The star witness in the Alex Murdaugh murder trial is independently investigating the Stephen Smith cold case — and he says they “got a good idea who committed this.”  

Stephen was a blonde haired, blue-eyed 19-year-old left dead on a rural South Carolina road in 2015. Kenny Kinsey, who’s a forensic investigator brought in by attorneys for Stephen’s mother, has reviewed the evidence, the second autopsy, police interviews and walked the very road where Stephen’s body was found on that hot summer night.

Senior Investigative Reporter Anne Emerson spoke with Kinsey about his investigation, what he learned about law enforcement’s investigation and how he believes Stephen died.

Stephen Smith’s death investigation was reopened in 2021 just two weeks after Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were murdered. The State of South Carolina’s Law Enforcement Division (SLED) cited information collected during the Murdaugh murder investigation but would not elaborate. In 2023, SLED announced Stephen’s death was a homicide. His body was exhumed and a second autopsy done, but that information has been sealed. 

When will justice come? July 8, 2026 will mark 11 years since Stephen was killed. Someone knows something. There is a $50,000 reward in this case.