Murdaugh-Linked Stephen Smith Homicide Probe Rocked By Release Of Crime Scene Photos

A teenage classmate of Alex Murdaugh's son was found in a pool of blood in the middle of a South Carolina road, newly-released photos show.

HBO Max obtained crime scene photos taken after Stephen Smith died a few miles from the Murdaugh home in July 2015.

According to the New York Post, the graphic pictures suggest Smith was bleeding from his head.

Authorities at first called Smith's death a hit-and-run collision. They concluded Smith was walking on the road because his car had run out of gas.

But in the wake of Alex Murdaugh's murder conviction in early March, his death is being reexamined as a homicide.

A retired South Carolina state trooper said last week that a rape kit was ordered within hours of the discovery of Smith's body.

Smith was a high school classmate of Buster Murdaugh. A 2016 letter from mother Sandy Smith to the FBI quoted an unnamed “young man” as saying Murdaugh beat Smith with a baseball bat.

“They were out smashing mailboxes when they came upon Stephen, and Buster seized the opportunity,” the witness reportedly said. “He claimed it was because Stephen was gay.”

Never miss a story — sign up for the Front Page Detectives newsletter. Be on the scene the moment news breaks.

Murdaugh denies having anything to do with Smith's death.

The teen's body will be exhumed, after Sandy Smith set up a GoFundMe account to pay for it. The account for the “Stephen N. Smith Investigation Trust” has received more than $115,000 in pledges.