The family of a young man found dead on a rural Hampton County road is launching a new investigation of how Stephen Smith died after apparent connections to convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh came to light.

Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced former South Carolina attorney, was sentenced to life in prison earlier this month after he was found guilty of murdering his wife and son -- the most serious and grisliest of the allegations faced by the scion of what was once one of the state's most influential dynasties.

Buster Murdaugh made his first public statement on the death of his high school classmate Stephen Smith, telling NBC News in an exclusive statement he denies having any involvement in Smith's death in 2015.

Attorneys for the family of Stephen Smith say their effort to exhume the 19-year-old's body is an attempt to provide his mother answers about what led to his death -- and has nothing to do with the family of Alex Murdaugh.

The family of Stephen Smith, who died on a road near the home of the disgraced Murdaugh family, wants to exhume his body to aid in the investigation of the cold case. Now, Buster Murdaugh, the son of convicted murderer Alex Murdaugh,

Family of Stephen Smith plan to exhume his body for an independent autopsy as they insist: ‘This is not Alex Murdaugh 2.0’

Richard “Buster” Murdaugh, the surviving son of disgraced South Carolina attorney and convicted murderer Alex Murduagh, has denied what he calls “baseless rumors” regarding his involvement in the death of a teenager killed in his hometown.