In a letter to Susan Smith, Tom declared he did not want kids, or to have a part in the life of Smiths kids, nor did he think she was a nice girl. Shop today Parole could be challenging for the child killer to secure, considering that in 2000, a 28-year-old Susan Smith got busted -- and picked up an STD -- after having sex with a 50-year-old prison guard four times, the Daily Mail . She and David finally filed for divorce in September of 1994, and Smith put all her attention on Tom. Smith made an emotional plea on the television for the safe return of her children. The mom of two made headlines at. ``My remorse goes way beyond sorrow, getting caught or anything else.. Closing arguments in the trials penalty phase were to begin today, with jury deliberations possibly starting this afternoon. 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 . But Cooney said the hilltop estate has been on the market for 18 months. Tom Findlay, Susan Smith's ex-lover, started a new life in Birmingham, Ala. Cary Findlay, who is Tom Findlay's father and Susan Smith's former employer, let his mansion become a. The Susan I knew was not a vindictive person.. Ms. Smith remained stoic during Russells half-hour on the witness stand, but he was choked with emotion. Distraught, Smith got her children into her car and began to drive toward her mothers house. Susan Smith had two of her own intimate relationships starting in the summer of 1998. My main purpose was to bring her pills. Brooks Kraft LLC/Sygma/Getty ImagesThe funeral of Susan Smiths kids, Michael and Alexander. For seven months they attempted to fix what they had, but during off spells, Smith had an affair with an old boyfriend. She says, You never know what someone is going through. However, she had a change of heart during filming when she received more details about Smiths crimes. Hulsen also says Smith would get a lot of money from random men and her family. However, Susan Smith didnt leave it there. The prosecution described Smith as calculating and wanting her children dead so Tom Findlay would reconsider dating her. A former state Republican Party executive committee member and Christian Coalition leader, Russell sobbed while jurors watched a videotape of him playing with Alex. On the third day of the search, there seemed to be a breakthrough. Susan D Smith, 44. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. The married man, likely worried about his mistress getting pregnant again and being told he was the father, ended their affair. Susan will have a chance of parole in November 2024, and at that point shell have been behind the bars for 30 years. They both came from families tormented by tragedy. She gained the . Fox, 82, of Findlay died at 3:39 p.m. on Saturday, January 22, 2022 at the Bridge Hospice Care Center surrounded by her loving family. 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. All rights reserved Bugged Space 2019-2022, Susan Smith and Tom Findlay; the boyfriend, Meet Andrea Yates; The Mother Who Murdered Her Children By Drowning Them One-By-One in The Bathtub, Man beats wife to death in front of kids, send a pic of the corpse. It drew countless visitors who wanted to take pictures or leave flowers for the boys, and in 1996, its grim reputation darkened even more when seven people (including four kids) drowned there, after stopping to look at the two kids memorials. 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. 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. Susan Smiths most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. 2. I could never express in words how much you mean to me. Back in the 1990s, Susan Smith claimed a Black man kidnapped her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. TOM FINDLAY'S TESTIMONY: They married on March 15th in 1991 due to Smith being pregnant. Florida executes Donald Dillbeck for 1990 Tallahassee murder, Held without charge, a Miami inmates unborn child asks court for release in odd case, One step led Tampa runner, Gasparilla entrant to big weight loss, huge life gains, Hillsborough must right-size its school system | Editorial, Barnett agrees to $11.4-million in refunds. 2. Her stepfatherbegan sexually abusing her during her high school years, per the outlet. "It has very much sent a devastating ripple through Conso and the community," said Jim Cooney, a company attorney. 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. She is not God!! Findlay told of an encounter with David Smith in March 1994, when David and Susan were separated and she and Findlay were just starting to date. While following other leads about the supposed black carjacker. 4,617 17 Nov 01, 2008 #1 SUSAN SMITH'S LETTER TO TOM FINDLAY Dear Tom, Just a note to say thank you for everything. Susan se enamor -perdidamente sera la palabra que mejor describe lo que sinti- de Tom Findlay, un diseador de 27 aos que, adems de trabajar con ella, era el hijo de su jefe. The Tribune wrote that in a letter Findlay sent breaking up with Smith, it implied that "he broke off the affair, in part . Russell was one of several relatives and friends to testify on behalf of Ms. Smith, who was convicted Saturday of rolling her car into a lake Oct. 25 with 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex strapped in their car seats. 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. Her sentence was thirty years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after the thirty years are up. I was not myself," she continued. Initially, there was an outpouring of support for the young mother whose sons had been kidnapped by a mysterious carjacker. And is there a possibility that she could set foot into the world again one day as a free woman? Susan Smith, a mother from South Carolina, was convicted of murdering her two sons by drowning them in South Carolina Lake. However, as she later confessed, there was no such crime. Her father died by suicide when Susan was just 6 years old, and Susan herself tried to commit suicide at age 13. This is what prompted Susan Smith to drown her own children. Browse from a variety of styles, sets, and sizes of women's wear for every fit and occasion. You dont have all the guilt of this tragedy, he read from a letter he wrote Ms. Smith this past Fathers Day. Tom Findlay and Smith were among five people who partied nude in a hot tub at Cary Findlay's estate Oct. 15, 10 days before the boys were drowned in a lake. 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. A death sentence means a choice of electrocution or injection. Start your free 7-day trial. As her story began to unravel, Smith admitted that there was no carjacker, and that she had let her car roll into a lake with Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, still strapped in their car seats. But more than the physical pleasure, he said, she loved feeling close, being held. Putnam was the first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide. By March of 92, the couple separated. 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. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Thomas S. England/Getty ImagesDavid Smith Sr. mourning his grandsons at John D. Long Lake. Then, learn about Alice Crimmins, the New York mom accused of killing her kids. Her father killed himself when she was just six years old, and she tried to follow suit at age 13. ``We loved those kids like they were our own, Garner said through tears. She is serving a life sentence in Leath Correctional institute in North Carolina after she eventually confessed to the murder of her children. That was more important to her than the actual act, Findlay told defense attorney David Bruck during cross-examination. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. She was later promoted to the executive secretary position, as she was dating Tom Findlay, the son of her boss. On that occasion, Mr. Findlay said, Mr. Smith threatened to hurt him if he ever called again. The man she wrote about was a graphic artist named Tom Findlay, who enthralled the court with details of a stormy relationship that came to a head on October 25, 1994. . Smith hid it well. In the latest quarter, the company reported a record net income of $1.4-million on sales of $15.9-million. Those children had a right to enjoy life, and she had no right to take life from them! Texas woman Andrea Yates drowning her kids to save them from the Devil, Alice Crimmins, the New York mom accused of killing her kids. UNION, S.C., July 25 -- A sobbing Susan Smith apologized Tuesday to her ex-husband for killing their children after he twice broke down in tears while testifying in the sentencing phase of her. Williams testified about a conversation with Susan Smith on Oct. 17, eight days before the murders: "I have a problem," Smith said. 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. Though Smith was considered an intelligent and popular student among her peers, officials at her high school knew otherwise. She said that she was living in what she called a veil of tears, not wanting to live without a mother. Linda confronted her husband about it. The parents loved their son very much, but their personality differences were putting a strain on the marriage. We can only hope. The newlyweds soon started to have fights, and as a result they were separated seven months after their marriage. He swore to never do it again and agreed to family therapy, but then kept abusing Susan who revealed as much in February 1988. Before Susan Smith had taken more than a few steps up a boat ramp after rolling her car into the lake with her two children strapped inside, she was already wondering what people would think of. From Zero to Hero: Write Your Short in 30 days, How to stream the upcoming UFC fights for free, Is Madeleine McCann alive? For nine days, she went on television, pleading tearfully for their safe return. When she was spared the death penalty, her husband stated on the courthouse steps, Ill never forget what Susan has done, and Ill never forget Michael and Alex. He also expressed disappointment with her sentence: Me and my family, of course, are disappointed that the death penalty wasnt the verdict.. But testimony in Smith's murder trial has thrust Union County's biggest employer into the national spotlight. Findlay received a salary of $214,615 last year, according to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and he controls 53 percent of Conso's stock, a chunk valued at $24-million. Only time will tell if this will aid in keeping her behind bars for good. She ran to a nearby house acting frantic. She is now working as a ward keeper assistant and interacts sparingly with other guards and inmates. "I've seen Susan do everything. In October of 1991, the Smiths welcomed their first son into the world and named him Michael. She met him on the internet. On Wednesday, for the first time, Findlay gave his view of Smith. Its frustrating to say the least. Mr. Findlay testified that when he called Mrs. Smith's house on one occasion, Mr. Smith snatched the phone from her. 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. Tom had caught Smith in a hot tub while making out with someone elses husband at a party. By Samantha Benitz The case of Susan Smith, the woman who killed her young sons in 1994, will be explored in the upcoming Lifetime docuseries Cellmate Secrets. It's been almost 30 years since Smith was put away behind bars to serve a life sentence, and she is next eligible for parole in 2024. "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. A letter. 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.. This horrified Tom even more. 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. Javed Iqbal, a Pakistani serial killer who killed exactly 100 young boys, ranging from age 6 to 16. She made a tearful plea on national television for their safe return. After graduating from high school, she then met David Smith, the man who would become the father of her two children. Mayor Jane Castors partner vowed not to lobby the city. Susan said she wasnt happy about her mother receiving all the male attention. Unbeknownst to Smith, Tom was also preparing to break up with her. The reason? 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. 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. Print length 239 pages Language English Publisher Pinnacle Publication date August 1, 1996 Dimensions 4.25 x 0.75 x 7 inches ISBN-10 https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/susan-smith-now. Warning: The following contains disturbing descriptions of violence. They assisted police by printing out thousands of missing posters and distributing photos of the kids; tying yellow ribbons around mailboxes and telephones; and scouting wooded areas on horseback. She told me David knew about a relationship she had had and was going to make it public, Findlay said. But she changed her mind, and began driving aimlessly. She attended and graduated from Lexington High School in 1957. Smith was reprimanded by her mom for making the issue public. Even now Susan Smith maintains that it was only a temporary, albeit violent, break from her normal mental state that caused her to harm her children. Defense attorney David Bruck declined to preview his presentation. According to the . When it was revealed that she was lying, anger arose in both local and national African American communities. He also testified that Susan Smith was intimidated by her husband. Susan Smith: 20 Years Later. The ex-husband of convicted child-killer SusanSmith has remarried and has two new children.David Smith appeared on C-N-N's "Larry King Live," last night. Findlay put an end to their relationship in the fall of 1994 but not before he told Smith that, per A&E, that part of their breakup had to do with the fact that he didn't want children. The thing that hurts me the most is that people think that I hurt my children in order to be with a man. 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. Her estranged husband, David Smith, appeared on The Oprah Show five years later in an emotional interview. For the unfamiliar, the murders for which Susan Smith was convicted took place in 1994, when she was 23. Susan Smith may also have lived outside of Union, such as Clover, Spartanburg and 2 other cities in South Carolina. Weeks after the birth of the second child, Alexander, the couple called it quits once more. 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. 1000s of new photos added daily. I was not myself, I was a good mother and I loved my boys. He urged a jury Thursday to spare her life, saying he bore some of the responsibility for Ms. Smith's crime. On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith trapped her 3-year-old son Michael and 14-month old son Alex in her car and rolled them into John D. Long Lake in Union County. Inside the Julia Wendall conspiracy, Did the Island Boys break up? However, after a nine-day . Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her children on July 22, 1995. Susan Smith, now 34, was 23 and estranged from David on the day she claimed that a black man had taken her car along with the kids Michael, three, and Alex, 14 months. She claimed it wasnt her lovers demands that prompted the violent acts, writing: The thing that hurts me the most is that people think that I hurt my children in order to be with a man. According to aPeople report in 2020, a source inside the prison said that Smith is "behaving herself these days." It is a story that will not go away. She told her mother and Social Services what was being done to her. 'The Susan Smith Story: A Mother's Confession' is an 'American Justice' episode that chronicles the 1994 tale of a young mother claiming that she had been a victim of a carjacking and the perpetrator had taken off with her two toddler sons still in the car. So what has Susan Smith's life been like for well over two decades? Later, she got out of the car, released the brake, and let it roll down the ramp into the lake. Tom was her bosss son, and rather rich. [4] During their breakup, Susan dated her former boyfriend, but when she found out that she was pregnant again, which seemed to bring David and her into clearer focus, the two reunited. Findlay said he felt so threatened, he slept with a handgun under his pillow. 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 . Soon after the death of her father, her mother married Beverly Russell. Id become her guppy.. 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. Susan Smith told the police that the car and the children were at the bottom of John Ds long lake. [2] "The company did not do anything.". Tom Findlay, her lover and the boss' son in the office where she worked as a secretary and earned $17,000 a year, had written her the now-infamous letter telling her he was not ready to be a father. 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. 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. 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. Why did Susan Smith drive her two sons into a lake. And because of this, Smith has become one of the more divisive and reviled criminals in the pantheon of American true crime, her name a sort of short-hand for the dark, obsessive lengths anyone will go to get what they think they want. 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. She reddened slightly and stared back at him. Christie Smith, her former cellmate, says Smith paid her to procure drugs. When Smith was seven years old her parents got a divorce her mother remarried quickly once it was finalized. David felt his wife was materialistic, and disapproved of how often she sought her mothers financial aid. Michael and Alex Smith were buried together in the same casket on November 6, 1994. The two boys were strapped into their car seats inside the vehicle at the time. He sent her a lot of money.. At home, however, he was molesting his 15-year-old stepdaughter, fondling her breasts and genitals. And for that she was sentenced to life in prison -- with the chance of parole. Findlay painted a picture of Susan Smith as a good friend and caring mother who was also suicidal and unstable. 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