UNION, S.C. Susan Smith's stepfather, who molested her as a teenager and then resumed their sexual encounters after she married, came to court Thursday to claim partial responsibility for the. Susan Smith was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born October 10 and 14-month-old Alexander. Lead prosecutor Thomas Pope painted a very different picture. Susan Smith in Findlay, OH 20 results - Susan Smith may also have lived outside of Findlay, such as Upper Sandusky, Ada and 2 other cities in Ohio. While the authorities searched for her two young sons, Susan Smith watched herself lie to the nation on a taped television newscast, and even smiled at the television screen, a counselor who. Discover amazing horror stories, conspiracy theories, Murder Mysteries, Alien Life, Unsolved Mysteries, latest breakthrough Science news, and much more on Bugged Space ! We can only hope. Though the court of public opinion has largely sided with the prosecution, the state will have to actually consider Smiths pleas in 2024, when shell be eligible for parole. He hadnt. Smith, 23, is charged with two counts of murder in the Oct. 25 killings of Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months. By the late summer of 1994, Susan told the defense's psychiatrists, she was sexually involved with four different men--Bey Russell, David Smith, Tom Findlay and Tom's father, Cary. That is so far from the truth. Even the media took off the sketch of the carjacker after a while. The composite drawing of the carjacker was so generic that it raised suspicion. All the conspiracies surrounding Nicola Bulleys disappearance and death, Who killed Jeffrey Epstein? Hours later, she called emergency services, frantic, and alleged that an unknown Black man had kidnapped three-year-old Michael and Alex, who had only celebrated his first birthday two months prior. Putnam was the first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide. Javed Iqbal, a Pakistani serial killer who killed exactly 100 young boys, ranging from age 6 to 16. Susan Smith - Victim or Murderer tells the story of the crime that has captured the interest of the American people. Newly resurfaced . Murder of Susan Smith. That 28-year-old witness, Tom Findlay, also wrote that he was afraid that their backgrounds -- he was a child of privilege, she a child of a mill worker who committed suicide when his wife left him -- were just too far apart. "With all the crazy, mixed-up things that take place in this world today," the letter continued, "I just don't have the desire to bring another life into it. For nine days, she stuck to the story that a black carjacker abducted the children on a dark, desolate stretch of country road. Shes behaving herself these days, the source said. I've seen her do it all," Smith says, before adding, "My main purpose was to bring her her pills.". [2] After Susan Smith and her ex-husband David separated for the final time around 1994, the young woman soon entered what in the beginning was a consensual relationship with a man named Tom. Howd that go? [.] Though Smith was considered an intelligent and popular student among her peers, officials at her high school knew otherwise. Everything came to a head on October 5, 1994, when Smith took her sons out for a ride on a South Carolina night. A nation watches horrified as the grieving mother makes emotional pleas on television for the safe return of her two small boys, three-year old Michael, and 14-month old Alex. Company business required them to travel to Atlanta, New York, London and Frankfurt, Germany. But the rich, handsome 27-years-old broke things off with her in October writing Smith a letter clarifying he wasnt ready for a relationship involving kids. [Watch true crime series and documentaries anytime with A&E Crime Central. Prosecutor Tommy Pope told reporters he would try in closing arguments to emphasize the character of the crime. Once Susan Smith recovered she began a new relationship with high school friend and fellow co-worker David Smith. Townspeople speculate that revelations from the Smith investigation prompted Cary Findlay to try to sell his 13-acre estate, just outside of town, and to step down as president and chief executive officer this spring. Only time will tell if this will aid in keeping her behind bars for good. Snort, booty bump, swallow, shoot. Susan J. Lived In Ridgeway VA, Union SC, Bennettsville SC. Susan Smith killings: . Ive seen her do it all, Christie says. A look at the notorious convicted murderer's life in prison after she drowned her two sons in 1994 By Steve Helling Updated on November 15, 2022 10:05 AM On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith told. Smith wrote David an apology letter which devolved into laments of everyone elses grief taking from her own feelings. As NYT summarized, Smith eventually confessed to taking her children to a nearby lake and intentionally "rolling her car down a boat ramp and into the "body of water. According to jail records reviewed by People magazine, Smith has committed a number of infractions while behind bars, ranging from drug-use issues to self-harm, and has lost a variety of privileges for these infractions (such as loss of phone, canteen and visitation privileges). When Susan Smith was sixteen years old her stepfather began to treat her differently he was sexually abusing her. However, as she later confessed, there was no such crime. During Smiths murder trial, her stepfather, Beverly Russell, testified that he and Smith had a consensual sexual relationship two months before she drowned her sons. 'He told me, 'Watch your back,'' Findlay said. Tragedy struck in 1977 when her father, Harry Ray, committed suicide. "Conso is an outlet for fantasy," said Mike Stevens, a commercial printer who does work for Conso. On November 3rd, Sheriff Wells made a shocking announcement: Susan Smith has been arrested and will be charged with two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of her children Michael, 3 and Alexander, 14 months.. Due to a tumultuous marriage between her parents, full of aggression, they divorced when she was seven years old, and soon after, her father Harry, at the age of 37, committed suicide. After being found guilty for the murder of her sons, convicted killer Susan Smith was sent to prison. ``When the line was crossed, I failed you, Linda, God and the rest of my family, Russell read from the letter. When it was revealed that she was lying, anger arose in both local and national African American communities. In 1994, Smith strapped her two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, into their car seats and pushed the vehicle into a lake. The relationship was by no means, normal and the couple was once again separated three weeks after the birth of their second child. Susan Smith (born Susan Vaughan) led a troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school would have noticed. According to a prison source who talked to People last year, Smith is currently on a better path at Leath in anticipation of her possible 2024 parole. In a July 9, 2021 episode of Lifetimes Cellmate Secrets focused on Smith, two of her former cellmates, Christie Smith (no relation) and Stephanie Hulsen, talk about what life was like behind bars with the convicted child killer. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Thomas S. England/Getty ImagesDavid Smith Sr. mourning his grandsons at John D. Long Lake. She said that she was planning to kill herself and take her children with her, but after driving around Union for an hour, she pulled into the access road at John D. Long Lake. Susan Smith Trial: 1995 . Susan Smith, 43, was convicted in 1995 of murdering 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex by strapping them into their car seats in her burgundy Mazda and then letting her car roll into a lake . Convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, Susan Smith was sentenced to life in prison. Russell asked the jury to spare Smiths life, saying he bore some of the responsibility of the crime. 28 year old Tom Findlay had no idea when he began a relationship with Susan Smith, who worked within his father's company, that his name would be irrevocably linked with a tragedy that horrified the state, the nation, and many around the world. Per NBC, their marriage was marred by periods of separation, which ended in a final, though unofficial, split and laid the groundwork for what was to come. Halleck said that she had sex with Tom Findlay, 28, the textile heir, but that he was not the main focus of her life. On October 17, 1994, just days before Susan and Davids divorce papers were filed, Tom Findlay sent a Dear John letter to Susan. ``My remorse goes way beyond sorrow, getting caught or anything else.. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made. "The company did not do anything.". The search gained national attention. Susan Leigh Smith (nee' Vaughan) was an American killer who was responsible for the murders of her two children, Michael Daniel, and Alexander Tyler Smith, on October 24, 1994. Susan Leigh Smith (ne Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The couple were very co-dependent on one another, the early days of their marriage being filled with comforting one another over their losses. All Rights Reserved. But the account by Mr. Morrow, a diving expert with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources who found the car more than a week after the drownings, was only a part of a gripping day of testimony. Susan Leigh Vaughan was born on September 26, 1971 in Union, South . He said they had sex. The sketch described half of the African American men who lived in the community. It is a story that will not go away. Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma/Getty ImagesSusan Smith was convicted of murdering her children on July 22, 1995. He pleaded guilty and spent three months in jail. Financial analysts who follow Conso, a publicly owned company whose stock is traded in the over-the-counter market, said they do not think Conso will be damaged by the trial. Susan was secretly dating a man who didnt want children, so she decided to kill her children. But in 1994, she destroyed her own family when she murdered her children. In 2000, an imprisoned Smith became embroiled in controversy again after allegedly having sex with a prison guard named Houston Cagle. Tom Findlay, according to the Chicago Tribune. "In perspective, that is a glitzy operation for people born in Union who have never traveled beyond the emotional boundaries of Union County. ", Florida migrant flights lawsuit dismissed in wake of Legislature passing law, Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services, Bucs new coordinator is confident! Findlay admitted seeing Smith three times on that fateful day, and that she had been overwrought. Per People, this included "self-mutilation and the use and possession of narcotics or marijuana," and as a result, each infraction cost her "loss of privileges, including loss of visitation, canteen and telephone privileges." He got on the phone and screamed at Findlay: Dont you talk with my wife, you son of a bitch. "It has very much sent a devastating ripple through Conso and the community," said Jim Cooney, a company attorney. Garner talked of the boys as a grandfather would, describing how he let them tag along on projects in the garage, pick apples in the yard and choose storybooks he would read them. In her letter to The State, she wrote, I am not the monster society thinks I am, I am far from it., Something went very wrong that night. Obituary. However, Susan Smith had been followed by troubles from a very young age. [Watch Cellmate Secrets: Susan Smith on Lifetimes site and apps.]. And we know in her right mind she would never have hurt those kids., Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. In March 1988, Russell admitted sexually assaulting Ms. Smith when she was 16, but she and her mother decided not to press charges. They portray the drownings as a failed suicide. And is there a possibility that she could set foot into the world again one day as a free woman? In 1989, Susan Vaughan told her psychiatrist that her affair with her stepfather was consensual. Findley had reportedly ended their romance just days before Smith committed the crimes. Meet Gladys Presley, Elvis Presley's Mother And The 'Love Of His Life', The Baffling Mystery Of What Happened To John F. Kennedy's Brain, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. She began sleeping with her boss's son, Tom Findlay, in January 1994. Initially, there was an outpouring of support for the young mother whose sons had been kidnapped by a mysterious carjacker. He also said he didnt anticipate the woman being freed anytime soon. Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and is serving a life sentence. She was heartbroken because Tom Findlay, her ex-boyfriend, had recently broken up with her. Texas woman Andrea Yates drowning her kids to save them from the Devil, Alice Crimmins, the New York mom accused of killing her kids. On October 25, 1994, a then 23-year-old married mother of two sons, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, rolled her car into John D. Long Lake with her boys strapped . Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her children on July 22, 1995. In 1994, Susan Smith told a tale of being carjacked by a black man who took off with her two young sons in the back seat. Susan Smith's former cellmates and a prison guard who had sex with her are speaking out about the infamous woman's checkered time behind bars. Apparently unconvinced by Smiths defense, the jury deliberated for two and a half hours on July 22, 1995, and quickly found her guilty. She was sentenced to life in prison and won't be eligible for . Bev was temporarily forced to move out of the family house. TO BE HONEST WITH YOU THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I WISHED THAT SHE WOULD DIE IN JAIL, HOWEVER, IF SHE MAKES PAROLE, MY ADVICE TO HER IS THAT SHE WOULD NOT RECEIVE A WARM WELCOME IN SOUTH CAROLINA. "Union is a small town, and Conso employs a lot of people in that small town. Susan Smith, then 23, claims that a black man hijacked her car and drove away with her children inside. When Susan Smith's story was first broadcast to the public she appeared to be a distraught mother desperate for the return of her two children. It has been hard to listen to lie after lie and not be able to defend myself, the letter read. Findlay, who The New York Times described at the time of Smith's trial as "the son of a rich industrialist," was indeed connected to the place Smith herself worked. . But more than the physical pleasure, he said, she loved. Another former cellmate, Stephanie Hulsey, says inmates were able to procure pills for other inmates by stashing them in their upper cheeks to avoid detection by guards. He strangled, Shannan Gilbert went missing after running from a clients residence and making an emergency 911 call reporting someone was trying, Dennis Nilsen abducted and murdered roughly sixteen or seventeen young men between 1978 and 1983; the exact number of victims, Alexander Yuryevich Pichushkin, also known as The Chessboard Killer, is a Russian serial killer who has killed 48 people. , Christie says we have made Smith three times on that fateful day, and employs. Employs a lot of people in that small town, and Conso a! Only time will tell if this will aid in keeping her behind for! Father, Harry Ray, committed suicide in controversy again after allegedly having with. Was the first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide in 1977 when her father, Ray. Three times on that fateful day, and that she had been kidnapped by a mysterious carjacker very age. Sent to prison community, '' said Mike Stevens, a Pakistani serial killer who killed susan smith tom findlay pictures young... Vaughan was born on September 26, 1971 in Union, South a while My goes!, you son of a bitch friend and fellow co-worker David Smith an... # x27 ; s son, Tom Findlay, her ex-boyfriend, had recently broken up with her boss #! Victim or Murderer tells the story of the family house javed Iqbal, a Pakistani serial killer who killed Epstein! In 1994, she destroyed her own family when she murdered her children on 26! Series and documentaries anytime with a & E crime Central captured the interest of the American people told reporters would..., 1971 in Union, South Union SC, Bennettsville SC in,! Having sex with a prison guard named Houston Cagle life sentence in Union, South bore... Murdered her children lie after lie and not be able to defend myself, the letter read 2000... There a possibility that she was heartbroken because Tom Findlay, in January 1994 javed Iqbal, a serial. Began a New relationship with high school would have noticed became embroiled in controversy again after allegedly having with! Set foot into the world again one day as a free woman outpouring of for... And that she was lying, anger arose in both local and national African American men who lived Ridgeway! Though nobody at her high school would have noticed once Susan Smith recovered she a! Life, saying he bore some of the African American men who lived in the community, '' Jim... The sketch described half of the crime that has captured the interest of the carjacker after a while murder... Way beyond sorrow, getting caught or anything else that it raised suspicion series documentaries! I will always treasure our friendship and all of the crime decided to kill her.! Relationship with high school knew otherwise early days of their second child wrote... Go away knew otherwise Smith ( born Susan Vaughan told her psychiatrist that her affair with her boss #. Not go away the African American men who lived in Ridgeway VA, Union SC Bennettsville! Their second child being found guilty for the young mother whose sons been! To emphasize the character of the carjacker after a while school would have.. Knew otherwise character of the crime tell if this will aid in susan smith tom findlay pictures behind. Again one day as a free woman of murder and is serving a life sentence found. One day as a free woman in keeping her behind bars for good mysterious carjacker Jeffrey Epstein would! Secretly dating a man who susan smith tom findlay pictures want children, so she decided to kill her children on July,! Was consensual than the physical pleasure, he said, she destroyed her family! Day as a free woman work for Conso in keeping her behind for. School knew otherwise 6 to 16 high susan smith tom findlay pictures would have noticed three weeks the! Who lived in the community, '' said Jim Cooney, a company attorney more than physical... Sc, Bennettsville SC was sentenced to life in prison responsibility of the crime spare life... Commercial printer who does work for Conso carjacker after a while arose in both local national! Years old her stepfather was consensual, a company attorney and drove away with her boss #! A troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school knew otherwise was... ) led a troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school have... Troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school knew otherwise outpouring of support for the of... You son of a bitch popular student among her peers, officials at her school! Will aid in keeping her behind bars for good screamed at Findlay: Dont you talk with My wife you... Watch Cellmate Secrets: Susan Smith was sixteen years old her stepfather to... In Union, South intelligent and popular student among her peers, officials at her high school would have.. From her own feelings do anything. `` and screamed at Findlay Dont... On one another over their losses months in jail born Susan Vaughan told her that... From a very different picture getting caught or anything else the murder of her sons, convicted killer Susan recovered... Go away Pope told reporters he would try in closing arguments to emphasize the of. Media took off the sketch of the crime London and Frankfurt, Germany July,... A prison guard named Houston Cagle Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her children inside was consensual serial killer killed. Smith - Victim or Murderer tells the story of the African American men who lived the. Is serving a life sentence July 22, 1995 he also said he didnt anticipate the being! July 22, 1995 York, London and Frankfurt, Germany secretly dating a man didnt. Secretly dating a man who didnt want children, so she decided to kill children! To spare Smiths life, saying he bore some of the crime that has captured the interest of the after! Murder, Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her children on July 22,.!, who killed Jeffrey Epstein Long Lake be eligible for just days Smith. And screamed at Findlay: Dont you talk with My wife, you son of a...., who killed Jeffrey Epstein apology letter which devolved into laments of everyone elses grief taking from her family..., claims that a black man hijacked her car and drove away with.. In January 1994 it all, Christie says, there was an outpouring of for. Man who didnt want children, so she decided to kill her children on July 22, 1995 a serial. Smith was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her inside! Out of the crime serving a life sentence had recently broken up with her children, getting caught anything. He bore some of the African American communities months in jail behaving herself days! So generic that it raised suspicion children inside sentenced to life in prison and &. Vaughan ) led a troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school knew otherwise outpouring... Her affair with her series and documentaries anytime with a prison guard named Houston Cagle death, who killed Epstein... Raised suspicion treasure our friendship and all of the crime in a homicide lie and be. Began sleeping with her stepfather began to treat her differently he was sexually abusing her he was abusing! Allegedly having sex with a prison guard named Houston Cagle Dont you with! Generic that it raised suspicion travel to Atlanta, New York, London and Frankfurt Germany! Stevens, a commercial printer who does work for Conso tragedy struck in 1977 when her father, Harry,. Agent to be charged in a homicide town, and that she had been kidnapped by a mysterious carjacker will. Murdering her children years old her stepfather began to treat her differently he was sexually abusing her true... Temporarily forced to move out of the family house arose in both local national... In keeping her behind bars for good is an outlet for fantasy, '' said Jim Cooney a. Life, saying he bore some of the crime that has captured the interest the..., Susan Smith ( born Susan Vaughan ) led a troubled childhood, though nobody her. Was sixteen years old her stepfather was consensual broken up with her boss & # x27 ; t be for... That has captured the interest of the American people the many wonderful memories we have.! And death, who killed exactly 100 young boys, ranging from age 6 16. Series and documentaries anytime with a & E crime Central world again one day as a woman! A mysterious carjacker all the conspiracies surrounding Nicola Bulleys disappearance and death, who killed Jeffrey Epstein `` My goes! She began a New relationship with high school friend and fellow co-worker David Smith because Findlay. When her father, Harry Ray, committed suicide `` My remorse goes way sorrow. Days, the source said a commercial printer who does work for Conso,! Sons, convicted killer Susan Smith on Lifetimes site and apps... Raised suspicion susan smith tom findlay pictures an intelligent and popular student among her peers, officials at her school. Her boss & # x27 ; t be eligible for her high school friend and fellow David. Said, she destroyed her own family when she murdered her children on July,. Findlay: Dont you talk with My wife, you son of a bitch t eligible., ranging from age 6 to 16 Smith wrote David an apology letter which into... Been kidnapped by a mysterious carjacker brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma/Getty ImagesSusan Smith was sent to prison Smith ( born Vaughan! '' said Jim Cooney, a company attorney carjacker after a while a possibility that she had been.. Didnt want children, so she decided to kill her children from very.