED also feels that, now the "Murdaugh stranglehold" over the community is gone, people may be ready to come forward and share information about the Smith murder, said Bland.

The Smith investigative team is being funded by a GoFundMe account set up by Smith's mother, Sandy, that has now raised in excess of $110,000.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Kenny Kinsey helped convict Alex Murdaugh, eyes Stephen Smith's killer