The body of a man who was found dead near killer Alex Murdaugh's home is to be exhumed for an autopsy.
Stephen Smith, 19, from South Carolina, US, was mysteriously found dead on Sandy Run Road outside Hampton County on July 8, 2015 - just a few miles away from the disgraced lawyer's estate where he gunned down his wife Maggie and and their youngest son, Paul.
The teenager's death was initially ruled as a hit-and-run but police have since reopened the case after uncovering crucial information.
Police were investigating the deaths of Murdaugh's wife and son in June 2021 when they discovered potential new evidence.
Stephen's mum, Sandy, revealed the exhumation and independent autopsy was given the go ahead after its target of $15,000 (£12,000) was raised.
She said the story of how her son died keeps changing and hopes an autopsy will put to bed some of the claims.
Sandy told Fox News: "They said he was shot in the head. And then it turned out it was a hit-and-run and then he was beat up, so the story just kept changing.
"When they told me hit-and-run, I said, ‘That’s impossible,' because Stephen wouldn't have been walking down the road. … He would've cut through the woods."
On Friday, the GoFundMe page had raised more than $40,000 (£35,000) from generous members of the public.
She wrote: "Our family is so very grateful to all of you who came together to help us in our fight for justice for Stephen.
"I could not have imagined when we began this fundraiser that it would take off the way that it did. Thank you for not allowing Stephen’s story to be swept under a rug."
Murdaugh was sentenced earlier this month to two consecutive life terms for killing wife Maggie and son Paul on June 7, 2021.
Sandy, who had been following the trial, revealed she was pleased to the killer jailed.
She said: "That jury done excellent. They seen through the lies and a Murdaugh is finally brought dow and Now that this case is back over, they can get on Stephen’s case full-time.”
It comes after Maggie Murdaugh’s university friends said the mum was "devoted" to her husband and sons.
Shellie West, who attended he University of South Carolina with Maggie, said: “[Maggie] was a person, she was a mother, she was a sister, she was a friend, she was a daughter.
“You know, she’s not ‘the wife that was murdered.’ I mean, we don’t want her to be remembered that way.”
Caroline Price said Maggie “wasn’t flashy at all” compared to her “larger than life” husband and “was fun … she had a personality.”
Murdaugh, who is currently at Kirkland Correctional Facility in Columbia, has launched his appeal against his double-murder conviction.
According to reports, the former lawyer is being held in a high security prison amid fears he will be a target for other inmates.
