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STEPHEN SMITH BODY EXHUMED, High Security Escorts Body to Tampa · Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

0:05
Speaker 1: Crime Stories with Nancy Greece. In the last hours, we
0:15
Speaker 1: learned that teen boys Stephen Smith's body has been exhumed,
0:21
Speaker 1: in other words, dug up for another autopsy. Do we
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Speaker 1: know who kills Stephen Smith? No, we do not, but
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Speaker 1: we are hot on the trail this as we learn
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Speaker 1: about two new po ice persons of interest. And yes,
0:39
Speaker 1: there seemingly is still someone in the Murdock camp stirring
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Speaker 1: this spot. Also, a reward has just been issued for
0:50
Speaker 1: info as it relates to Stephen Smith's death now ruled
0:55
Speaker 1: a homicide. I mean, I see, Grace. This is Crime Stories.
0:58
Speaker 1: Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation
1:00
Speaker 1: and Serious XM one eleven. First of all, take a
1:03
Speaker 1: list to our friends at wc b D. The attorney
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Speaker 1: Ronnie Richter of the Bland Richter Law Firm has confirmed
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Speaker 1: that the body of Stephen Smith has been exhumed. This
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Speaker 1: comes after a gofund me was started to raise money
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Speaker 1: to exhume Smith's body and perform an independent autopsy. Victor
1:19
Speaker 1: previously told news to Smith's family was looking to hire
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Speaker 1: a local and national pathologist to examine the body. Stephen
1:25
Speaker 1: Smith's body was discovered on a rural road in Hampton
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Speaker 1: County back in twenty fifteen. Just two weeks ago, the
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Speaker 1: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced they are now investigating
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Speaker 1: Smith's death as a homicide. Smith's death was initially investigated
1:39
Speaker 1: as a hid and run, but investigators say the evidence
1:42
Speaker 1: did not support that as a cause of death. Guys,
1:45
Speaker 1: you were just hearing our friends at wc D. We
1:48
Speaker 1: had been waiting so long for this exhumation to take place,
1:52
Speaker 1: so hopefully we can get answers regarding the death of
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Speaker 1: Stephen Smith. But something even more extraordinary has occurred. We
2:00
Speaker 1: have learned that while the body's being exhumed that not one,
2:05
Speaker 1: but two po ice persons of interest have emerged. Take
2:09
Speaker 1: a listen to WTOC A phone call in December twenty
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Speaker 1: fifteen between now retired corporal Michael Duncan with the South
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Speaker 1: Carolina Highway Patrol and former Hampton County Police officer Nick
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Speaker 1: Ginn reveal a tipster made authorities aware of two potential
2:23
Speaker 1: suspects in nineteen year old Stephen Smith's death. We'll call
2:27
Speaker 1: them Person one in Person two, can you tell me
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Speaker 1: what was told to you. We've tried to get in
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Speaker 1: touch with but he, you know, he's kind of avoid
2:36
Speaker 1: the call to contact at all that this is what
2:40
Speaker 1: I was told, he said, come here to the house,
2:44
Speaker 1: he said, he told me that was drunk and hit something,
2:51
Speaker 1: drunk and hit something. Joining me an all star panel,
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Speaker 1: including Eric Blan who is helping to lead Stephen Smith's
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Speaker 1: family through this horrible time for them, hopefully a light
3:05
Speaker 1: at the end of the tunnel. But first of Jennifer Wood,
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Speaker 1: director of research at fitznews dot com. Jennifer, so much
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Speaker 1: is happening so quickly in the Stephen Smith investigation. You
3:16
Speaker 1: know what, let me correct myself. It's not quickly because
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Speaker 1: he was killed. This is all aside back in twenty fifteen,
3:23
Speaker 1: so it's not really quick when you look at the
3:26
Speaker 1: big picture. But a lot happening in the last few
3:29
Speaker 1: days now. I've seen the names of Py one and
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Speaker 1: Poy two, and this is what I understand is happening, Jennifer,
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Speaker 1: that these two guys are out in a big truck
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Speaker 1: with mudwheels, big tires and they hit Stephen Smith. One
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Speaker 1: of them comes back the next day to see what
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Speaker 1: he ran over and sees a bunch of police there.
3:52
Speaker 1: That's number one. Will let him be the driver. Then
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Speaker 1: Number two blurts it out to his stepfather and his
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Speaker 1: stepfather father it is advised by Randy murdog, who is
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Speaker 1: representing him on other matters, to tell cops about person
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Speaker 1: one person too. Is that correct? Exactly? Okay, you tell me,
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Speaker 1: tell me because I've got a cursory understanding. You tell
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Speaker 1: me the whole thing. Jennifer, thank you for being with her,
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Speaker 1: with us, everybody, Jennifer would from Fitznez. Go ahead, Jennifer.
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Speaker 1: Both of these individuals were less I mean, they've always
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Speaker 1: been in the investigative files. So the stepfather had relayed
4:34
Speaker 1: to a friend in the police department, he who's a sheriff,
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Speaker 1: stepandee that his stepson had reported that he had hit
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Speaker 1: something in the road with another friend and he was
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Speaker 1: very upset about it. He the books that he threw up,
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Speaker 1: and that person was advised by Randy Murdoch. Alex's brother,
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Speaker 1: older brother. She reported to police. So police did follow
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Speaker 1: up on the lead. I can't see anywhere in the
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Speaker 1: file where they spoke directly. Get the individual one or two.
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Speaker 1: You know. Eric Blaine joining me, high profile lawyer out
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Speaker 1: of South Carolina, co hostoft Cup of Justice podcast. Eric,
5:13
Speaker 1: that's a day light and a dollar short, and I
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Speaker 1: don't want to take our precious time together, this whole
5:19
Speaker 1: panel bashing what the cops didn't do at that time
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Speaker 1: SLED and Highway Patrol. But in the investigative files, as
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Speaker 1: Jennifer Wood accurately points out, that means nothing to me.
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Speaker 1: You put a name in a filing forget about it
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Speaker 1: for eight years. Okay, I guess you can call that policing.
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Speaker 1: Are these names secret because I know who they are?
5:43
Speaker 1: Are they is PO one, RPO one at PO two
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Speaker 1: being broadcast? The answer is yes, and I think it's
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Speaker 1: dangerous for the individuals involved. My understanding is they've received
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Speaker 1: some threats too. I think it interferes with the investigation
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Speaker 1: that SLED is doing. I disagreed that the South Carolina
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Speaker 1: Highway Patrol should ever released that investigative file because the
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Speaker 1: investigation did not close. Yes, when you close an investigation
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Speaker 1: and release the file, but this was turned into a cold,
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Speaker 1: cold crime case. It was never closed, and the file
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Speaker 1: shouldn't have been released. I agree with that these people
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Speaker 1: that are being outed, Nancy, it would it causes other
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Speaker 1: people who may have wanted to come forward or have
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Speaker 1: an inkland Should I come forward? Or not come forward.
6:33
Speaker 1: The fact that they're now being outed, I think could
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Speaker 1: be a situation where it retards somebody from coming forward.
6:42
Speaker 1: So I think it's delate, dangerous and reckless. Guys. Take
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Speaker 1: a listen to our friends at WTSC. He said he
6:48
Speaker 1: went back the next day to see what it was
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Speaker 1: he had hid, and he's seen a lot of police
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Speaker 1: out there, so he talked a lot of comps and
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Speaker 1: then he had left, and then he learned I guess
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Speaker 1: by media that somebody had been killed in that same area.
7:05
Speaker 1: The temps are told again. Person one was visibly distraught
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Speaker 1: with crying tell on him, and after he had finished
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Speaker 1: telling the story, he walked outside of his house and
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Speaker 1: threw up. So airing Bland, I agree, files are not
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Speaker 1: to be released until the investigation is over. This investigation
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Speaker 1: is going on, but come on, get real, Bland. They've
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Speaker 1: been Let me think of a right way to say
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Speaker 1: that I can actually say on air, screwing around says
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Speaker 1: twenty fifteen. What if we didn't know all this, they
7:38
Speaker 1: may still be screwing around, okay, and we wouldn't know anything,
7:43
Speaker 1: and they will be saying it's an ongoing investigation. Sorry,
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Speaker 1: if Steven Smith's mother had not started to go fund
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Speaker 1: me to exhume Steven's body, which I want to ask
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Speaker 1: you about is she really having to pay for the
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Speaker 1: private autopsy? But that said, they were shamed into working
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Speaker 1: this case, and I'm embarrassed. I am former law enforcement
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Speaker 1: and they basically had to be shamed into doing anything.
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Speaker 1: Also to you, Bland, why is Randy Murdock part of
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Speaker 1: this telling a POI dad, stepfather, Hey, you better tell
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Speaker 1: police about your stepson and his buddy that hits Stephen
8:24
Speaker 1: Smith in the road. Why is he doing that? I
8:27
Speaker 1: don't know. It seems like he's all over this case
8:29
Speaker 1: because as you recall, he went to the accident scene
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Speaker 1: allegedly and also called Sandy Smith and her husband Joel,
8:39
Speaker 1: who he was representing. So he seems to be on
8:42
Speaker 1: all sides of this situation. I don't know, but that's
8:45
Speaker 1: something for Sled to figure out. As to your commented,
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Speaker 1: has really picked up the ball? I like the way
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Speaker 1: that you didn't mention they dropped it, but I'm glad
8:54
Speaker 1: they picked it up. Go ahead. They made a decision
8:57
Speaker 1: that they needed to get the Alex Murdoch conviction so
9:00
Speaker 1: that people will come forward and talk Nancy. They spent
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Speaker 1: one hundred one hundred thousand dollars at least on helping
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Speaker 1: me do the exhamation this weekend with doctor Dupree and
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Speaker 1: transporting the body to Florida, coming back and reinterning it.
9:17
Speaker 1: That the number of officers that were dedicated to this
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Speaker 1: was extraordinary. We coordinated this and we had a small
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Speaker 1: window Wednesday night to make the plants to get the
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Speaker 1: exhamation done. I did not want the media to be there,
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Speaker 1: Certainly Sandy Smith didn't want it to be there, nor
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Speaker 1: did Chief Keel, and doctor Dupree was there on site,
9:40
Speaker 1: my boots on the ground. We got the body out
9:43
Speaker 1: Friday morning. She escorted it to Florida with Sled. With
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Speaker 1: the SLED patrol in front and behind of the vehicle
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Speaker 1: that Stephen was in, participated in the autopsy. The autopsy concluded,
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Speaker 1: we brought Stephen back and he was reinterned in a
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Speaker 1: new coughing Sunday afternoon. It just it was a perfect
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Speaker 1: weekend to give Sandy Smith some peace. Remember, it's an
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Speaker 1: extremely stressful time when you take your son out of
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Speaker 1: the ground. So I very much appreciate what Sled did
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Speaker 1: to make sure that this went through. You know what,
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Speaker 1: Eric Bland, I am too. You know, I'm a fan
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Speaker 1: of SLED after I saw what they did in the
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Speaker 1: Alex Marda prosecution. They went to any and all ethical
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Speaker 1: and moral lengths to secure that conviction. But I right now,
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Speaker 1: I'm I'm having a hard time imagining what miss Smith
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Speaker 1: has been going through. Correct Because you know, I've shown
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Speaker 1: you so many pictures of my twins, John, David and Lucy.
10:48
Speaker 1: I can't imagine the pain and the grief that she's
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Speaker 1: already gone through and now having to go through the
10:54
Speaker 1: excimation time stories with Nancy Grace. You all saw during
11:15
Speaker 1: the Murdog double murder trial doctor Kenny Kenzie. Doctor Kenzie
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Speaker 1: put the lock on that conviction with his testimony, his
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Speaker 1: down to earth explanation, a very confusing technical evidence, and
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Speaker 1: that is what the jury needed to hear. That's what
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Speaker 1: I needed to hear. And to this day, I say
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Speaker 1: that is why top Mom Casey Anthony walked because there
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Speaker 1: was so much scientific and medical data to be unraveled.
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Speaker 1: There was just not a voice that explained it in
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Speaker 1: a way non technicians like myself can really understand. I'm
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Speaker 1: about to go to doctor Kenny Kenzie but I also
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Speaker 1: want you to know doctor Carl Omanley's with this clinical
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Speaker 1: psychologist and author and the renowned medical examiner who was
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Speaker 1: part of the exclamation of Steven Smith, doctor Michelle Duprie.
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Speaker 1: I'm proud to call her not only my colleague, but
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Speaker 1: my friend, doctor Kenny Kenzie. With Kenny Kenzie and associates,
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Speaker 1: forensic expert in the murder murder trial Orangebury County Chief
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Speaker 1: Deputy crime scene reconstructionist former sled on Twitter at doctor
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Speaker 1: Kenneth Kenzie. I mean, I could keep going, but I'm
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Speaker 1: running out of air, Doctor Kenny Kenzie. I would like
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Speaker 1: to hear your analysis of what we know so far
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Speaker 1: regarding Stephen Smith investigation. Thank you so much for a
12:45
Speaker 1: little kind words, Miss Nancy all True. Well, we know
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Speaker 1: that they're the mother that needs Dancer, and you know
12:55
Speaker 1: the natural progression of things, getting to bear your children,
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Speaker 1: but then the unthinkable happens. It's an awful long road
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Speaker 1: a home for a family, and we know we have
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Speaker 1: Stephen in the middle of that lonely road in Hampton County.
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Speaker 1: We know that there are many possibilities as to what
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Speaker 1: happened to Stephen. I'm just hoping that someone will come
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Speaker 1: forward or we can uncover, or we can assist SLED
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Speaker 1: in uncovering the truth. And whatever the truth is, I
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Speaker 1: just hope the Smith's family can gain a little bit
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Speaker 1: of solace from it. We've been boots on the ground
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Speaker 1: all weekend, just going and checking some things in Hampton.
13:42
Speaker 1: I walked a lot more real estate than I've walked
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Speaker 1: in quite a while, and made some contacts and certainly
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Speaker 1: mister Bland and mister Richter, and we were passing those
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Speaker 1: on that information to SLED. And there's some things that
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Speaker 1: we're gonna do to with this parallel investigation, and I'm
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Speaker 1: just thankful to be here to lend assistance and hopefully
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Speaker 1: we can we can help get the Smith's family from
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Speaker 1: anthy Guys with me. I'm sure many of you became
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Speaker 1: a fan of doctor Kenneth Kenzie's when he was on
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Speaker 1: the stand in the Murderdog double murder trial, and I
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Speaker 1: agree with all your sentiments. Guys with me now. In
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Speaker 1: addition to doctor Carla Manley, is doctor Michelle Duprie, forensic pathologist,
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Speaker 1: medical examiner, former detective, and author of the Homicide Investigation
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Speaker 1: Field Guide. I think that says it all. Doctor Duprie,
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Speaker 1: tell me, without jeopardizing any future testimony that may be
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Speaker 1: that may occur, what went through your mind during your
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Speaker 1: part of the exhimation of Steven Smith's body. Well, Nancy,
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Speaker 1: I was just happy that we were able to do it,
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Speaker 1: and do it, you know, quickly and quietly, and again
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Speaker 1: all of us just searching for the answers that are
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Speaker 1: going to give this family some some peace and some files.
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Speaker 1: And you know, I think we got what we needed.
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Speaker 1: I don't know what you mean by that, could you explain?
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Speaker 1: Not really? I just think that, you know, exhuming the body,
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Speaker 1: having a second look autopsy, you know we're going to
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Speaker 1: get the answers that we need through the investigation. Did
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Speaker 1: you take the body? Did you go along with the
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Speaker 1: transport of the body? I did. I was there from
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Speaker 1: the time the body was removed from the ground until
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Speaker 1: it was put back into the ground the entire time.
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Speaker 1: The entire time, so you can vounce for any chain
15:30
Speaker 1: of custody issues. Is that correct? Absolutely? As Ken sled,
15:33
Speaker 1: they were there as well the entire time a police escort.
15:36
Speaker 1: Did you agree with the procedures that were followed during
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Speaker 1: the exhimation and the autopsy the re autopsy of Steven Smith.
15:44
Speaker 1: I absolutely did. It was very professional and it was
15:46
Speaker 1: just by the book. What does that mean? Just by
15:48
Speaker 1: the book? Again, very professional and done the way that
15:51
Speaker 1: it should have been done from beginning to end. How
15:54
Speaker 1: is the second autopsy of a body that has already
15:57
Speaker 1: been involved, has already been buried for some time years
16:00
Speaker 1: in this case, how is that different from an original autopsy? Well,
16:04
Speaker 1: you know, the body is different, it has changed, it
16:07
Speaker 1: has already been autopsy, and so the condition of the
16:14
Speaker 1: body is always a concern. But like I said, we
16:16
Speaker 1: were able to do everything we needed to do and
16:18
Speaker 1: do that second autopsy from beginning to end. We did
16:21
Speaker 1: a complete second autopsy. Now I look at everything in
16:26
Speaker 1: the world. I don't know if you're like this blend
16:28
Speaker 1: after law school, but everything in my mind immediately it's
16:31
Speaker 1: like I'm interpreting a language, a sentence from Spanish to English.
16:35
Speaker 1: I'm interpreting. What does that mean? As far as evidence goes.
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Speaker 1: You are telling me that you quote got what you
16:41
Speaker 1: think you needed in the second autopsy. That tells me
16:45
Speaker 1: a even though you said there have been changes in
16:47
Speaker 1: the body, that the body was intact to the extent
16:51
Speaker 1: that you could perform a second autopsy. Is that correct, doctor, absolutely,
16:55
Speaker 1: and that the evolving process and the time buried did
16:58
Speaker 1: not in any way impede your findings. That is correct
17:01
Speaker 1: Where it was the autopsy performed Tampa, Florida with doctor
17:04
Speaker 1: Schultz to Eric Blaine joining me, who is representing the
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Speaker 1: Stephen Smith family. How did you decide on Schultz? It
17:15
Speaker 1: was a combination between doctor Dupree, Ronnie Richter and me
17:20
Speaker 1: and a number of people who offered suggestions. We also
17:23
Speaker 1: had Heather Haney who is a anthropologist, Yeah, anthropologist, and
17:27
Speaker 1: she Lenihan plus sent SLED, sent some officials that had
17:32
Speaker 1: experience as well. Chief killed Nancy asked us to not
17:39
Speaker 1: interfere at this time with the investigation, and we turned
17:43
Speaker 1: over all the evidence that was gathered, the notes and
17:47
Speaker 1: everything the SLED. He has promised me and from what
17:50
Speaker 1: we've seen, I think he's going to follow through a
17:53
Speaker 1: full bore investigation into Steven's death. He has committed to
18:00
Speaker 1: a power. I don't have law enforcement authority. Doctor Kinsey
18:04
Speaker 1: doesn't have law enforcement authority, but they have asked us
18:09
Speaker 1: to assist on a parallel track, not doing interviews that
18:16
Speaker 1: they should do and not interfering with persons of interest,
18:20
Speaker 1: but a lot comes into us. Doctor Kinsey gets emails
18:23
Speaker 1: and tips. I get emails and tips, and we're sharing
18:27
Speaker 1: those with SLED. So I think we have a dual
18:30
Speaker 1: investigation going on, with SLED having primary authority obviously, because
18:36
Speaker 1: they can issue warrants and they can impadel grand jury
18:40
Speaker 1: and do with things that we can't do. And I
18:43
Speaker 1: am very, very enthusiastic and optimistic the progress is going
18:50
Speaker 1: to be made. Look what we did in two weeks
18:52
Speaker 1: of being retained. We were able to get the coroner,
18:55
Speaker 1: the Department of Health Environmental Control to go along with
18:59
Speaker 1: the zoom the body and do it outside the presence
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Speaker 1: of media, get it down the floor, to get it
19:05
Speaker 1: a full autopsy done. The report I expect will be
19:09
Speaker 1: coming this week. I understand the findings. Doctor Dupris certainly
19:13
Speaker 1: knows the findings, and Chief Keel asked us not to
19:19
Speaker 1: share those with the public because he feels it would
19:22
Speaker 1: interfere with his investigation, and I have to go along
19:26
Speaker 1: with it. Okay. Eric Bland is joining me, high profile
19:29
Speaker 1: lawyer working on the case with Steven Smith's mom. So
19:33
Speaker 1: you know the autopsy findings, but you're keeping them. Secret.
19:36
Speaker 1: Is that correct? Secret's a tough word, but yeah, we
19:38
Speaker 1: were not disclosing them to the public, which is contrary
19:41
Speaker 1: to what I said. Going to do, Eric, how did
19:44
Speaker 1: Steven Smith's body? How is it transported to Tampa by
19:48
Speaker 1: playing it by car in a van. It stayed in
19:51
Speaker 1: the vault. You can't open it up the coffin because
19:54
Speaker 1: no air can get in it until you're in the
19:57
Speaker 1: secure surgical room. And it was pulled out of the
20:01
Speaker 1: ground by a crane with cables. Doctor Dupree oversaw that.
20:08
Speaker 1: It was then taken to Somerville, South Carolina, to a
20:12
Speaker 1: warehouse where it was transferred into a van. Led then
20:17
Speaker 1: had their officers there with unmarked cars. We had unmarked
20:22
Speaker 1: cars so that it looked like it was just a
20:25
Speaker 1: funeral that was going on, and then they transported them
20:29
Speaker 1: the Florida. Doctor Michelle Duprie drove along and all that
20:34
Speaker 1: was done in twenty four hours. Just an amazing coordination
20:38
Speaker 1: of a number of people. I've got a question, Lanne,
20:40
Speaker 1: how did you keep it secret from the public? I
20:43
Speaker 1: asked people during the weekend when I was getting media
20:46
Speaker 1: requested that I was going to take off the weekend.
20:49
Speaker 1: I wasn't feeling well, which is true with a surgery,
20:52
Speaker 1: and we just cut off off all the phones and
20:56
Speaker 1: nobody got wind of it. That's pretty amazing. Well, Steven
20:59
Speaker 1: Smith's mother there was, she was. She was there with
21:04
Speaker 1: David Moses and Mandy Matty, who are extremely close with her,
21:08
Speaker 1: and my associate Scott and Jilla was there to Doctor
21:11
Speaker 1: Carla Manley, clinical psychologist and author of Date Smart, Transforming
21:15
Speaker 1: Relationships and Love Fearlessly. You can find her at doctor
21:19
Speaker 1: Carla many dot com. Doctor Carla What type of emotional
21:27
Speaker 1: trauma is this going to trigger for Steven Smith's mother
21:31
Speaker 1: who's already been through so much and now she's back
21:35
Speaker 1: when her son's body is lifted out of the earth
21:38
Speaker 1: with a crane. It's absolutely heartbreaking. When you think about
21:42
Speaker 1: the process of grief, where we have the loss, then
21:45
Speaker 1: we begin the grieving process, then ideally we moved to closure.
21:49
Speaker 1: That entire dynamic is extremely traumatizing, especially when it's a child.
21:55
Speaker 1: In a situation like this, we enter the realm of
21:58
Speaker 1: re traumatizing the parents, the family, and really complicating the
22:03
Speaker 1: grief to a degree that it can take so much
22:06
Speaker 1: more healing and professional support to move through these kind
22:10
Speaker 1: of processes. It's incredibly difficult on the person's psyche. I mean,
22:16
Speaker 1: I'll still recall my fiance's funeral when I learned that
22:20
Speaker 1: he had been murdered, the burial. I can't even imagine
22:26
Speaker 1: her standing there in the darkening hours, watching her son
22:31
Speaker 1: being pulled out of the earth by a crying Absolutely,
22:34
Speaker 1: it's another level of trauma altogether. And I don't use
22:37
Speaker 1: the word trauma lightly as a trauma specialist. I'm acutely
22:41
Speaker 1: aware that this is what we call a big T trauma,
22:46
Speaker 1: and the loss of a son is a big, big
22:49
Speaker 1: T trauma. Loss of a child you go into and
22:52
Speaker 1: exuming the body after trying to find peace year after year,
22:57
Speaker 1: and then again to be retraumatized. Can't imagine what she's
23:01
Speaker 1: going through. Jennifer Wood is joining me from fitz News.
23:05
Speaker 1: You can find her at fitznews dot com on Twitter
23:08
Speaker 1: at Indie gen Underscore. Jennifer, again, thank you for being
23:13
Speaker 1: with us. What can you tell me about Steven Smith's
23:16
Speaker 1: rape kit reportedly being lost and also the paint ships.
23:22
Speaker 1: I believe that maybe blue they were found on either
23:26
Speaker 1: his clothing or his body. Were they not found during
23:30
Speaker 1: the initial autopsy? Were they actually found at the funeral home.
23:34
Speaker 1: Nancy Sarah real quick. Yes, I'm gonna I'm gonna say
23:37
Speaker 1: this only because I don't want Sled to get slammed anymore.
23:41
Speaker 1: The rape kit has been located PTL rape kit located
23:47
Speaker 1: and the paint ships were found and tested by the
23:50
Speaker 1: slid lab. Wonderful. So they were found at the lab
23:54
Speaker 1: and they were tested. Yea, and we do have the
23:57
Speaker 1: rape kit. That's huge news. Jennifer Wood. Do you know
24:02
Speaker 1: whether the paint chips are from a vehicle, But I
24:06
Speaker 1: think they initially tested the paint chips back right after
24:09
Speaker 1: the accident and said that, I mean, there were not
24:12
Speaker 1: a lot of them, but they said that it could
24:15
Speaker 1: have come from a nineteen eighty two to nineteen eighty
24:18
Speaker 1: Toyota vehicle or some sort of industrial equipment. Forward. But guys,
24:24
Speaker 1: speaking of the truck that we believe was involved in
24:28
Speaker 1: the crash, not accident, crash that killed Stephen Smith, I
24:33
Speaker 1: want you to hear what was said WTOC Listen. They
24:37
Speaker 1: also say person too, the driver of the truck may
24:41
Speaker 1: have tried to cover up evidence. Supposedly he had fixed
24:46
Speaker 1: the mirror he had had passed it one of the
24:48
Speaker 1: mirrors of both officers acknowledged this was the only concrete
24:55
Speaker 1: lead they'd come across in this investigation. Will you know
24:59
Speaker 1: I heard something rumors around film, but as far as
25:02
Speaker 1: anything that I could say that had any kind of
25:06
Speaker 1: possible validity would be when we live all right? Just
25:10
Speaker 1: the only thing you've heard prior to this is rumors, right, Okay,
25:14
Speaker 1: Jennifer Wood, what can you tell me? What if any
25:18
Speaker 1: progress do you understand is being made regarding person of
25:21
Speaker 1: interest one and two? Well, I mean our sources are
25:24
Speaker 1: just totally enough that they're persons of interest. I think
25:27
Speaker 1: they're running the investigation, I mean from scratch. I think
25:32
Speaker 1: Eric probably can speak more to that. But my understanding is,
25:38
Speaker 1: you know, they're going back through all of this stuff
25:41
Speaker 1: they collected initially and reinterviewing people. Eric Bland joining US
25:47
Speaker 1: attorney for Sandy Smith as well as the Saddlefield family. Eric,
25:52
Speaker 1: are these two guys still living and are they in
25:57
Speaker 1: the same area po I one and two. I do
26:00
Speaker 1: not have any idea whether they're living where they are. Again,
26:05
Speaker 1: I'm not going to talk about it because I believe
26:07
Speaker 1: talking about it hurts the investigation and causes other people
26:12
Speaker 1: who may want to come forward, mistake to keep their
26:15
Speaker 1: mask shut. And as doctor Kinsey said, this is a
26:19
Speaker 1: case that isn't going to be solved by the scientific evidence.
26:23
Speaker 1: It's going to be solved by somebody finally breaking the
26:26
Speaker 1: seal and saying what happened, or a good piece of
26:31
Speaker 1: information that they hurt at a party that will break
26:34
Speaker 1: the investigation. And I think if we keep talking about
26:37
Speaker 1: persons of interest, this thing is just going to die
26:41
Speaker 1: without ever knowing how it happens. I don't know why
26:44
Speaker 1: you would say that, because finding persons of interest and
26:48
Speaker 1: I'm specifically not publicizing their names, right, let's let do that.
26:54
Speaker 1: They're not gonna share them with me. Well, they don't
26:56
Speaker 1: have to share them, they've been published, right. But that said,
26:59
Speaker 1: there is another player in this who sheds light on
27:02
Speaker 1: what happened the night Stephen Smith was killed. Take a
27:05
Speaker 1: listen to our cut fifty three from WCIV Mate interviewed
27:10
Speaker 1: dozens of people as they investigated Stephen's death in twenty fifteen.
27:15
Speaker 1: At the time, they interviewed Mark Burkhardt, a man who
27:17
Speaker 1: says he was dating Stephen at the time of his death.
27:20
Speaker 1: He says he spoke to Smith the morning he was
27:23
Speaker 1: found in the middle of the road, and that the
27:25
Speaker 1: last time they spoke was around three thirty am. I
27:29
Speaker 1: asked him on one of the coals, are you walking,
27:31
Speaker 1: because he already told me he was out of game.
27:33
Speaker 1: He was running out of gas one of the coals before,
27:37
Speaker 1: and I says, are you walking because I hear cars
27:40
Speaker 1: going by and he his answer to me was numb.
27:43
Speaker 1: And then the coal dropped. I couldn't come get him,
27:46
Speaker 1: and that was what I was saying. I didn't have
27:49
Speaker 1: enough gas and he didn't want me to come with
27:51
Speaker 1: the guess that was in the car. So I believe
27:53
Speaker 1: Jennifer Wood joining us from Fitz News, based on what
27:57
Speaker 1: that one is his saying, we can safely assume that
27:59
Speaker 1: he Stephen Smith, did in fact run out of gas
28:02
Speaker 1: that night. Yeah, it sounds like based on communications with
28:06
Speaker 1: this man who alleges he was dating Sun at the time,
28:10
Speaker 1: he had gone out of gas and he didn't want
28:12
Speaker 1: him to balk, but wasn't able to go get him too.
28:15
Speaker 1: Doctor Kenny Kenzie joining us, who we all saw all
28:19
Speaker 1: the stand during the Alex Murdogue double murder trial. Doctor Kenzie,
28:24
Speaker 1: what is your take on person of Interest one and two?
28:28
Speaker 1: I mean, the only way I can imagine that they
28:33
Speaker 1: would not be involved somehow, as if the stepfather were
28:37
Speaker 1: lying Nancy. You know, with critical incidents like these, a
28:42
Speaker 1: lot of people will hear a little story, and sometimes
28:45
Speaker 1: they will fabricate and add to it. I believe that's
28:48
Speaker 1: FLED position, and like mister Bland said, we're going to
28:52
Speaker 1: cooperate and pass on any information we get. But I've
28:56
Speaker 1: got a lot of confidence in the men and women
28:58
Speaker 1: at FLED, despite you know, anything that said to the contrary.
29:03
Speaker 1: I believe they will locate these these two persons and
29:07
Speaker 1: even more than just these two, and they're going to
29:11
Speaker 1: get that information. But it is important that we identify
29:17
Speaker 1: the rumors and we try to keep things from being
29:21
Speaker 1: added to the story because that many times will send
29:24
Speaker 1: them off down a rabbit hole and it takes away
29:28
Speaker 1: from the good of the investigation and the accurate information.
29:32
Speaker 1: So they have that information, they have many resources, and
29:38
Speaker 1: I'm sure if they haven't, they'll be speaking to those
29:41
Speaker 1: individuals if possible, in the near future. Okay, I'm not
29:44
Speaker 1: really sure what you just said in itality is being
29:46
Speaker 1: plain spoken, but that sounded to me like you're dancing
29:49
Speaker 1: around the question regarding person of Interest one and two.
29:54
Speaker 1: Person of Interest one's stepfather goes to police and said,
30:00
Speaker 1: my step son was with p I two the night
30:04
Speaker 1: Stevens Smith was killed. P I two ran over him
30:08
Speaker 1: and Randy Murdoch told me to come talk to you.
30:11
Speaker 1: Did do I? Do I have that right, Jennifer? Would?
30:13
Speaker 1: Am I missing something? Now? That's certainly you certainly have
30:16
Speaker 1: it right, Miss Nancy. But you know, there's there's two
30:20
Speaker 1: ways to look at this, and I haven't boxed myself
30:23
Speaker 1: in either way. One is that he was intentionally run over.
30:29
Speaker 1: That would make it a crime. Someone hit him and
30:32
Speaker 1: knew they hit him, That certainly would make it a crime.
30:35
Speaker 1: He was killed somewhere else that would make it a crime,
30:38
Speaker 1: or someone may be unaware. And I don't want to
30:42
Speaker 1: box myself in or making an opinion at this point
30:45
Speaker 1: in time because that will limit any help that I
30:49
Speaker 1: may give to this investigation. So I'm just trying to
30:52
Speaker 1: keep an open mind. But what I will say is
30:54
Speaker 1: those persons of interest, if they haven't been interviewed by
30:57
Speaker 1: PLED and if it's possible, I'm sure or there on
31:01
Speaker 1: a golden rod somewhere to be interviewed, and I would
31:06
Speaker 1: hate to jeopardize of it with any innuendo or anything.
31:10
Speaker 1: I might add, Okay, point well take him time stories
31:28
Speaker 1: with Nancy Grace. Jennifer would maybe I've somehow wandered into
31:38
Speaker 1: Alice in Wonderland, and maybe I'm the one that's completely wrong.
31:43
Speaker 1: But I see it very clearly. Either the stepfather was
31:47
Speaker 1: lying and the stepson didn't say that, or he's telling
31:52
Speaker 1: the truth and the stepson did say that. Now, if
31:55
Speaker 1: the stepson said it, we've got to figure out if
31:58
Speaker 1: it was true. But do you at least agree with
32:01
Speaker 1: me that far? Absolutely? I mean, the rumor Hampton is
32:05
Speaker 1: a small community and the rumor mill is wild, for
32:09
Speaker 1: lack of a better word. So I do think they're
32:11
Speaker 1: probably going through all of this information from the initial
32:14
Speaker 1: investigation and trying to discern what's rumors and what is not.
32:19
Speaker 1: But to me, that is a clear yeah. We need
32:22
Speaker 1: to look at it very closely, Doctor Michelle Duprey. With
32:24
Speaker 1: the paint ships from a vehicle or from some other object, well,
32:28
Speaker 1: we really don't know. It's the database only tells us
32:31
Speaker 1: that it is either from those vehicles or from an
32:33
Speaker 1: industrial object. What has been hanging over this case from
32:38
Speaker 1: the very beginning of the investigation Anna Steven Smith's case
32:43
Speaker 1: is the name Murdog take us now cut fifty eight
32:48
Speaker 1: from Corporal Michael Duncan. Other than Mark, has anybody else
32:53
Speaker 1: Have you heard any rumors or anything like that other
32:57
Speaker 1: than anything other than Mark rumors going around and that
33:02
Speaker 1: everybody keeps coming up and saying it Murdoch, the Murdoch boys, Yeah,
33:08
Speaker 1: every day, Okay, all right? And and when you say,
33:13
Speaker 1: did they give any kind of description of what they
33:16
Speaker 1: mean why they think it's the Murdoch boys. Okay. Busta
33:21
Speaker 1: Murdoch has made it very clear. He has said point blank,
33:25
Speaker 1: I had nothing to do with Steven Smith's death, and
33:28
Speaker 1: my heart goes out to his mother. I think part
33:32
Speaker 1: of the confusion, maybe Eric Bland, is that we keep
33:35
Speaker 1: hearing the name Randy Murdoch, who is Alex Murdoch's brother,
33:40
Speaker 1: who is Busta Murdoch's uncle, that he offered to represent
33:45
Speaker 1: Steven Smith's family out of the blue, that he had
33:49
Speaker 1: the stepfather go to police with this information that the
33:52
Speaker 1: stepson said reportedly, it's just like apparently he boys at
33:57
Speaker 1: the scene came to the scene the night the day
34:01
Speaker 1: that Steven spins body was found. Is that right? You
34:04
Speaker 1: seem to be stating all the facts that came out
34:07
Speaker 1: of the investigative file, and certainly though as communicated by
34:12
Speaker 1: the father saying that either he or PO two is
34:17
Speaker 1: being represented by Randy Murdole. I assume that LED's going
34:20
Speaker 1: to go talk to Randy Murdle, and I assume that
34:22
Speaker 1: Randy Murtle will provide whatever explanation he has for being,
34:28
Speaker 1: you know, on all sides of the coin on this thing,
34:31
Speaker 1: so to speak, or he'll voluntarily give a statement and
34:36
Speaker 1: we'll know the answer. I just don't know. I don't know.
34:38
Speaker 1: Chief Keel is not that telling me who he interviews
34:42
Speaker 1: and who has been interviewed. He can't do that. I'm
34:46
Speaker 1: not law enforcement. So I'm sure with the rumor mill,
34:50
Speaker 1: somebody's going to find out, some good reporter like Jennifer Will,
34:54
Speaker 1: We'll find out from a source that either Randy gave
34:58
Speaker 1: a statement or was interviewed. Well, you know, I think
35:01
Speaker 1: that's really how this has gotten so Murdoch focused. Jennifer
35:07
Speaker 1: was joining me from FITZ News. Steven Smith's body is
35:11
Speaker 1: found about eight minutes from Mozelle, the Murdock Hunting Lodge,
35:17
Speaker 1: where Paul and Maggie were murdered, and now you've got
35:20
Speaker 1: Randy Murdoch popping up all throughout the investigation, right, I
35:24
Speaker 1: mean the investigation. The name Murdoch was mentioned more than
35:29
Speaker 1: forty times during the course of the investigation, and of
35:31
Speaker 1: course just because it said does not make it true.
35:36
Speaker 1: Thank you all for being with us today. Again, we
35:39
Speaker 1: are not naming the so called persons of interest and
35:43
Speaker 1: the name of an uncontaminated, uncontaminated investigation. We wait as
35:52
Speaker 1: justice un false. Goodbye friend,