Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith (born September 26, 1971) is an American convict who was sentenced to life in prison for filicide. Born in Union, South Carolina, she is a former student of the University of South Carolina. On July 22, 1995, she was convicted of the drowning deaths of her two sons, three-year-old Michael Daniel Smith and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith.
The case gained international attention shortly after it developed because of Smith's false claim that an African American man had carjacked her maroon Mazda Protegé and kidnapped her sons. Her defense attorneys, David Bruck and Judy Clarke, called expert witnesses to testify that she suffered from mental health issues that impaired her judgment when she committed the crimes.
According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Smith will be eligible for parole on November 4, 2024 after serving a minimum of 30 years. She is incarcerated at South Carolina's Leath Correctional Institution, near Greenwood.
Background
Susan Smith, The Child Killer : Crime Documentary - Susan Smith is best known for her murder of her two sons in order to carry on a relationship with a man. Susan Smith was born September 26, 1971 in Union, South Carolina. Smith's childhood...
Smith's father committed suicide when she was six years old. She rarely had a stable home life. At 13, she attempted suicide. Her mother remarried, and it was disclosed during Smith's trial that the second husband had molested Smith when she was a teenager. One newspaper claimed that sexual relations between them had continued until six months before the murders.
After graduating from high school in 1989, Smith made a second attempt to end her own life. She married David Smith, and they had two sons. The relationship was rocky due to mutual allegations of infidelity, and they separated several times.
The case
On October 25, 1994, Smith reported to police that her vehicle had been carjacked by a black man who drove away with her sons still inside. For nine days, she made dramatic pleas on national television for their rescue and return. However, following an intensive investigation and a nationwide search, she confessed on November 3, 1994 to letting her car roll into nearby John D. Long Lake, drowning them inside. Her motivation was reportedly to be able to have a relationship with a local wealthy man, even though he had no intention of forming a family. Smith said that there was no motive nor did she plan the murders, stating that she was not in a right state of mind.
Later investigation revealed that detectives doubted Smith's story from the start and believed that she murdered her sons. On the second day of the investigation, the police suspected that she knew their location and hoped that they were still alive. Investigators started to search the nearby lakes and ponds, including John D. Long Lake, where their bodies eventually were found. Initial water searches did not locate the car because the police believed it would be within 30 feet of the shore, and did not search farther; it turned out to be 120 feet from the shore. After the boys were missing for two days, Smith and her estranged husband David were subjected to a polygraph test. The biggest breakthrough of the case was her description of the carjacking location. She had claimed that a traffic light had turned red causing her to stop at an otherwise empty intersection. However, it was determined that the light would not have turned red for her unless a vehicle was present on the intersecting road. This conflicted with her statement that she did not see any other cars at the intersection when the carjacking took place.
Smith's defense psychiatrist diagnosed her with dependent personality disorder and major depression.
In prison
Smith was incarcerated in the Administrative Segregation Unit in the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina. While there, two correctional officers, Lt. Houston Cagle and Capt. Alfred R. Rowe, Jr., were charged after having sex with her. Consequently, she was moved to a prison in Greenwood. In 2003, she placed a personal ad on WriteAPrisoner.com, which was later retracted.
Additional information
Alternative rock group Blind Melon wrote "Car Seat (God's Presents)," a song about Smith's murders, on their 1995 album Soup. "When This Is Over" from the 1995 album "Everything I Long For" was written by Hayden and inspired by the murders.
Smith is mentioned in Bowling for Columbine.
Congressman James Clyburn defended colleague John Conyers comparing his sexual harassment accusers to Smith.
See also
- Racial hoax
- China P. Arnold
- Diane Downs
- La Llorona
- Darlie Routier
- Dena Schlosser
- Charles Stuart (murderer)
- Andrea Yates
References
Further reading
- Eady, Cornelius (2001). Brutal Imagination. New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBNÂ 978-0399147203.Â
- Eftimiades, Maria (February 1995). Sins of the Mother. St. Martin's Press. ISBNÂ 978-0-312-95658-5.Â
- Rekers, George (September 1995). Susan Smith: Victim or Murderer. Glenbridge Publishing. ISBNÂ 0-944435-38-6.Â
- Russell, Linda; Stephens, Shirley (April 2000). My Daughter Susan Smith. Authors Book Nook. ISBNÂ 978-0-9701076-1-9.Â
- Smith, David (July 1995). Beyond All Reason: My Life With Susan Smith. Zebra. ISBNÂ 978-0-8217-5220-3.Â
- South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED); SLED Latent Print and Crime Scene Worksheet: Floatation Characteristics of 1990 Mazda Protege; May 24, 1995
External links
- U.S. News Year in Review â€" Susan Smith Trial â€" Dec. 28, 1995 â€" CNN
- Michael & Alexander Smith Memorial at Find a Grave
- Susan Smith SCDOC Inmate Details
