Dr. Kenny Kinsey, who was hired as a forensic crime scene analysis expert to look into the death of 19-year-oldStephen Smith, says he believes there are four or five things that could have happened to the teen.
“There’s about four or five possibilities,” Kinsey tells PEOPLE. “Number one is that Mr. Smith was killed elsewhere and dropped in the road.”
Kinsey said other options include that he was killed “at the location where he was found.”
Smith was found dead three miles away from his vehicle on July 8, 2015, in the middle of a dark country road in Hampton County, S.C., with deep gashes to his forehead. His death was initially ruled ahit-and-runaccident.
“For such a somber duty, it was a success, and they collected what they needed to collect,” says Kinsey. “They were able to examine everything they needed to examine.”
Stephen Smith and his mother, Sandy.Justice for Stephen N. Smith Family Page/Facebook
For his part, Kinsey says he is reworking “the forensic part just like it’s a brand-new scene and following up on any kind of leads, and if they’re verifiable, then I’m passing them on to [lawyers for Smith’s mother Sandy] and certainly the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.”
He has been to the location where Smith’s car was discovered as well as the spot where the openly gay teen was found dead.
“I basically reconstructed it with notes and sketches and photographs and measurements and verified everything, located the exact location where Mr. Smith came to rest,” he says. “I went to the vehicle and I traveled every possible path from A to B, through the woods, walking on the highway, walking on the shoulder of the road, driving on the highway.”
Kacen Bayless/The State/Tribune News Service via Getty
“Hopefully, we can fill in a lot of the blanks that were left that night,” he says.
Kinsey says he hopes that publicity surrounding the case will get someone to come forward.
“This isn’t going to be a blood splatter case,” he says. “This isn’t going to be a footwear case after eight years. This is going to be somebody telling. It might be the smallest information, something to get somebody talking or to refute or verify something somebody said, and that’s what this investigation needs.”
“There’s someone here that knows something no matter how small or how large,” he adds. “Ms. Smith just wants answers, she wants answers before justice. The justice part will come, but she wants answers, and hopefully someone will see what we’re doing and something’s been on their chest for eight years now. Hopefully, they’ll come forward and just share it with someone.”
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Smith was exhumed Friday morning for the second autopsy.
“The vault was then transferred into a van, and then he was escorted all the way to Florida” where the autopsy was performed, says Bland.
Bland says Stephen was re-interned in a new coffin on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday morning, Sandy Smith announced through the family’s attorneys that she is allocating a $35,000 reward from moniesraised from a GoFundMefor information leading to an arrest in connection with Stephen’s death.
source: people.com
