Stephen Smith exhumation, autopsy complete. $35K reward offered in teen's unsolved murder.

The mother of slain Hampton County teen Stephen Smith has just buried her son for the second time and is now offering a $35,000 reward for information that might help investigators solve the murder of her 19-year-old.

On Monday, April 3, the Bland Richter law firm, which is representing Stephen Smith’s mother, Sandy Smith, announced on her behalf that she is allocating $35,000 from the monies raised through her GoFundMe account as a reward for information leading to the arrest of any responsible party in the death of her son.

That GoFundMe also funded the cost of an exhumation and independent autopsy of Stephen Smith's remains, which attorneys announced Monday was just conducted over the weekend.

"I now believe that Stephen can really rest at ease because SLED and our team are going to do everything possible to find out just how he died," Smith family attorney Eric Bland stated on Twitter Monday.

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On Sunday, Sandy Smith posted on her "Justice for Stephen N. Smith Family Page" on Facebook that her "baby is back in his final resting place."

Bland added that the exhumation and autopsy effort, which included unearthing, transporting and safeguarding Smith's body for autopsy, then reburying it at Gooding Cemetery in Hampton County, was a "team effort" that involved a tremendous amount of planning from a local funeral home, the excavators, the H.C. Coroner, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, and the team of pathologists and investigators hired privately by the Smith family and their attorneys.

That private investigative team includes pathologists Dr. D'Michelle P. DuPre, Dr. Dan Schultz, and Dr. Heather Walsh-Haney, who conducted the autopsy. Bland Richter has also retained the services of crime scene forensic expert Dr. Kenneth Kinsey and may also add an additional crime scene investigator to assist Kinsey later.

Smith's body was found lying in the middle of Sandy Run Road in rural Hampton County in the early morning hours of July 8, 2015, with fatal blunt force trauma to the head and other, secondary injuries.

Originally ruled a vehicular hit-and-run homicide in 2015, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) reopened the case in June 2021 and on March 23 of this year, SLED confirmed to the Smith family that it was officially considering the case a murder investigation.

The GoFundMe page was launched in early March and to date has raised in excess of $119,000 to pay for the private exhumation, independent autopsy, and to fund the cost of a more in-depth investigation. The Smith family has been critical of law enforcement's handling of the case from its inception.

Bland Richter LLP urges anyone with information about the events leading up to Stephen Smith's death to come forward and contact SLED.

"We understand that providing information about a crime can be difficult, and we want to support the community however we can to bring closure for the Smith family," Eric Bland and Ronnie Richter said in a joint statement.

The reward of $35,000 is being offered for information that leads to the identification and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Stephen Smith's death.

"We hope that this reward will encourage anyone with information to come forward and provide the critical details needed to solve this case," said Ronnie Richter.

Bland Richter LLP would like to thank SLED Chief Mark Keel and his team for their hard work and dedication to this case. Bland adds, "The paramount issue here is to find answers for the Smith family. We won't stop until we do."

Anyone with information about Stephen Smith's death is urged to contact SLED at 803-737-9000 or email tips@sled.sc.gov.

Hampton County Guardian Editor Michael DeWitt, the Greenville News and USA TODAY Network will continue to follow the ongoing criminal and civil cases surrounding the Murdaugh crime saga. Follow DeWitt on Twitter at @mmdewittjr and support his local and national journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Stephen Smith exhumation, autopsy complete. $35K reward offered.