1 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:21,919 Speaker 1: Bodybags with Joseph Scott Morgan. I'm not one to believe 2 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: in ghosts, but many times when you're driving down the road, 3 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 1: particularly down here in the Deep South, one of the 4 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:29,160 Speaker 1: things that comes to mind when you're in a car 5 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 1: by yourself late at night, you wonder what's out there. 6 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 1: You wonder what might be approaching you. Can you imagine 7 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,160 Speaker 1: being on your way to work one day, you look 8 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:40,160 Speaker 1: up and you see something in the little road. You're 9 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: not really sure what that might be, and then all 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: of a sudden, you swerve at the last second and 11 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:48,839 Speaker 1: you think to yourself, what did I just see? And 12 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: your brain is going to another place other than human remains. 13 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: The case that we're going to talk about today involves 14 00:00:57,760 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: human remains. It actually involves the body of a young man, 15 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 1: a young man that has been in the news quite 16 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 1: a bit recently. We're gonna talk about his death. We're 17 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,200 Speaker 1: gonna talk about his discovery in the middle of a 18 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:14,600 Speaker 1: lonely two lane blacktop in the low country of South Carolina. 19 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 1: We're gonna talk about the death of Stephen Smith. I'm 20 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: Joseph Scott Morgan and this is Body Backs. My buddy 21 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:30,120 Speaker 1: Dave mac He's a senior reporter with Crime Online, Dave, 22 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,240 Speaker 1: do you ever have those moments where you're driving down 23 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: the road and yet think you catch something in your 24 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: eyeline and you're not really sure what it is, and 25 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 1: then you have to do a double taking thing. I 26 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 1: can't believe I just saw what I saw. I have 27 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: so many questions for you about the death of Steven Smith. 28 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: I can't imagine going down the road early morning hours. 29 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: You're just getting your day started, a cup of coffee 30 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: in your hand, and you come upon something in the 31 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: road that obviously ought not be there, and all I 32 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:03,080 Speaker 1: could think of is the panic, and you're not exactly sure, 33 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:06,200 Speaker 1: so you have to stop your car and check it on. 34 00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: Whatever it is you're compelled to do that, you know 35 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,680 Speaker 1: at any number of levels, And I've actually encountered this 36 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: working as a death investigator, where I'll be talking to 37 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: somebody interviewing them out on the scene of a person 38 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 1: found in the roadway. They almost always say, I can't 39 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,880 Speaker 1: believe this is happening. I can't believe this is happening, 40 00:02:25,919 --> 00:02:28,960 Speaker 1: because I think there's something in our brain where we 41 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: want to make that thing that we have discovered something 42 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,360 Speaker 1: other than human. We don't want to see a fellow 43 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 1: human being lying there before us. It's one of the 44 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: most horrific things that you can imagine. In our minds. 45 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: We're thinking, yeah, this is probably a deer, because that's 46 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,120 Speaker 1: the most common thing that we encounter. And then you 47 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: might think, well, it might be a pet that I've 48 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: encountered any number of things over the years that have 49 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: crossed my path in the middle of the road, particularly 50 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: down in South Louisiana. I've seen oggs in the middle 51 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: of the road. I've actually seen the alligator that have 52 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: been hit. That doesn't happen a lot, but it's a 53 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: ferocious kind of thing relative to the damage it can 54 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: do your car because the bodies of these alligators are 55 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: so low. I've seen two of them in the middle 56 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: of the road, good size ones as a matter of fact, 57 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: and I can only imagine the person that ran over them. 58 00:03:15,440 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: It was quite a shock. But you're trying to think 59 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,320 Speaker 1: of something other than human. And then once it hits you, 60 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:24,799 Speaker 1: and can you imagine pulling over on the side of 61 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: the road in that darkness, and you're trying to think, 62 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: what do I do? What do I say next? How 63 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: do I respond to this? Do I run up to 64 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: this individual and see if in fact they are alive. 65 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: Maybe it's someone that's in nebriate and somebody push them 66 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: out of the vehicle and dumped them on the side 67 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: of the road. Maybe it's somebody that's in trouble, somebody 68 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: that's in crisis. But that confirmatory moment after you've initially 69 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: seen it, and then you have to go back and 70 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,280 Speaker 1: validate it. I think in your mind that's a hard thing. 71 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:56,040 Speaker 1: And then when people are hit with that reality, it's 72 00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: certainly something that stays with you for the rest of 73 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: your life. This was is categorized as a hit and run, 74 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,520 Speaker 1: an unsolved crime of a hit and run. Let me 75 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: stop you right there. People need to understand something. Stephen 76 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: Smith's case is not simply a hit and run. This 77 00:04:14,400 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: is an open homicide, period, end of story. There's no 78 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: debate on that. You have an individual that is dead 79 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: at the hand of another person, and in a very 80 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,040 Speaker 1: tight definition, that's how we define homicide. You're not making 81 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: judgment about anyone when you say that. I don't like 82 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:33,279 Speaker 1: the term murder because it's a lawyer's word. It's a 83 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,120 Speaker 1: theatrical word almost, and yet it's on the books in 84 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 1: many states, but when you talk about homicide, it's much 85 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 1: more clinical. You begin to think about homicide death at 86 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:44,359 Speaker 1: the hand of another. I guess it could potentially be 87 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: ruled as an accident at some point in time, but 88 00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:50,120 Speaker 1: at its base element if what they are saying is 89 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,359 Speaker 1: accurate relative to the authorities. You have an individual that 90 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: was driving a vehicle and they struck someone and they left. 91 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: That's where the hit and run comes in. But from 92 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:01,800 Speaker 1: a medical legal perspective, this is going to be a homicide. 93 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:05,039 Speaker 1: And this is an open case. And now we're seven 94 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 1: eight years down range from when this actually happened back 95 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: in twenty fifteen. We hear the term coal case thrown around. 96 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,720 Speaker 1: I think about my dear sister Cheryl McCullum and her 97 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 1: podcast Zone seven. That's what she deals with. You get 98 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 1: seven years down range from case and you don't have 99 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: any leads in it. Many instances that would be considered cold, 100 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: but I think that this case is far from cold 101 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: at this point. There's a lot here from an evidentiary 102 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: standpoint that you can look to kind of understand what happened. 103 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:37,799 Speaker 1: In the world of trying to bring justice for anybody 104 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: that's not my Bailey Wick. I'm interested in the science 105 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: of things, the forensics behind it. If that winds up 106 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,840 Speaker 1: bringing about justice, then that's fine. But the dynamics of 107 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: this thing are fascinating. There's enough there that we can 108 00:05:49,400 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: begin to kind of unwrap this thing and kind of 109 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:53,680 Speaker 1: talk about a little bit more. Okay, you find a 110 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:55,120 Speaker 1: body in the middle of the road. How do you 111 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:58,240 Speaker 1: go from that to determining that it was a hit 112 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,120 Speaker 1: and run and nothing else. His body was found in 113 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,520 Speaker 1: the middle of the road, and I'm curious what happens 114 00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:08,160 Speaker 1: from that moment, Joe. When the nine one one operator 115 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 1: gets the call of a body in the road, what 116 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: do they do? Do they call you? They call police? 117 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: That's an excellent question because I think that most people 118 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,400 Speaker 1: would think that retrospectively, they would think you're going to 119 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,440 Speaker 1: call the corner. No, you have to validate that the 120 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: individual is in fact to see So the first person 121 00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: that's going to show up, first responders. They're going to 122 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,000 Speaker 1: roll out on this. So when that nine to eleven 123 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:32,160 Speaker 1: call is initiated, there's a switch that's flipped. What you'll 124 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: get most of the time is there will be a 125 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:39,159 Speaker 1: local fire station that will be alerted and they have 126 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:41,800 Speaker 1: a first responder unit that will roll out and generally 127 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: it looks like a smaller firetruck, not necessarily like an ambulance, 128 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,880 Speaker 1: but a smaller firetruck. The individuals on that truck will 129 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: not only be firefighters, but they'll also be EMTs. That's 130 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: why they get dual certification in firefighting. So you'll have 131 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: an EMT on there. Sometimes you'll have a paramedic, which 132 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:01,600 Speaker 1: is the top end of emergency respons certification if you 133 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: become a paramedic, and they would roll out to the 134 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: scene and they're going to do an initial assessment. Of course, 135 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: the police are rolling there at the same time. You've 136 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: got an individual that's deceased in the middle of the road. 137 00:07:11,520 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: They're going to want to see this as well. So 138 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: you've got all of these people kind of rolling up there. 139 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: And EMTs are a big part of what we do 140 00:07:19,320 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: in medical legal death investigation because they're the first eyes 141 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:26,360 Speaker 1: on the scene. They see things in a very unvarnished 142 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,240 Speaker 1: manner before they roll up. The body is in a 143 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,400 Speaker 1: pristine state. So what's their job. Well, their job there 144 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: is not to investigate. Their job is to save lives. 145 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: I've had them saved my life before when they roll out, 146 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: they're going to be the first group of people that 147 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:43,960 Speaker 1: are going to see this. And you know what's very 148 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: curious about this day is that when the EMTs first 149 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,880 Speaker 1: showed up where Stephen Smith was found out there on 150 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: that lonely country road, they took one look at him. 151 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: And some reports are saying that the EMTs initially thought 152 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: that he'd looked like he had sustained a gunshot Woun't 153 00:07:58,800 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: I find that curious because when they did that initial assessment, 154 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: they apparently looked at his head and his head from 155 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 1: their perspective out on the scene when they flashed their 156 00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:11,960 Speaker 1: flashlights on him. They had the lights on their truck 157 00:08:12,040 --> 00:08:15,960 Speaker 1: on which are brilliant, very very bright. They're seeing such 158 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,559 Speaker 1: trauma to this young man's head as skull that they're thinking, 159 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,960 Speaker 1: oh my god, we're dealing with a gunshot wound, where 160 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,120 Speaker 1: someone has been left in the middle of the road 161 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: with a gsw to their head. There was something about 162 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: the way he looked that their mind didn't go to 163 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,400 Speaker 1: pedestrian struck by a vehicle, Dave. Their mind went to 164 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: gunshot wound. I'm absolutely fascinated by that. Of course, they 165 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: later determined that not only did he have trauma to 166 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: his head, but he also had trauma to his upper extremities, 167 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,040 Speaker 1: his arm and his hands. I think there was a 168 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:49,760 Speaker 1: dislocated shoulder, that sort of thing. There was just something 169 00:08:49,800 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: that didn't quite integrate into their thinking. Here. Keep in mind, 170 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:57,319 Speaker 1: these EMTs they see a lot more than we can 171 00:08:57,360 --> 00:09:00,480 Speaker 1: ever imagine because they roll out on everything, roll out 172 00:09:00,480 --> 00:09:03,040 Speaker 1: on all these motor vehicle accidents that don't wind up 173 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: as a fatality, but yet they see trauma and they're 174 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 1: constantly assessing in what the medical profession refers to as 175 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:15,080 Speaker 1: triaging patients, doing that initial assessment determining what's wrong with them. 176 00:09:15,120 --> 00:09:17,600 Speaker 1: And Steven Smith's case, I think that they were really 177 00:09:17,600 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: shocked to see him in the state that he was 178 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:22,679 Speaker 1: in and certainly the level of tet trauma he had sustained. 179 00:09:22,880 --> 00:09:26,480 Speaker 1: Then how different would it be for those investigators he 180 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: determined when they are told by first responders, looks like 181 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: gunshot wound to the head. As investigators, we look for 182 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: feedback from the EMTs. The common question is what do 183 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: you think, doc? What do you think? Because the investigators 184 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,319 Speaker 1: they want an immediate assessment as to what you're looking at. 185 00:09:43,640 --> 00:09:46,200 Speaker 1: After the corner arrived out there at the scene and 186 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: speaking with the accident investigators, the police officers that were 187 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: out there, they concluded that this was a hit and run, 188 00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:56,319 Speaker 1: that it wasn't a gunshot one. I think that afterwards, 189 00:09:56,360 --> 00:10:00,000 Speaker 1: when they got Steven's remains to the friends of Cathology 190 00:10:00,040 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: just in the forensic pathologists did the assessment, they ruled 191 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 1: out gunshot wound at that time. Back to the scene, 192 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:08,800 Speaker 1: there's just certain things that we look for. There's certain 193 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,840 Speaker 1: elements along the way that we try to understand about 194 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,040 Speaker 1: the dynamics of a motor vehicle versus a human being. 195 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: No witnesses, just perhaps Stephen Smith, we don't know what 196 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:44,240 Speaker 1: he saw, what he experienced right before his life ended 197 00:10:44,240 --> 00:10:47,640 Speaker 1: out there. And of course the person that was driving 198 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: the vehicle, that person is out there somewhere according to authorities. 199 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 1: I think that the answers perhaps or the lack of answers, 200 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 1: are going to arrest in what was found or wasn't 201 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 1: found out of the scene. As you mentioned, there are 202 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 1: no witnesses to this. We have the police or investigators 203 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,200 Speaker 1: rather saying it was a hit and run. We have 204 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:14,120 Speaker 1: a body of nineteen year old man found in the 205 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: middle of the road, not on the side. He is 206 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:18,800 Speaker 1: in the middle of the road. It's the middle of 207 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: the night. He had apparently been walking because his car 208 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:27,160 Speaker 1: was found about three miles away out of gas. So 209 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:30,280 Speaker 1: assuming that Stephen Smith is walking down the middle of 210 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:34,760 Speaker 1: the road and he's hit, I've got questions about what 211 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: you expect as an investigator on the scene. Would his 212 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: body taking on a vehicle, would it just crumple and 213 00:11:42,720 --> 00:11:44,840 Speaker 1: end up right there in the road, or would it 214 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:48,080 Speaker 1: not be pushed in a different direction. By the way, 215 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: I think it's important to know there are no skid 216 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:53,080 Speaker 1: marks here because the impact was such and so quick. 217 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,439 Speaker 1: You mentioned it was dark, didn't see him to the 218 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 1: last second. No skid marks and apparently not a whole 219 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: lot of broken glass or anything like that. But his 220 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: body is found in the road. Is that what you 221 00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: would expect? And what kind of damage would you expect 222 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,439 Speaker 1: to vehicle or human or both. Let's take this example 223 00:12:11,640 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 1: of a vehicle striking a pedestrian. Our listeners on body 224 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: backs are pretty bright people. You guys like science. You 225 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:22,320 Speaker 1: like to delve into science. You wouldn't be here if 226 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: you didn't. And to understand the dynamics of a motor 227 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:29,960 Speaker 1: vehicle striking a human. Just like humans, cars come in 228 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:32,679 Speaker 1: all different shapes and sizes. Close your eyes and think 229 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,200 Speaker 1: about a full size pickup truck, and I'm talking about 230 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: a full size pickup truck, which we've got a lot 231 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,199 Speaker 1: of in the South. Sometimes these things can be rather big, 232 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 1: particularly if there's some type of aftermarket additions to these things, 233 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,200 Speaker 1: where you've got rush bumpers on the front of it. 234 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: That's that big thing that sits forward to the grille. 235 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,760 Speaker 1: You've got a certain level of height to them that 236 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:56,240 Speaker 1: can be adjusted with a lift kit. On a truck, 237 00:12:56,559 --> 00:12:58,800 Speaker 1: maybe it's got big mirrors on the side that kind 238 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 1: of protrude out. Conversely, you begin to think about four 239 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 1: or family sedan that's going down the road, Well, that 240 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:08,080 Speaker 1: configuration is completely different. Maybe you've got kind of a 241 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,600 Speaker 1: sloping front end that almost looks like a shovel on 242 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:15,080 Speaker 1: the front. It's not blunted like a pickup truck is. 243 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: Then we could go on and on and on relative 244 00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:20,000 Speaker 1: to all of the configurations, but let's just take those 245 00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:23,240 Speaker 1: two examples and the dynamics that are going to occur 246 00:13:23,520 --> 00:13:26,560 Speaker 1: between a human body being struck by either one of 247 00:13:26,559 --> 00:13:30,199 Speaker 1: those platforms. Think about the truck. Many times with a truck, 248 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:34,360 Speaker 1: you will see an initial impact depended upon the orientation 249 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:38,680 Speaker 1: of the victim to the oncoming vehicle, you will get 250 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 1: an initial impact. Just the energy itself will push that 251 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: body down range forward of the vehicle just for an instant, 252 00:13:46,280 --> 00:13:49,240 Speaker 1: and then you'll have that occur with these bodies meantimes 253 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,240 Speaker 1: what we refer to as rollover injuries. So there's two 254 00:13:52,280 --> 00:13:55,280 Speaker 1: separate things here. You've got the initial point of impact. 255 00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:58,920 Speaker 1: We look for things like mumper marks. If you imagine 256 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: a mannequin being position in the middle of the road 257 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:05,200 Speaker 1: in an upright fully erect position and a vehicle is 258 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:10,240 Speaker 1: coming along that first point of contact with the leading 259 00:14:10,400 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 1: edge of that vehicle, and the human remains or the 260 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:17,520 Speaker 1: human body is probably going to be the thigh, might 261 00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:20,200 Speaker 1: be the lower legs. In the case of a truck, 262 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,560 Speaker 1: if it's elevated, you might get a grill strike that 263 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 1: takes place on the upper torso I've even seen grill 264 00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:29,840 Speaker 1: impressions on the sides of faces where people see it's 265 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: coming in kind of at a primal level that turn 266 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,400 Speaker 1: in one instant, but you're going to have this kind 267 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: of full on flush strike and you'll get these multiple 268 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: points of contact. If it's an elevated vehicle, many times 269 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:42,920 Speaker 1: you'll get these what I refer to is rollover injuries. 270 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,600 Speaker 1: And if you'll think about clothes in a tumble dryer, 271 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 1: the body as it hits the ground or the roadway 272 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 1: in front of it, the vehicle will then roll over 273 00:14:51,560 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 1: the body. You can't stop a big vehicle on a dime. 274 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: That's why you have skid marks. So you'll have individuals 275 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 1: that will be struck and then the car actually rolls 276 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,280 Speaker 1: over them. And these injuries that you get look like 277 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 1: the person's essentially in a tumble dryer, but yet they're 278 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: having this tremendous pressure that's being applied to the body, 279 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,040 Speaker 1: and you'll get these weird looking abrasions all over the body. 280 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,800 Speaker 1: They'll be kind of curvilinear, depended upon the position of 281 00:15:17,840 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 1: the body and the dynamics of the tires and then 282 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 1: the undercarriage of the car as well. We go out 283 00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: the scenes and you have these ferocious injuries on bodies. 284 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,800 Speaker 1: We'll get beneath the vehicle and it's nothing to get 285 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: beneath the vehicle and see all kind of distribution of 286 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 1: tissue beneath the undercarriage of the car. I've seen bone 287 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: brained skin. I could just go on and on about 288 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: everything I found beneath the car. You'll find fabric from 289 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:43,160 Speaker 1: the vehicles that's kind of deposited underneath the car. You'll 290 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:45,440 Speaker 1: see it on the inner portion of the wheel wells, 291 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: dynamic blood deposition as well. Because you're talking about something 292 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: that's just shy of high velocity, it's a high end, 293 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: medium velocity spatter that's taking place. So you'll see a 294 00:15:56,360 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 1: lot that's going on beneath the car. And also you'll 295 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,800 Speaker 1: have road dirt, you'll have a rubber, You'll have all 296 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:09,080 Speaker 1: these items from the car that are transferred to the body. Dave, 297 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: it's nothing to find a tire impression on a body. 298 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,040 Speaker 1: I've seen this time and time again, and it's glaring. 299 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,440 Speaker 1: You can actually take a photo of it and kind 300 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:21,880 Speaker 1: of closely qualified relative to a particular make of tire 301 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: if you can imagine that, and you can even see 302 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: some evidence of wear patterns on tires. That's with a 303 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,760 Speaker 1: big truck. If we go to a car like a 304 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: low sedan, what happens is that when a body is 305 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: struck and I'm talking about full flush, I'm not talking 306 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: about glancing blow here, but full flush you'll have an 307 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:44,680 Speaker 1: individual that we'll have bumper marks, particularly if it's a 308 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: low profile. You'll see breakage many times in the lower 309 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 1: limbs in addition to external contusions and abrasions. And what 310 00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:58,280 Speaker 1: happens is that the body is essentially pitched up in 311 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: the air day and will impact at many times on 312 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,879 Speaker 1: the hood or on the windshield where the glass will crack. 313 00:17:04,920 --> 00:17:07,360 Speaker 1: You'll get blood deposition on top of the car. They'll 314 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: roll over the top of the vehicle. You'll see blood 315 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,880 Speaker 1: sometimes deposited on the roof of the car and then 316 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,200 Speaker 1: off of the back. And those injuries are very unique 317 00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,600 Speaker 1: in and of themselves, and you'll get transfer on the 318 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:23,200 Speaker 1: front of the car as well. If anybody has ever 319 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:25,879 Speaker 1: struck an animal with your car, you can many times 320 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,560 Speaker 1: go out and look at the headlights on your car 321 00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,800 Speaker 1: or the grill and you'll see tufts of hair they're 322 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: caught in there. If you were to pluck those hairs out. 323 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,440 Speaker 1: From a morphological standpoint, you can actually identify the species 324 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: relative to that. Well, we've found human hair and grills before, 325 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: you certainly find other types of tissue. If we're going 326 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,719 Speaker 1: with the idea that Steven Smith was struck by a vehicle. 327 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: There's no doubt in my mind that there would have 328 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:51,760 Speaker 1: been some kind of deposition onto the surface of that 329 00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:58,160 Speaker 1: vehicle that would have given you evidence of Stephen Smith's person, 330 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:01,480 Speaker 1: his physical person. There would and something left behind on 331 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 1: the car. And of course, since they never were able 332 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,639 Speaker 1: to go and find a vehicle that was associated with 333 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 1: this case, that evidence now is long since gone. The 334 00:18:11,560 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: only thing that you really have now are recollections where 335 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: you go back and say, yeah, you know what shut 336 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:18,520 Speaker 1: up to work one day in the windshield on his 337 00:18:18,640 --> 00:18:22,320 Speaker 1: car had a big, massive tape on it. He said 338 00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:24,439 Speaker 1: what happened and said, oh, man, this truck came by 339 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,080 Speaker 1: and it threw a rock and splintered my window, and 340 00:18:27,080 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 1: then all of a sudden it was repaired. They get 341 00:18:29,320 --> 00:18:31,920 Speaker 1: out there really quick to repair these sorts of things. Sometimes, 342 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: so you would have had a vehicle in the same 343 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,119 Speaker 1: area that would have been moving around, it would have 344 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,159 Speaker 1: had significant damage to it. So you would think with 345 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 1: the kind of damage you just just drive, whether it's 346 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: a truck or a sedan, whatever, there would be damage 347 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:49,200 Speaker 1: to the vehicle that from an investigative standpoint, looking at 348 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,199 Speaker 1: the area, this happened the time that had happened. I know, 349 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: we cannot assume, but based on that, you would think 350 00:18:55,400 --> 00:18:59,000 Speaker 1: it would be somebody familiar with the area, because who 351 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,280 Speaker 1: else would be driving around there in the middle of 352 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:03,560 Speaker 1: the night, in the middle of July. It's not a 353 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: major thoroughfare. The fella that made the call, I mean, 354 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 1: God bless him wherever he is today, because he had 355 00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:12,320 Speaker 1: to witness this horrible thing. He said, well, this is 356 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: what we call the road. Essentially, you get a flavor 357 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: from him that it's out in the middle of nowhere. 358 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: This is in kind of the nether region out here. 359 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,679 Speaker 1: You're not going to have street lights. Anybody that's on 360 00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: this road, I guess you could be lost and be 361 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:25,960 Speaker 1: on the road, but more than likely you know the 362 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,119 Speaker 1: lay of the land. This is a thoroughfare that you 363 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:30,760 Speaker 1: go up and down on a regular basis. You would 364 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: think that the individual would be a local. And let 365 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: me tell you something. I've got a lot of friends 366 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: that have been down in the Low Country recently in 367 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: the media, and the one thing that come back and 368 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,160 Speaker 1: say is that, Wow, these houses are really really far 369 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 1: apart down here. You get a lot of city dwellers 370 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 1: that go down there to cover these cases, and they're 371 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:52,080 Speaker 1: shocked by how underpopulated the area is. It's a low 372 00:19:52,119 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: populated area and so you've got huge gaps of distances 373 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,240 Speaker 1: between homes. So automatically you begin to think the most 374 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,199 Speaker 1: obvious thing somebody that would have struck him in this 375 00:20:02,359 --> 00:20:05,719 Speaker 1: vehicle that was probably tied to that region. We know 376 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:08,480 Speaker 1: that he has blunt forced drama to his head. What 377 00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: other damage on his body would you expect to see 378 00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 1: Joe if he were hit by a vehicle as we 379 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: mentioned versus bonders that looked like a gunshot wound to 380 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:22,760 Speaker 1: the head. This is the odd thing, Dave about this 381 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:26,760 Speaker 1: case what we know about it through media reports and 382 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:29,680 Speaker 1: this sort of thing, that the injuries he sustained were 383 00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:33,920 Speaker 1: essentially concentrated in his head, his hands, and he's got 384 00:20:33,960 --> 00:20:37,800 Speaker 1: a dislocated shoulder. That's an odd grouping. It's obviously all 385 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: upper body, But we have to think about is that 386 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: all you've got if you're standing erect in the center 387 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,439 Speaker 1: of the road. If that's the case, then why aren't 388 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 1: there bumper marks? Why aren't there widespread fracturing which there 389 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,960 Speaker 1: would have been. Get busted ribs. People will sustain many 390 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: times was referred to as a flailed chest, which is 391 00:20:55,119 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: essentially where the rib cage kind of fractures along the 392 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:02,160 Speaker 1: periphery and the breastplace essentially, to put into practical terms, 393 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: kind of floating there. You've got punctured lungs, you've got 394 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: fractured pelvis, you got fractured legs. Bilaterally, many times the femurs, 395 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:13,639 Speaker 1: the upper bones in the legs, FIBs will be fractured. Certainly, 396 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: the ankles will be fractured. You get fractured arms, but hands, hands, 397 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:21,400 Speaker 1: and head, and that's really the damage that they've talked about. 398 00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:25,320 Speaker 1: That's an interesting configuration when you're doing an assessment on injuries. 399 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:30,919 Speaker 1: I think that the forensic pathologist actually opined that this 400 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: was probably a mirror strike. What do you mean by 401 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,679 Speaker 1: a mirror strike, Joe, Well, a mirror strike would be 402 00:21:37,080 --> 00:21:40,480 Speaker 1: if Stephen was standing on the shoulder of the road 403 00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: and you've got a big, extended mirror. Because I can't 404 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:46,560 Speaker 1: imagine just like a tiny kind of molded mirror that's 405 00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:48,920 Speaker 1: built into the side of a car, I can't imagine 406 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:50,760 Speaker 1: it would do this kind of damage. And that's one 407 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:53,280 Speaker 1: of the reasons I'm thinking truck if you're going with 408 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: mirror strike, then that means the mirror would have to 409 00:21:56,400 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: be kind of in an elevated position, high ending out. 410 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 1: It would have to be sufficient in size and mass 411 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,200 Speaker 1: in order to deliver this kind of force that would 412 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:10,800 Speaker 1: create a head injury so severe that when the EMTs 413 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:13,440 Speaker 1: rolled out initially what they call it dave, what they 414 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: call it, they call it a gunshot wound and not 415 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,160 Speaker 1: just gunshot wound, they were probably thinking, oh my god, 416 00:22:19,240 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 1: look at the destruction of this guy's head. It's so massive. 417 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: It looks like his head has been shattered by a firearm. 418 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 1: These EMTs, they would have seen gunshot wounds before, and 419 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,600 Speaker 1: that was immediately what their brain kind of flew to. 420 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:38,720 Speaker 1: When you're assessing this out at the scene and you're 421 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 1: looking at this, you would think, how could a mirror 422 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 1: do this? How could a mirror strike accomplish this? Just 423 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: like any element of a vehicle depend upon the manufacturing, 424 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: the kind of how it's put together is going to 425 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:55,720 Speaker 1: leave a distinct trauma induced impression. And if people will 426 00:22:55,840 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: just for second consider side mirrors on big trucks don't 427 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:02,000 Speaker 1: just have to be a pickup truck. Let's just use 428 00:23:02,119 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: like a tractor trailer rig. People have seen those big 429 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: side mirrors. If you think about that, now, that would 430 00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:10,160 Speaker 1: be too high, I think to consider. But just to 431 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,159 Speaker 1: get the word picture in your mind, here relative to 432 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:15,359 Speaker 1: a mirror, and how it kind of extends out and 433 00:23:15,440 --> 00:23:17,360 Speaker 1: you look at kind of how it shapeses got two 434 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:19,280 Speaker 1: support bars. It looks kind of like a big d 435 00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:21,960 Speaker 1: sticking off of the side of a vehicle, and it's 436 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 1: got the flap that is in fact the mirror that 437 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 1: would leave a pattern, particularly if it's textured in any way. 438 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:28,920 Speaker 1: So if you're struck in the side of the head 439 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:32,320 Speaker 1: with it, is there an overlying kind of a braided 440 00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 1: pattern and contusion that's associated with that that would give 441 00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: you pause to think, This kind of looks like a mirror. 442 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,640 Speaker 1: This might explain it all. So you've explained the head 443 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,320 Speaker 1: strike with a mirror. What about the hands, how the 444 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: hands get traumatized, how the shoulder gets dislocated. All of 445 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: this must factor into your thinking and why are there 446 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,679 Speaker 1: no other injuries? This is the other problem day. The 447 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:58,520 Speaker 1: other big problem that arises in this is that we 448 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:02,160 Speaker 1: look not just for skid marks, which shows an awareness 449 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,280 Speaker 1: on the part of the driver they're going to apply 450 00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: the brakes. We're gonna look for a debris field. The 451 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:11,600 Speaker 1: way vehicles are made nowadays, Let's face it, it's not 452 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: like your grannies nineteen fifty seven Chevy going down the road. 453 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: A lot of fiberglass, and it's going to shatter at 454 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: some level, particularly if you're talking about a high, high 455 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:24,800 Speaker 1: velocity kind of event where you're striking a human being. 456 00:24:25,359 --> 00:24:29,960 Speaker 1: There's no debris, Dave, How's that possible? There's no debris 457 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,960 Speaker 1: at the scene where you've got bits of plastic and 458 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:36,280 Speaker 1: you've got bits of trim they're torn off, You've got 459 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:40,120 Speaker 1: these other elements that might be lying about, and my gosh, 460 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: if it was a mirror strike, you're gonna have to 461 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: go a long way around the barn to convince me 462 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,800 Speaker 1: that that mirror would not have become detached. And if 463 00:24:47,800 --> 00:24:51,240 Speaker 1: it didn't become detached completely, by god, it's just gonna 464 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,680 Speaker 1: be hanging offside of that car. And guess what else, Dave, 465 00:24:54,240 --> 00:24:58,560 Speaker 1: it's going to have something that's associated with Stephen Smith 466 00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: and his person on it. Probably blood tissue. Maybe even 467 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:24,840 Speaker 1: here if you didn't think we had enough to talk 468 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:29,040 Speaker 1: about with Stephen Smith. The latest chapter in this year's 469 00:25:29,119 --> 00:25:34,040 Speaker 1: long investigation. Suddenly a new word, a new term enters 470 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,320 Speaker 1: the lexicon of many people out there that have not 471 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: considered this in the past or maybe have not heard 472 00:25:38,720 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: about it. I've had phone calls, I've had emails, people 473 00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:43,800 Speaker 1: wanting me to explain what this is. And the word 474 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:47,439 Speaker 1: is exhamation. You pointed out early on, this is a 475 00:25:47,480 --> 00:25:52,400 Speaker 1: homicide investigation. There have been many, many questions about this 476 00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:56,800 Speaker 1: particular death. It is an unsolved crime. And during the 477 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,840 Speaker 1: recent attention placed on the Murdoch family due to Alec 478 00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,919 Speaker 1: Murdau's trial, some information came out and we are not 479 00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:09,320 Speaker 1: privy to that information that caused them to reopen the 480 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,520 Speaker 1: investigation into the death of Stephen Smith. It is now 481 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:17,479 Speaker 1: an ongoing investigation. Well, Stephen Smith's mother, Sandy, she just 482 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,919 Speaker 1: does not believe the story. She's never bought into the 483 00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 1: hit and run story. So she set up a gofund 484 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: me account to raise money to do an independent exhimation 485 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:31,560 Speaker 1: and autopsy of Stephen Smith eight years after the fact. 486 00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:36,479 Speaker 1: Now we're at that word exhimation. I've heard the word before, 487 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,640 Speaker 1: but I cannot imagine eight years after the fact, what 488 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: we would expect to determine from the body of Stephen Smith. 489 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,320 Speaker 1: I don't know what it could bring forth at this point. 490 00:26:46,640 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 1: The thing I want to see them a zoom at 491 00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:52,520 Speaker 1: this point right now is the records. I want to 492 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 1: see them hire a board certified forensic pathologists first off, 493 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:02,399 Speaker 1: Board certified, not someone that just says they're practicing forensic pathology. 494 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:04,360 Speaker 1: There's a lot of those types that are out there. 495 00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 1: I want somebody that's board certified forensic pathologist, that's got 496 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: years under their belt. It's hard to explain, and let 497 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:13,720 Speaker 1: me try to compare it to some other medical practice. 498 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: Let's just say, for instance, you've got an individual who 499 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: is a brain surgeon. Okay, they've had to find his training, 500 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:23,720 Speaker 1: they've gone through a residency, the whole nine yards, and 501 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: they deal with trauma perhaps, or they deal with some 502 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,159 Speaker 1: type of masks that's related in the brain. They're going 503 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: to try to remove that. But then you've got an 504 00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:35,959 Speaker 1: odd case in neurosurgery where you've got somebody that has 505 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,960 Speaker 1: an item that they've been impaled upon in their brain. 506 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,720 Speaker 1: I want somebody that has a background in extricating things 507 00:27:42,760 --> 00:27:45,960 Speaker 1: from skulls that are piercing through brain. I just don't 508 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 1: want any neurosurgeon. Do you understand what I'm saying in 509 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,720 Speaker 1: this particular case, if you're talking about a forensic pathologist, 510 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,119 Speaker 1: I don't want just simply a board certified forensic pathologist. 511 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:58,360 Speaker 1: I want somebody that has a lot of experience with eximations, 512 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:02,720 Speaker 1: somebody that has looked at the dead this far down 513 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,679 Speaker 1: the road after they have been buried, but before they 514 00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 1: exhume Stephen Smith's body. I'm hoping that they can gather 515 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,720 Speaker 1: all of the records associated with the initial autopsy. And 516 00:28:14,760 --> 00:28:18,440 Speaker 1: I'm talking about everything, Dave, I'm talking about the autopsy report. 517 00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:20,480 Speaker 1: I'm talking about talks. I want to know what he 518 00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: had in his system, very specifically, not just in qualitative 519 00:28:24,200 --> 00:28:26,560 Speaker 1: we say, yeah he had this in the system. No, no, no, 520 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,919 Speaker 1: I want quantitative. I want to know exactly what you 521 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,640 Speaker 1: found and in what amounts he had it in his system. 522 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 1: Here's the big thing. I won't see any X rays. 523 00:28:34,760 --> 00:28:40,000 Speaker 1: Most forensic pathology facilities are now equipped with portable X ray. 524 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,000 Speaker 1: It's really old technology, something that everybody should have that's 525 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: doing autopsies. I want to see them give these radiographs 526 00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:52,560 Speaker 1: over to a consulting forensic pathologist and have them review everything. 527 00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: Before they ever put shovel to dirt here now in 528 00:28:56,600 --> 00:29:00,040 Speaker 1: order to get his body exhumed. This is not a 529 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 1: light undertaking. This is something where you actually have to 530 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: get what's referred to as an order of exhimation. If 531 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,520 Speaker 1: you did not have this legal gatekeeper in place, can 532 00:29:10,600 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: you imagine what a chaotic circumstance it would be everybody 533 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:18,120 Speaker 1: that just suddenly got a notion to wanting to have 534 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 1: some grave cracked open. They could just go out and say, well, 535 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: I want mine great great grandfather's remains exhumed. I want 536 00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: them brought back out so we can all take a look. 537 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: It'd be total chaos. So they have an order of exhimation, 538 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 1: and many times these are not granted. It's at the 539 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: judge's discretion. So the scene under South Carolina law, there 540 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 1: is actually a statute for this. They have to go 541 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 1: and treat for this. They have to say, listen, we 542 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:44,840 Speaker 1: want this done. We're submitting the paperwork, and then the 543 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:46,880 Speaker 1: judge will make the final ruling as to whether or 544 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,520 Speaker 1: not an eximation is going to take place. Once exhimation 545 00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: has taken place, are the order is given, they'll go 546 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,200 Speaker 1: out and it's in reverse order. If the way they 547 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:57,080 Speaker 1: bury somebody, they're going to have to take that top 548 00:29:57,160 --> 00:30:00,160 Speaker 1: layer of dirt off. If there is a slab on 549 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:02,800 Speaker 1: top of the ground, if you're not familiar, concrete slab 550 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,480 Speaker 1: just kind of sits there, it would have to be removed. 551 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:07,920 Speaker 1: They'd have to dig down, get the dirt out from 552 00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: beneath it, and then they get down to the vault. 553 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 1: If you've never been involved in eximations, which I've been 554 00:30:13,040 --> 00:30:14,760 Speaker 1: involved in a number of them over the course of 555 00:30:14,760 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: my career, once you get that top layer of dirt removed, 556 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: you get down to the vault. The vault is placed 557 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,600 Speaker 1: in the ground. For those that have never seen this before, 558 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:25,640 Speaker 1: you don't just dig a hole and place a casket 559 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:27,080 Speaker 1: in the ground. It's not the way it works. You 560 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:29,360 Speaker 1: dig the hole, which is in fact six feet deep, 561 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: and then you place this big concrete box in the ground, 562 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: and then the casket is actually lowered into the box. 563 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:39,960 Speaker 1: You've seen people using the straps at burials, that sort 564 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 1: of thing. It goes down into the ground, straps are removed, 565 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: and then they put the cap. There's a cap that 566 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: goes on top of the vault. What you've got is 567 00:30:46,680 --> 00:30:49,400 Speaker 1: essentially a box in a box you've got the casket 568 00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,360 Speaker 1: contained the body inside of another box, which is the vault. 569 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 1: Vault is sealed covered with dirt. If there's a slapstone 570 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 1: that's placed there, it's placed, and then you have a 571 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,440 Speaker 1: headstone that marks where the grave is. Some of the 572 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: things that you encounter along the way the water table 573 00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:07,480 Speaker 1: rising and falling. We're talking about the low Country day 574 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: and what does the low Country have. It's famous for water. 575 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:12,160 Speaker 1: It's one of the things that makes it so mysterious 576 00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,959 Speaker 1: and beautiful. Along with that, you have a water table 577 00:31:15,240 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: that rises and falls many times that's dictated by the 578 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:21,080 Speaker 1: Atlantic Ocean that's just stones throw away. You get a 579 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: lot of rain down there. They have flooding, so if 580 00:31:24,240 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 1: you're in a non protected space like that, you'll get 581 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:32,080 Speaker 1: seepage into the grave area and it will also get 582 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:34,480 Speaker 1: into the vault. Ergo. If it gets into the vault, 583 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:37,000 Speaker 1: it's sitting in there with the casket, and sometimes it's 584 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,440 Speaker 1: a casket it's not high quality. You'll get water inside 585 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,360 Speaker 1: the casket. So you've got the body just kind of 586 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: free floating inside of the casket. I don't know that 587 00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:47,800 Speaker 1: that's happened. Maybe it's not. Maybe it's as dry as 588 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:50,960 Speaker 1: the day that they placed Steven Spen's body in the ground. However, 589 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,640 Speaker 1: it's something that would not surprise me if it had happened. 590 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: And if that happens, then the remains inside are going 591 00:31:56,480 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 1: to be compromised greatly. You're going to have all kinds 592 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:03,520 Speaker 1: of instant that occur with moisture. You'll have mold that 593 00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,640 Speaker 1: sets in. It can destroy clothing that might be there. 594 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,920 Speaker 1: Not that the clothing that is contained therein would be 595 00:32:10,360 --> 00:32:12,960 Speaker 1: relevant to the case, but the clothing that the body 596 00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,800 Speaker 1: is dressed in would be super saturated with water, and 597 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,400 Speaker 1: that's going to promote bacterial growth because when the water 598 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: comes in, it brings all the little microscopic nasties with 599 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:25,080 Speaker 1: them that it introduces into that environment. So you're fighting that. 600 00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:28,960 Speaker 1: Not to mention just years I've actually participated in case 601 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:30,760 Speaker 1: to Stay, I'll never forget. I had a case where 602 00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 1: a guy was dressed in an all white suit, white tie, 603 00:32:33,840 --> 00:32:37,840 Speaker 1: white socks, white shoes, white vest, and he looked the 604 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,120 Speaker 1: same as he did the day that he was put 605 00:32:40,120 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: in the ground twenty years earlier. He had a carnation 606 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,560 Speaker 1: that they'd put in his lapel. The underlying white material 607 00:32:45,600 --> 00:32:48,480 Speaker 1: was stained red the carnation was dried, but you could 608 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:50,560 Speaker 1: still appreciate he had a little bit of mold growing 609 00:32:50,560 --> 00:32:52,080 Speaker 1: on his face, but other than that, he was like 610 00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:54,480 Speaker 1: in pristine condition. That gives you an idea as to 611 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:58,280 Speaker 1: how well this body was preserved. And when the bodies 612 00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,680 Speaker 1: are embalmed, they're there for a long time. If you've 613 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:04,040 Speaker 1: ever wondered what it feels like when you tap a 614 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:06,240 Speaker 1: body that has been embombed, that kind of has the 615 00:33:06,280 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 1: same texture as an overinflated leather basketball, That's the best 616 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:12,320 Speaker 1: way I can describe. It doesn't have a foul odor. 617 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:14,440 Speaker 1: It's got kind of a sickly sweet odor. I think 618 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:16,280 Speaker 1: a lot of that comes along with the fluids that 619 00:33:16,280 --> 00:33:18,640 Speaker 1: they used to do that. Here's the problem with Stephen. 620 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:22,000 Speaker 1: I don't know if he was viewable. I would think 621 00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: that as a result of the head trauma, he probably wasn't, 622 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: so his body would have been traumatized. And anytime a 623 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:32,360 Speaker 1: body is traumatized, that is going to speed decomposition, even 624 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,000 Speaker 1: in the face of embalming, so you're going to have 625 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:38,880 Speaker 1: these kind of compromised areas relative to the tissue can't 626 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,440 Speaker 1: be as well preserved. If a body is intact and 627 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:45,360 Speaker 1: then embalmed. That's going to be a consideration here. I've 628 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: participated in exhimations that have actually taken place in barns. 629 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:52,800 Speaker 1: I've gone to old funeral homes to examine bodies. As 630 00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:56,680 Speaker 1: a result of exhimations, his body has got to go 631 00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:01,720 Speaker 1: to a state of the art facility, top line photography, 632 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:05,400 Speaker 1: top line X ray and imaging equipment. Someplaces actually have 633 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:08,759 Speaker 1: ct Now. You want it well lit. You want to 634 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,239 Speaker 1: have every instrument known to man that's at your disposal. 635 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:14,960 Speaker 1: If you're the forensic pathologist and their team, you want 636 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:19,000 Speaker 1: a really good photographer. You cannot do this haphazardly. You 637 00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:23,600 Speaker 1: can't just go to whatever location is convenient to do 638 00:34:23,680 --> 00:34:26,839 Speaker 1: the examination. We talked about the amount of money that 639 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,520 Speaker 1: she had raised, that the gofund me had raised that amount. 640 00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:34,719 Speaker 1: The last calculation I heard was above sixty thousand. You're 641 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: well above what you would need in order to facilitate 642 00:34:37,440 --> 00:34:39,879 Speaker 1: this kind of examination. They're going to have to full 643 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,080 Speaker 1: body X rays on Steven's body, Dave from the top 644 00:34:43,160 --> 00:34:45,319 Speaker 1: of his head to the soles of his feet. If 645 00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:47,880 Speaker 1: there's anything to be found, it's going to rest in 646 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:50,799 Speaker 1: those areas. I'm very curious about the extremities. I'd like 647 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:53,239 Speaker 1: to see what was going on with them with forensics. 648 00:34:53,280 --> 00:34:55,920 Speaker 1: As I always say, your negative findings are just as 649 00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:59,279 Speaker 1: important as your positive finding. An absence of trauma to 650 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: the legs and absence of ractures in the legs, you'll 651 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 1: be able to kind of check off the list that 652 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:06,240 Speaker 1: he was not standing fully erect when he was struck 653 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:08,600 Speaker 1: by this vehicle. If he wasn't standing fully erect when 654 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:11,160 Speaker 1: he was struck by this vehicle, can you validate this 655 00:35:11,239 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 1: idea of a mirror strike? And if the mirror strike 656 00:35:14,239 --> 00:35:16,920 Speaker 1: is not part and parcel of this, then how did 657 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:19,600 Speaker 1: he sustain the head trauma? How did he sustain the 658 00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:26,880 Speaker 1: injuries to his hands into his shoulder. I'm Joseph Scott Morgan, 659 00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,920 Speaker 1: and this his body backs