She made a tearful plea on national television for their safe return. A guardrail now barricades the parking lot. In a day filled with dramatic testimony, Smith sat blank-faced as witnesses took the stand and painted a conflicting portrait of the 23-year-old defendant as a vixenish adulteress, a lovesick secretary, an abused child, a frightened wife, a skillful liar and a doting mother. I told her the intimate part of our relationship would have to end. In the past nine years, Smith has been disciplined at least five times, including self-mutilation and the use and possession of narcotics or marijuana. (The divorce was granted after her arrest. Smith was also disciplined in 2000 for having sex four times with prison guard Houston Cagle, who later pleaded guilty and spent three months behind bars for the crime. During her trial, Susans stepfather, testified that he had sexually molested his stepdaughter when she was a teenager and again in the months leading up to her drowning the boys. Copyright 2023 | We Support Phalanx Family Services & St Agatha Catholic Church, Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Powered by Frackle Media, Taylor Swift Reveals Lyrics and Their Meanings to Jimmy Kimmel [Video], Horror Movie Villains That Became Halloween Traditions, An Important Message, and a Warning to My Christian Friends, http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0, http://www.abcnews4.com/story/26887424/a-look-back-the-susan-smith-case, http://www.thomasandrewart.com/KathyKemparticle.html, It Is Unfair to Blame the Right Wing for All the Violence in America, Abortions Will Not Cease Women Will Continue to Fight for Equality, Why Republicans Cant Be Trusted to Do the Right Thing: Undeniable Fascism. At this point she seemed to get everything she wanted, especially about relationships with men. I was not in my right mind.. At 11 that night, Smith called Williams and said she wouldn't be at work the next day. The ramp led nine people to their deaths. The outcome flatly contradicts current public opinion. The familiar landmarks remain: the courthouse on Main Street, where Smith stood trial for her life; her small brick house on Toney Road (a nurse's aide now rents it from Smith's mother); Conso Products, the decorative-trim factory where Smith worked as a secretary. In June 1993 he started dating a co-worker. There was even an episode at the end of high school where Susan sought help from a school counselor. The relationship deteriorated more and more. She asks the sheriff to pray with her, then confesses to the murders and tells police where to find the boys. She keeps business cards of reporters she may never see again. It was as if Bev had acquired the right to do whatever he wanted. Smith's lawyer, David Bruck, answered with Christ's defense of the adulterous wife in the Gospel according to John. I was struck by something at the end of the piece in which you wrote, Whether Smith is granted parole remains to be seen as she has not exactly been a model prisoner after being found guilty of sexual misconduct in 2000 with two prison guards. I can find no other mentions of this conviction online and was curious where that information came from and if there are other details about that case, particularly court records/transcripts. Excerpts from a letter Susan Smith wrote to Tom Findlay on Oct. 17, and his reply, written the same day and given to her Oct. 18. "I think you're involved in this thing," Caldwell told Smith in an interview that day. "He that is without sin among you," Bruck said, "let him first cast a stone at her. UNION, S.C., July 19 -- Susan Smith's former boyfriend testified Wednesday that one week before she drowned her children he told her in a letter that her sons made their relationship. The fruit typically ranges from 8 to 10 ounces and is smooth with no blemishes or cracks. Bev was influential in the community, had good lawyers who would know how to successfully suppress situations like this. Im sure that your kids are good kids, but it really wouldnt matter how good they may be the fact is, I just dont want children. Allen, for one, doesn't need reminders. And Susan Smith thought she had him hooked. Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating. Union - isn't that where that woman drowned her babies? On the weekend of Oct. 15, Tom invited Susan to his father's estate for a hot-tub party. The following year, prison captain Alfred Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. Susan Smith's nervous paramour cast doubt today on charges that she killed her children to pursue their romance, saying Smith's anguish actually stemmed from a recent affair with her own stepfather. Keep scrolling below to find out more about Susan Smiths case, trial and to find out where she is today. According to sources close to the case, Susan has said she became jealous when Tom began necking with another woman. Before the murders, he wrote her a Dear John letter to Susan explaining why they could neverbe together, stating that he did not want children. She kept those, too. He has turned to his part so often the spine is creased. She is currently serving his sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina. He quickly pulled her out of his office. You will without a doubt make some lucky man a great wife. "There will always be something to remind each of us that such a thing happened here," she says. The highway sign simply reads John D. Long Lake. For those who've been before, the changes will show. Because of her position, she became exposed to affluent people and how the wealthy lived. That poor. . Smith's mother and stepfather are still around. night and would take it back in a (heart-shaped design) beat if I could. After the interview, Susan met with Sheriff Wells for another questioning. Such a position also gave her the chance to get close to her boss son, one of Unions most desired bachelors, Tom Findlay. The marriage was a step up: Susan and her brothers, Michael and Scotty, moved into a comfortable ranch house in Mount Vernon Estates, an upscale subdivision outside Union. He told her he felt like some kind of pervert when it happened." . Tom didnt even let Susan start talking. I am compiling information about sexual misconduct in the US correctional system for a research paper and would like to include the facts of that case, if those facts are available for review. They contacted two of the nation's largest newspapers, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, to suggest a news item. " HLNTV His father attempted suicide and his mother left for another city. Despite the family turmoil, the child was long-awaited and loved. Today on #CrimeStories: . I was not myself, she wrote in a letter to, in 2015. But I am very thankful that there are people like you who are not so selfish as I am, and dont mind bearing the responsibility of children. The previous year, Union had the festival two years to the weekend after Smith confessed to the sheriff where he could find her boys. The couple asked Linda for another loan to buy a property, but what was supposed to bring happiness only left Susan more and more distant. Maybe he has no responsibility for all of this, but hes still a d-bag. One diver described seeing the little hand of one of the children pressed against a window. Looking forward to reading more true crime articles by you. I remember this story well and its interesting to know how things have played out over the years. But unfortunately, it won't be me. State police investigator David Caldwell testified that Smith was first accused of killing her sons just a day after they disappeared. However, the case of Susan Smith highlights two distinct points of view. In Touch Weekly is part of the a360media Entertainment Group.Copyright a360media 2023. Idania Pena sent a letter from Miami: "In loving memory of two beautiful creatures that perished in the hands of the person they most trusted: their own mother. Everyone is held accountable for their actions, and I would hate for people to perceive you as an unreputable person. Chicago Tribune Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating Tom Findlay, whose father owned the mill she worked at. The dead boys' father, David Smith, said he and his family were "disappointed" at the verdict. She went to Lake John D. Long and drove up a ramp, got out of the car, put the car in movement, released the parking brake and watched the car, with her children sleeping in the back seat, sank into the lake. The Monarch Mills headlight light was always green and only turned red if it was triggered by a car on the cross street. Susan became pregnant and had an abortion. Beverly Russell, a leader of the Christian Coalition at one time, and Linda Russell split up before the trial. For. Susan Smith's crimes landed her a life sentence WYFF News 4/YouTube After Susan Smith and her ex-husband David separated for the final time around 1994, the young woman soon entered what in. I want you to know that I have never felt with anyone, the way I feel when I'm with you. What was only supposed to last a few months, resulted in a promotion to accountant at the store. He admits molesting Smith before she turned 16-and then continuing a consensual sexual relationship until just weeks before the murders. Employees of Winn-Dixie, the grocery store where David Smith worked, paid for it as a lasting tribute. Jurors in Susan Smith's murder trial heard the words written by an ex-boyfriend that prosecutors say drove the young mother to kill her two sons: ``I just don't want children.'' In a letter to Smith written a week before 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex were drowned in a lake, Tom Findlay described her as ``intelligent, beautiful, Susan herself is now in prison after being found guilty of the murders of her children in July 1995. Keep supporting great journalism by turning off your ad blocker. ", But the letters, both friendly in tone, did not reveal what witnesses described as Smith's growing anxiety or her ploys for attention from Findlay, who said she gratefully described his "Dear Susan" missive as "the sweetest letter she'd ever gotten.". 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. They planned historic-home tours, an art exhibit, a barbecue cookoff, a log-rolling contest and live bands. "We all felt like Susan was a really disturbed person," said juror Deborah Benvenuti. "There is no good outcome in this case," he said. She gained the . David felt left out. I was not ready to assume the important responsibilities of being a father, Findlay wrote in a statement issued through his lawyers. Findlay said he had begun seeing Smith again last September after she assured him that she was in the process of divorcing her husband, a 24-year-old produce worker at the local Winn-Dixie. I know I did when we were messing around earlier this year. . ``It is 11:50 p.m. and I am getting very sleepy. And your friendship is one that I will always look upon with sincere affection. also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. We are just two totally different people, and eventually, those differences would cause us to break up. (Cary Findlay has denied any involvement with Smith.) See the 'Counting On' Kids' Houses, Look How Much the Little Couple's Kids Will and Zoey Have Grown Up, Every Look From the Kardashian-Jenner Family at the 2021 Met Gala, Gabby Petito's Texts Show 'More and More Tension' With Brian Laundrie, 'Welcome to Plathville' Kim Plath's DUI Case Closed: Fine, More Details, Sister Wives Kody, Robyn Were With a Mystery Blonde: Identity Revealed, Megan Fox and MGK's Relationship Is 'Toxic': 'There Is Concern for Her', Farrah Abraham Slams Mom-Shamers Over Daughter Sophias Piercings, Jon Gosselin Is 'Open' With Kids Collin, Hannah About Their Dating Lives. . . This happened when David and Susan's marriage was in jeopardy and had already filed for divorce. "If they'd asked me, I'd have said drain the lake, shut the place down," says Cathy Allen, a Union teacher. They were buckled into their car seats when their mother stepped out, lowered the emergency brake and let the car roll down the steep ramp, into the deep water. Jurors heard Smith's love letters read aloud and watched a videotaped television interview Smith gave shortly after reporting that her two toddlers had been kidnapped by a black carjacker last Oct. 25. WISTV ", No other details of the purported affair between Russell and Smith were disclosed, and defense attorney David Bruck underscored the revelation on cross-examination, asking, "She had had a relationship with her own stepfather, Bev Russell?". Ms. Smith's letter (handwritten, not dated): ``Dear Tom, ``Just a note to say thank you for everything. Recently, someone gave them a toy truck, a tiny plastic horse, two pinwheels (one for each brother), a plaster angel kneeling in prayer, a $2 bouquet of supermarket flowers and miniature wind chimes, left to tinkle softly in the country graveyard. I remembered how I hurt Laura, and I wont let that happen again; and therefore, I cant let myself get close to you. Crime.About.com But it seems Susan just couldn't keep her lips dry, and one night Findlay found her in his own hot tub kissing another man. "Everything I had planned on, my life with my kids, was gone. But seeing you kiss another man put things back into perspective. Sordid and tragic and powerfully real, Susan Smith's story begins with sex and ends with the murder of innocents. But unfortunately, it wont be me. ", It was not her loss alone. Besides, I want you to feel good about yourself, and I am afraid that if you sleep with B. "And she said, Everything.' Susan, I value our friendship very much. Toms reaction was shock and he reiterated that the two would never have a sexual relationship again. The town of 10,000 started the event following the Susan Smith murder trial to showcase its softer side," the Journal wrote. Her attitude toward the kidnapping of her children was extremely exaggerated. TUESDAY, Oct. 18, 1994 _ Susan Smith's boyfriend, Tom Findlay, breaks off their relationship saying he doesn't want the responsibility of children. FAVOR OPPOSE Severely abused as a child 48% 58% In an emotional state involving a lover or a family member at the time of the crime 49% 39% Temporarily insane at the time of the crime 46% 46%, 28% Only those convicted of the most brutal murders, mass murders and serial killings, 31% All those convicted of murder, especially violent crimes and major drug dealing, 17% Oppose the death penalty in all cases, Just days after receiving a Dear Jane letter from a boyfriend, Susan Smith lets Alex, 14 months, and Michael, 3, drown in John D. Long Lake. On October 25, 1994, the Union native, who was 23 years old at the time, called the police and claimed an armed black man stole her car and drove off with her two sons inside. Tom Findlay, 28, is a graphic designer who works in his father's firm. Because I come from a place where everyone had the desire and the money to go to college, having the responsibility of children at such a young age is beyond my comprehension. Other testimony pointed to the deep shame that stemmed from her incestuous relationship with Russell. Findlay, a slight, balding graphic designer, appeared to exchange a quick half-smile with Smith from the stand during a break in his testimony about their brief fling, which he said began around Christmastime of 1993 and ended the following March when David Smith angrily warned him to stay away from his wife. "Susan, I could really fall for you," he continued. What more is there to say?". Her confession of pushing the car into the lake began to come out. In January 1994, Susan started dating a co-worker from her job at Conso Products Tom Findlay. "This case was an awful case of tragedy from the beginning. Susan had been a sad and introspective child. Susan Smith's most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. However, a letter sent by Tom Findlay took Susan by surprise. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window). The report says Linda later asked Beverly about Susan's story "and he didn't deny that it had happened. This year, as the bands and barbecue mavens set up, television trucks arrived on Main Street, but not for anybody's sauce recipe. ", That was the bitter end of a tumultuous, too-early marriage. Smiling nervously and occasionally stumbling over his words, Findlay described an emotionally volatile Smith days before she sent her car rolling into the lake with her children strapped in their car seats. He was considered twenty years ago to be the most eligible bachelor in Union, as the son of a wealthy mill owner. Fox Carolina Something went very wrong that night. To help restore its pride, Union leaders last year started a weekend festival. She will be eligible for parole in 2025 when she is 53 years old. The flowers came with thank-you notes. She soon became pregnant and they decided to get married. The solution for the moment seemed to be to buy a house, where everything would be different. Brown or any other married man for that matter, you will lose your self-respect. And it brought her David Bruck. As deeply depressed as she was that Tom had ended their relationship, she was still sexually involved with David - and with her step-father, Bev Russell. 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