She is serving a life sentence in Leath Correctional institute in North Carolina after she eventually confessed to the murder of her children. 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. Unless all 12 jurors vote for a death sentence, Ms. Smith, 23, will receive life in prison. That night Susan Smith called a friend who she knew Tom was having dinner with, to ask if he spoke of her. She seduced us with a carjacking gone wrong two little boys were missing along with their mom's Mazda. A divorced father of three, Russell was a thriving stockbroker, and a member of both South Carolinas Republican community and the Christian Coalition. "In perspective, that is a glitzy operation for people born in Union who have never traveled beyond the emotional boundaries of Union County. Inside the car with the bodies of Mrs. Smith's sons -- Michael, 3 years old, and Alex, 14 months -- was a letter from the man she loved telling her that their relationship would never work, in part because of her children. 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. Prosecutors say she killed her sons to remove an obstacle to a love affair with her wealthy boss son. Christie Smith claims that while at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood County, South Carolina, she witnessed Susans drug habit first hand. Her father died by suicide when Susan was just 6 years old, and Susan herself tried to commit suicide at age 13. bore some of the responsibility of the crime, He also expressed disappointment with her sentence, local and national African American communities, said that while communicating with Smith in prison. They both came from families tormented by tragedy. A lot of people knew Susan.". However, Susan Smith didnt leave it there. [Watch Cellmate Secrets: Susan Smith on Lifetimes site and apps.]. She tried anything she could think of to get him back. Ms. Smith remained stoic during Russells half-hour on the witness stand, but he was choked with emotion. During the Smith case, Conso's strategy has been relatively straightforward: Cooperate with authorities, keep the Findlays out of the spotlight, and designate Cooney and personnel manager Sharon O'Dell to speak for the company. What Made a Mother Kill Her Young Son by Dropping Him Off a Bridge? However, Susan Smith had been followed by troubles from a very young age. Related To . "I was a good mother and I loved my boys. And is there a possibility that she could set foot into the world again one day as a free woman? Findlay painted a picture of Susan Smith as a good friend and caring mother who was also suicidal and unstable. Susan Smith, the mother who drowned her two sons in a lake in 1994 has been sending romantic letters to her boyfriends from the South Carolina prison where she is serving a life sentence. The police became suspicious of the inconsistencies in Smiths story, and facts that didnt line up. "This is an incredibly sad tale," Norwood said. 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. She knows that her parole date is four years away and she cant get parole if she isnt being good., In 2020, Melissa Moore, a crime correspondent for The Dr. Oz Show, said that while communicating with Smith in prison, she realized Smith was a joy to talk to, saying, If she did not commit those crimes, she would be your best friend.. Susan navigated that grief by keeping his coin collection and an audio recording of her fathers voice, but tried to kill herself at 13. "Conso is one fine small company," said Kay Norwood, a textile analyst for Interstate/Johnson Lane. Almost a decade later, David says he's doing well. 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. Questions and issues about this case can be found in conversation across the United States. Christie Smith, her former cellmate, says Smith paid her to procure drugs. 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. Earlier in the day, the jury heard Mrs. Smith's former lover, the son of a wealthy mill owner, confirm that he had written the letter telling Mrs. Smith that he did not want a relationship that included children. During the pregnancy, David started his own affair due to Smiths distant and irritable ways. Smith wrote David an apology letter which devolved into laments of everyone elses grief taking from her own feelings. Brynley Louise is an avid watcher of movies & television, everything from action thrillers to the occasional sappy rom com. 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. Fast forward to October 25, 1994. 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. The statement of Tom Findlay, graphic arts manager of Conso Products Company in Union, released Friday by Sharon O'Dell, human resources director for the company: "I am devastated by this tragedy. He also said he didnt anticipate the woman being freed anytime soon. Findlay was one of nine witnesses Wednesday, the second day of testimony in a trial to decide whether Susan Smith lives or dies. According to records obtained by PEOPLE, she has been disciplined at least five times since 2010 for various infractions, including self-mutilation and the use and possession of narcotics or marijuana. And I don't want to be responsible for anyone else's children, either.". America's original most-hated mom Susan Smith was found in a pool of blood in her prison cell after she slashed her wrists during one of her bizarre cutting rituals, according to reports. Susan Smith Trial: 1995 . Print length 239 pages Language English Publisher Pinnacle Publication date August 1, 1996 Dimensions 4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches ISBN-10 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. Soon, doubts about Susan Smiths sincerity grew rapidly. On October 5, 1994, an unassuming 23-year-old woman named Susan Smith seized the national spotlight when she called police to report that her two children had been kidnapped by an anonymous Black man during a carjacking. While the crime itself was unspeakable as is, the aftermath of the murders of Smith's children, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, created an almost unprecedented media frenzy at the time, a good part of it perpetrated by Smith herself. Smith's relationship with Findlay, the son of a wealthy mill owner, has provided the prosecution with its motive for the murders of her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex. There was no motive, as it was not even a planned event. Susan Smith. She told me David knew about a relationship she had had and was going to make it public, Findlay said. In addition to Findlay, several other Conso Products employees testified. Start your free 7-day trial. I was not myself," she continued. They mentioned that her children had become a major handicap in Susans choice to get what she wants. 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. In the hospital, Smith admitted when she was thirteen she had attempted to kill herself in a similar fashion. Susan was born on April 2, 1939 in Mansfield, Ohio to William D. and Helen R. (Robinson) Gibson. On Nov. 3, amid an intensive search, she confessed. 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." 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, sensitive, understanding.'' While the police and FBI continued their search, Susan and David stayed with their families. Per TIME, Smith later said the relationship continued until roughly six months before she committed murder, and later revised their relationship as "consensual.". However, support would soon turn to . Tom Findlay is the son of Cary Findlay, president of the company. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Her father killed himself when she was just six years old, and she tried to follow suit at age 13. Her trial began soon after. Newly resurfaced . "They were her world," he said. For nine days a search for her children took place. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. 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.. TOM FINDLAY'S TESTIMONY: ``To see unfolded before my eyes the principle of reaping and sowing, to lose Michael and . I could never express in words how much you mean to me. Then, learn about Alice Crimmins, the New York mom accused of killing her kids. She began sleeping with her boss's son, Tom Findlay, in January 1994. Mr. Findlay testified that when he called Mrs. Smith's house on one occasion, Mr. Smith snatched the phone from her. But more than the physical pleasure, he said, she loved feeling close, being held. Browse 35 susan smith criminal stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. But the rich, handsome 27-years-old broke things off with her in October writing Smith a letter clarifying he wasn't ready for a relationship involving kids. Only time will tell if this will aid in keeping her behind bars for good. When her mother Linda married Beverly C. Russell Jr., it seemed the familys luck was looking up. Her mother was worried about potential embarrassment. Her behavior behind bars has only made her more infamous, as shes been caught smoking marijuana and sleeping with a correctional officer. After learning about the murder of Susan Smiths children, read about Texas woman Andrea Yates drowning her kids to save them from the Devil.