In November 2020, Jon Ozmint, former director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, told the New York Post that Smith will always be a manipulative person, its who she is.. 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. 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. However, Susan Smith didnt leave it there. David Smith describes his marriage with convicted murderer Susan, his coming to terms with the tragedy that cost him his two young sons, and the painful healing process of putting his life back together. In the hospital, Smith admitted when she was thirteen she had attempted to kill herself in a similar fashion. After learning about the murder of Susan Smiths children, read about Texas woman Andrea Yates drowning her kids to save them from the Devil. ``If I had known at the time what the results of my sins would be, I would have mustered the strength to behave according to my responsibility, he wrote. We can only hope. In 2000, an imprisoned Smith became embroiled in controversy again after allegedly having sex with a prison guard named Houston Cagle. I feel no sorrow for her at all! And for that she was sentenced to life in prison -- with the chance of parole. The police became suspicious of the inconsistencies in Smiths story, and facts that didnt line up. He said they had sex. She thought he tapped her phones and followed her. Soon, doubts about Susan Smiths sincerity grew rapidly. Tom Begaye Jr. left the 11-year-old child to die in the desert after "repeatedly hitting her on the head and face with a tire iron." . In fact, Smith had drowned her two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, by launching her car into the local John D. Long Lake. When her mother Linda married Beverly C. Russell Jr., it seemed the familys luck was looking up. Findlay, 28, short and balding with a pleasant face, has been the shadowy figure at the center of the Susan Smith mystery. Find the editorial stock photo of Findlay Tom Findlay Center Former Boyfriend, and more photos in the Shutterstock collection of editorial photography. As she approached John D. Long Lake, she rolled her car straight into the water, then fled the scene and left her two children to drown. Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma/Getty ImagesSusan Smith was convicted of murdering her children on July 22, 1995. Divorced now and selling the brick ranch house where Smith grew up, the 54-year-old mother and grandmother who has been portrayed as cold, controlling and hard-edged is showing her emotional. romance just days before Smith committed the crimes. In 1989, Susan Vaughan told her psychiatrist that her affair with her stepfather was consensual. Five weeks after the divorce, Smiths father killed himself. He had her removed from the office. And despite reports that Smith hasn't had the most sterling reputation as an inmate during her incarceration atthe Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina, it seems that Smith has her eyes set on her future meeting with the prison parole board. 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 . 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. At least 10 Conso employees were subpoenaed as possible witnesses, and five have testified in the trial. She began sleeping with her boss's son, Tom Findlay, in January 1994. Smith was reprimanded by her mom for making the issue public. She is eligible for parole in 2024. 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 national TV, she sobbed as she described the false kidnapping, claiming the man seized control of her car as she waited at a stoplight, then forced her out at gunpoint and drove off with her sons. Susan Smith (born Susan Vaughan) led a troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school would have noticed. Everything to Know About the Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult Leader, The True Story Behind Hulu's 'Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence', Susan Smith, in Jail for Killing Her 2 Kids, Tells New Boyfriend She Wants To 'Start Fresh' if She's Paroled, Texas Woman Accused of Strangling Best Friend, Then Stealing Her Newborn Girl Expected to Plead Guilty, Susan Smith, Serving Life Term for Killing Her 2 Kids in 1994, Sends 'Romantic' Letters to New Boyfriend, Susan Smith, in Jail for Killing Her Kids, 'Is Talking Marriage' with New Boyfriend After Release, Everything to Know About 'Real Housewives' Star Jen Shah's Fraud Case. Donna Garner is Ms. Smiths closest friend. Meanwhile, David had no idea that she suffered from depression and dependent personality disorder. Browse 35 susan smith criminal stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. 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. Findlay painted a picture of Susan Smith as a good friend and caring mother who was also suicidal and unstable. People Magazine. Almost a decade later, David says he's doing well. Then, learn about Alice Crimmins, the New York mom accused of killing her kids. Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and is serving a life sentence. (Cary Findlay . The authorities questioned both Susan and David Smith in hopes of getting some answers. Did Prince Andrew fly on Jeffrey Epsteins plane Lolita Express? According to the . UNION, S.C. UNION, S.C. -- Visibility was only about a foot when Steve Morrow, a diver searching for a missing car, floated to the Burgundy Mazda that lay upside down in the cold water of John D. Long Lake last autumn. She was strangled by her handler and lover, FBI agent Mark Putnam. Eventually, Christie realized that Susan was a master manipulator and they grew apart. Tom Findlay's letter, as gentle as it tried to be, had brought Susan Smith in direct and brutal contact with her own lies, deceit, narcissism, and lust. But testimony in Smith's murder trial has thrust Union County's biggest employer into the national spotlight. In the latest quarter, the company reported a record net income of $1.4-million on sales of $15.9-million. Smith first made headlines on Oct. 25, 1994, when she told police she had been carjacked by a Black man who had taken off with her two young sons still in her car. [2] 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. Susan was born on April 2, 1939 in Mansfield, Ohio to William D. and Helen R. (Robinson) Gibson. Tom Findlay is the son of Cary Findlay, president of the company. He sent her a lot of money.. Leaving them strapped into their car seats, she drove her car into John D. Long Lake, where they drowned to death. On cross-examination, Mrs. Smith's lawyer, David Bruck, asked Mr. Findlay whether he had ever had reason to believe that Mrs. Smith would harm her children to win him back. Even the media took off the sketch of the carjacker after a while. Working part-time at a Winn-Dixie supermarket, Susan was overwhelmed after an older, married co-worker broke off an affair with her, and swallowed an overdose of aspirin in an attempt at self-harm. Susan Smiths most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Susan hadnt been a model prisoner, as she has been disciplined five times for offenses, including for drug uses. Among those are rare examples in which mothers kill their own children. Obituary. Susan Smith may also have lived outside of Union, such as Clover, Spartanburg and 2 other cities in South Carolina. The newlyweds soon started to have fights, and as a result they were separated seven months after their marriage. ", Florida migrant flights lawsuit dismissed in wake of Legislature passing law, Editorial Cartoons for Thursday from Times Wire Services, Bucs new coordinator is confident! The notorious married mom who coldheartedly drowned her two adorable tots in 1994 has used cash from sleazy suitors and demented murder groupies to pay off prison pals to transform her into the cellblock . Brynley Louise is an avid watcher of movies & television, everything from action thrillers to the occasional sappy rom com. When Susan Smith was sixteen years old her stepfather began to treat her differently he was sexually abusing her. She told me David knew about a relationship she had had and was going to make it public, Findlay said. Published on July 9, 2021 11:53 AM. The jury has heard embarrassing testimony about Smith's affair with co-worker Tom Findlay and her claim _ which she later recanted _ that she slept with J. Cary Findlay, Tom Findlay's father and Conso's chairman. 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 was subsequently fired from his job and spent three months in jail after pleading guilty to the illicit sexual relationship. She reddened slightly and stared back at him. Following the jury's decision, David Smith, expressed his disappointment with the sentence. Susan Smith murdered her young sons in 1994. 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. Updated: 8:42 AM EDT July 18, 2003. She said that she was living in what she called a veil of tears, not wanting to live without a mother. The Susan I knew was not a vindictive person.. Its frustrating to say the least. From the moment Susan reported her kids missing, a nationwide search began for her car. Sex, Drugs and Sickness: Susan Smith's Life in Prison, 25 Years After Drowning Her Sons, Susan Smith Keeps a Photo of 2 Sons She Killed in Prison Cell, Says Source: 'Very Tortured Soul', Susan Smith Is 'Behaving Herself' in Prison After Being Disciplined for Drugs, Sex: Source, Cold Cases Heat Up: How Advances in DNA Technology Are Helping to Bring Justice for Victims, Victim of Sarah Lawrence Sex Cult Leader Who Later Became His 'Lieutenant' Gets 54 Months in Prison, Jen Shah Reports to Prison to Start Her 6.5-Year Sentence for Telemarketing Fraud Scheme, Susan Smith, in Prison for Killing Her 2 Kids, Is 'No Longer Corresponding' with Long-Distance Boyfriend, Who Is Larry Ray? She had a guy she was seeing and he used to fly up [to the prison] to see her. she says. However, support would soon turn to . In the decades since her conviction, Smith has said she regrets her crimes. Plagued by lifelong trauma, she married David Smith at 19 to start a family of her own. 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. You can also find more information, resources, and support at www.thehotline.org. The mom of two made headlines at. 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 Tribune wrote that in a letter Findlay sent breaking up with Smith, it implied that "he broke off the affair, in part . In regard to Cary Findlay giving up his job titles, he said S. Duane Southerland was hired as chief executive so Cary Findlay could spend more time on strategic planning. Start your free 7-day trial. The two boys were strapped into their car seats inside the vehicle at the time. "A passing love affair," Halleck called it. According to the magazine, however, the cards are stacked against her: aside from her status as a murderer, her criminal record which was obtained by People contained information which revealed Smith had "been disciplined at least five times for various infractions." I was not in my right mind.. Susan Smith's most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit RAINN.org for additional resources. Prosecutors said Susan drowned her boys because she wanted to be with a local wealthy bachelor, Tom Findlay. On Thursday, November 3rd, Susan told the police that her children were not alright and fell to the floor sobbing. All Filters. Online Exclusive Wife of Former Prison Guard Who Had Affair With Child Killer Susan Smith Speaks Out The wife of a former prison guard is speaking out about his past sexual affair behind bars. Era lo . She told the homeowners her car had been hijacked by a man with her sons inside. Revelations about her activity are made in Friday's episode of Lifetime's Cellmate Secrets, narrated by Angie Harmon, which airs tonight at 10 ET/9 CT. (An exclusive clip is shown below.). Three hours later, she decided that if Findlay didnt want kids, she was going to get her own children out of the picture. Defense attorney David Bruck declined to preview his presentation. He also testified that Susan Smith was intimidated by her husband. And I don't want to be responsible for anyone else's children, either.". And facts that didnt line up picture of Susan Smith criminal stock photos and images the sketch the! They grew apart following the jury & # x27 ; s son, Tom Findlay the. 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