Susan Smith
Encyclopedia
Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith (born September 26, 1971) is an American woman sentenced to life in prison
for murdering her children. Born in Union, South Carolina
, and a former student of the University of South Carolina Union
, she was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons
, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born October 10, 1991, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, born August 5, 1993. The case gained worldwide attention shortly after it developed, due to her claiming that a black man stole her car and kidnapped her sons. She later claimed that she suffered from mental health issues that impaired her judgment.
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections
, Smith will be eligible for parole on November 4, 2024, after serving a minimum of thirty years. She is currently incarcerated at South Carolina's Leath Correctional Institution
, near Greenwood
.
by a black man who drove away with her sons still in the car. She made tearful pleas on television for the rescue and return of her children. A Usenet
chain letter
circulated in the following days, asking Internet users to be on the lookout for the vehicle. However, following an intensive, heavily publicized investigation and a nationwide search, Smith confessed nine days later on November 3 to letting her 1990 Mazda Protegé roll into nearby John D. Long Lake, drowning her children inside. Her alleged motive for the deaths — to dispose of her children so that she might have a relationship with a wealthy local man who had no interest in a "ready-made" family — was met with widely-held contempt and revulsion.
It later emerged that investigators had been suspicious of Smith's story from the beginning and believed she had killed her own children. From the second day of the investigation, the authorities suspected that she knew where they were. It was their hope that they were still alive. Lakes and ponds began being searched, even the lake in which they were eventually found. The reason for not finding them earlier is that the authorities thought the car could have traveled out only about thirty feet and that was the extent of the search. Later, they found out that it was about sixty feet out; this was because of its speed when it entered the lake and it drifted out on top of the water for about thirty feet. She had taken a polygraph
along with her husband, David, two days after the boys disappeared. The results were inconclusive, but showed that she was lying when she said she did not know where they were. She was polygraphed during every subsequent interview with investigators, and failed that question each time. There were also no other cars near the intersection where she said the carjacking had occurred. A big break in the case had to do with her story on where she was carjacked. The particular red light at which she said she stopped is only triggered when a car is coming from the cross street. According to her, there were no other cars around so there would be no reason for her to stop at this intersection. But at last the boys were found still fastened into their car seats.
It was disclosed in her trial that Smith was molested in her teens by her stepfather, who admitted that he had molested her when she was a teenager and had consensual sex with her as an adult. Her biological father committed suicide when she was 6 years old and she very rarely had a stable home life. At 13, she attempted suicide. After graduating from high school in 1989, she made a second attempt.
At one time she was incarcerated in the Administrative Segregation Unit in the Women's Correctional Center
in Columbia, South Carolina
. While she has been in prison, two guards have been punished for having sex with Smith: Lt. Houston Cagle and Capt. Alfred R. Rowe Jr. Because of this she was moved to a prison in Greenwood where she is currently held, and in 2003 she placed a personal ad at WriteAPrisoner.com
which has since been retracted.
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for murdering her children. Born in Union, South Carolina
Union, South Carolina
Union is the county seat of Union County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 8,393 at the 2010 census.It is the principal city of the Union Micropolitan Statistical Area , an which includes all of Union County and which is further included in the greater...
, and a former student of the University of South Carolina Union
University of South Carolina Union
The University of South Carolina Union is a public university with its main campus in Columbia, South Carolina and a branch campus in Laurens. It is one of the 4 regional USC campuses and is currently a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredited two-year school in the USC System...
, she was convicted on July 22, 1995 of murdering her two sons
Filicide
Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. The word filicide derives from the Latin words filius meaning "son" or filia meaning daughter and the suffix -cide meaning to kill, murder, or cause death...
, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, born October 10, 1991, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith, born August 5, 1993. The case gained worldwide attention shortly after it developed, due to her claiming that a black man stole her car and kidnapped her sons. She later claimed that she suffered from mental health issues that impaired her judgment.
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections
South Carolina Department of Corrections
The South Carolina Department of Corrections is the agency responsible for corrections in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It currently has about 6,000 employees and 23,000 inmates, in 28 institutions. The agency has its headquarters in Columbia....
, Smith will be eligible for parole on November 4, 2024, after serving a minimum of thirty years. She is currently incarcerated at South Carolina's Leath Correctional Institution
Leath Correctional Institution
Leath Correctional Institution is a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison for women located in unincorporated Greenwood County, South Carolina, near Greenwood. Leath opened in 1991.- See also :*List of SCDC prisons- References :*...
, near Greenwood
Greenwood, South Carolina
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 22,071 at the 2000 census and had slightly increased to 22,710 according to a 2009 estimate.-Geography:...
.
The case
On October 25, 1994, Smith initially reported to police that she had been carjackedCarjacking
Carjacking is a form of hijacking, where the crime is of stealing a motor vehicle and so also armed assault when the vehicle is occupied. Historically, such as in the rash of semi-trailer truck hijackings during the 1960s, the general term hijacking was used for that type of vehicle abduction,...
by a black man who drove away with her sons still in the car. She made tearful pleas on television for the rescue and return of her children. A Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
chain letter
Chain letter
A typical chain letter consists of a message that attempts to the recipient to make a number of copies of the letter and then pass them on to as many recipients as possible...
circulated in the following days, asking Internet users to be on the lookout for the vehicle. However, following an intensive, heavily publicized investigation and a nationwide search, Smith confessed nine days later on November 3 to letting her 1990 Mazda Protegé roll into nearby John D. Long Lake, drowning her children inside. Her alleged motive for the deaths — to dispose of her children so that she might have a relationship with a wealthy local man who had no interest in a "ready-made" family — was met with widely-held contempt and revulsion.
It later emerged that investigators had been suspicious of Smith's story from the beginning and believed she had killed her own children. From the second day of the investigation, the authorities suspected that she knew where they were. It was their hope that they were still alive. Lakes and ponds began being searched, even the lake in which they were eventually found. The reason for not finding them earlier is that the authorities thought the car could have traveled out only about thirty feet and that was the extent of the search. Later, they found out that it was about sixty feet out; this was because of its speed when it entered the lake and it drifted out on top of the water for about thirty feet. She had taken a polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
along with her husband, David, two days after the boys disappeared. The results were inconclusive, but showed that she was lying when she said she did not know where they were. She was polygraphed during every subsequent interview with investigators, and failed that question each time. There were also no other cars near the intersection where she said the carjacking had occurred. A big break in the case had to do with her story on where she was carjacked. The particular red light at which she said she stopped is only triggered when a car is coming from the cross street. According to her, there were no other cars around so there would be no reason for her to stop at this intersection. But at last the boys were found still fastened into their car seats.
It was disclosed in her trial that Smith was molested in her teens by her stepfather, who admitted that he had molested her when she was a teenager and had consensual sex with her as an adult. Her biological father committed suicide when she was 6 years old and she very rarely had a stable home life. At 13, she attempted suicide. After graduating from high school in 1989, she made a second attempt.
At one time she was incarcerated in the Administrative Segregation Unit in the Women's Correctional Center
Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution
Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution is a South Carolina Department of Corrections state prison for women in Columbia, South Carolina. The Women’s Reception and Evaluation Center, which processes all females entering SCDC, is in the prison....
in Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
. While she has been in prison, two guards have been punished for having sex with Smith: Lt. Houston Cagle and Capt. Alfred R. Rowe Jr. Because of this she was moved to a prison in Greenwood where she is currently held, and in 2003 she placed a personal ad at WriteAPrisoner.com
Writeaprisoner.com
WriteAPrisoner.com is an online Florida, based business whose stated goal is to reduce recidivism through a variety of methods that include: 1) positive correspondence with pen-pals on the outside, 2) educational opportunities, 3) job placement avenues, 4) comprehensive resource guides on a...
which has since been retracted.
See also
- Andrea YatesAndrea YatesAndrea Yates is a former Houston, Texas resident who killed her five children on June 20, 2001 by drowning them in the bathtub in her house. She had been suffering for some time with very severe postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis...
- Darlie RoutierDarlie RoutierDarlie Lynn Routier is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted of murdering her young son Damon, and is currently on death row awaiting execution by lethal injection. Two of her three children, Damon and Devon, were stabbed to death in the family's home on June 6, 1996...
- Dena SchlosserDena SchlosserDena Schlosser is a Plano, Texas woman who, on November 22, 2004, amputated the arms of her eleven-month-old daughter, Margaret, with a knife. Plano police responded to a 9-1-1 call made by concerned workers at a local day care center who had spoken to Schlosser earlier that day...
- Diane DownsDiane DownsElizabeth Diane Frederickson Downs is an American convicted murderer. She shot her three children, killing one, and then told police a stranger had attempted to carjack her and had shot the children. After her conviction in 1984, she was sentenced to life in prison.Downs briefly escaped in 1987...
- La LloronaLa LloronaLa Llorona is a widespread legend in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Central America. Although several variations exist, the basic story tells of a beautiful woman by the name of Maria killing her children by drowning them, in order to be with the man that she loved. When the man rejects her, she kills...
- China P. ArnoldChina P. ArnoldChina Arnold is an American convicted murderer.Arnold, who had been convicted of abduction in 2000 and forgery in 2002, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on 8 September 2008 for killing her 28-day-old daughter, Paris...
External links
- U.S. News Year in Review - Susan Smith Trial - Dec. 28, 1995 - CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- Michael & Alexander Smith memorial at Findagrave