Buster Murdaugh's future in question over death of classmate in 2015
Attorney Eric Bland joined 'Fox & Friends Weekend' to discuss what could be coming next after disgraced attorney Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two life sentences for the murder of his wife and son.
Now that convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has been sentenced to double life-long sentences for the brutal killing of his wife and son, the public is shifting its attention to his son, Buster.
Attorney Eric Bland represented the children of the late housekeeper who died in the Murdaugh home back in 2018. He joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Sunday to discuss why Buster is now in the spotlight over his alleged involvement in the suspicious death of his former classmate in 2015.
He described the Murdaugh family's "long-rumored involvement" in the 2015 death of 19-year-old Stephen Smith, whose body was found on a remote road near the Murdaugh's property.
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While there's no reported evidence linking Alex or Buster to the teen's death, there is speculation the Murdaugh family was either involved or has knowledge of how he passed, Bland said.
"He was found in the middle of a country road in Hampton County, and… the highway department said he was hit by a car, but there was no broken glass, no car parts," Bland told co-host Pete Hegseth. "His clothes were intact, his shoes were on, and he had a… a clear head trauma injury that looked like it was done by something other than a car."
Buster Murdaugh, left, and Stephen Smith, right, a high school classmate that was killed in 2015. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital/ Facebook)
Smith was a gay man and a good student, who had plans to attend college and become a nurse, Bland said.
He also noted how Smith's death was initially blamed on a car accident, but the case was reopened around the time officials began investigating the death of the family's former longtime housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield – whose body investigators now reportedly want to be exhumed.
Satterfield died while she was in the family's home, allegedly tripping over the family's dogs on steps leading into their home. She worked for the Murdaughs for more than two decades.
"Now… Buster's father, Alex, has been convicted. There's a big cry in South Carolina to find out what actually happened to Stephen Smith," the Satterfield family attorney told Hegseth.
"Buster himself is going to have to come to grips with, is my father capable of murdering my brother and mother? A jury said so, and he's going to have to look at his future and future in this family," he continued.
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Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murdering his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul, on Friday, and was sentenced to double life sentences for their brutal slayings.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours to reach the conviction.
One heckler shouted outside the South Carolina courthouse, "Buster is next" as a shackled Alex got into a police van.
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In the Sunday segment, Bland explained how Randolph Murdaugh, Alex's brother, showed up to the scene where Smith's body was found and offered to represent Stephen's mother, Sandy.
"He supposedly showed up on the accident scene, and according to Sandy Smith, she received a telephone call from him where he offered to represent her, and she was very confused as to why she would need representation," Bland said.
"SLED [South Carolina Law Enforcement Division] now has been investigating it for a solid two years and nothing has been released; but now you heard on Friday the public is turning its attention back to that, what we consider to be a murder," Bland said.
A cross marks the spot where Stephen Smith was found dead. (Mark Sims for Fox News Digital)
Following the conviction, the connection between the suspicious deaths surrounding the Murdaugh family and lingering questions over Smith's death remain unclear.
"It's peeling the onion, Pete… you keep peeling it, you find more," Bland said.
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The investigation into Smith's death remains ongoing.