All Filters. Under South Carolina law, Smith will be eligible for parole in 30 years, although the notorious nature of her crime makes it unlikely she will ever be released. The following year, Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. 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. In the latest quarter, the company reported a record net income of $1.4-million on sales of $15.9-million. 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. . 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. "Union is a small town, and Conso employs a lot of people in that small town. Susan told her high school guidance counselor and her mother about the abuse in 1987 when she was 16. She told the homeowners her car had been hijacked by a man with her sons inside. 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. She was a leader in her schools Civitan Club, which was for volunteering to help around the community, and in her senior yearbook she was titled friendliest female. ``To see unfolded before my eyes the principle of reaping and sowing, to lose Michael and Alex, to see you and (your mother) Linda crushed. They both came from families tormented by tragedy. Susan Smith (born Susan Vaughan) led a troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school would have noticed. Susan Smith killings: . After being found guilty for the murder of her sons, convicted killer Susan Smith was sent to prison. It is highly unlikely Susan will make paroleat least not the first time, Ozmint noted. Susan Smith told the police that the car and the children were at the bottom of John Ds long lake. Once Susan Smith recovered she began a new relationship with high school friend and fellow co-worker David Smith. 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. The police became suspicious of the inconsistencies in Smiths story, and facts that didnt line up. 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. Not surprisingly, Smiths life in prison has been fairly rocky. The case attracted international attention because of her false claim that a black man had kidnapped her sons during a carjacking, but instead. Again, Smith tried to get Tom on her side by going to his office, and declaring what she had told him was a lie. The Disturbing Story Of Susan Smith, The Woman Who Drowned Her Children In A Lake. In an attempt to get a quick confession, police confronted Smith and accused her of being involved in the disappearance of Michael and Alex. Susan Smith may also have lived outside of Union, such as Clover, Spartanburg and 2 other cities in South Carolina. [2] The defense also profited from an unexpected disclosure during Mr. Findlay's testimony. On top of that, Ms. Smith later said that a cause of her depression was her breakup with Conso employee Tom . Findlay admitted seeing Smith three times on that fateful day, and that she had been overwrought. The two boys were strapped into their car seats inside the vehicle at the time. Some think Smith hoped to land one of them. When it was revealed that she was lying, anger arose in both local and national African American communities. She does not deserve to walk on the earth in which she denied her children. Russell asked the jury to spare Smiths life, saying he bore some of the responsibility of the crime. 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. She was very frightened.. He got on the phone and screamed at Findlay: Dont you talk with my wife, you son of a bitch. Well send you all the relevant quizzes, articles, polls, and news you could want to your inbox. The search gained national attention. It drew countless visitors who wanted to take . 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. As for Susan Smith, whatever we learn and eventually come to understand about the motivations behind her horrible crime, she will always remain . They portray the drownings as a failed suicide. But as police soon began to realize, the story didn't add up. Initially, there was an outpouring of support for the young mother whose sons had been kidnapped by a mysterious carjacker. She was eventually found guilty of the highly-publicized crime. Halleck said that she had sex with Tom Findlay, 28, the textile heir, but that he was not the main focus of her life. According to jail records reviewed by People magazine, Smith has committed a number of infractions while behind bars, ranging from drug-use issues to self-harm, and has lost a variety of privileges for these infractions (such as loss of phone, canteen and visitation privileges). Susan Smith later confessed that the carjacking story was false and that she had driven her Mazda into John D. Long Lake in order to drown her children. Keep on scrolling to find out more. 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. But the defense may have also profited from his testimony. Reprint. He also admitted sexually assaulting Smith when she was 16, but said that she and her mother never pressed charges. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. 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. Her trial began soon after. Putnam was the first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide. Smith hid it well. 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. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. One of the revelers, Susan Brown, still works at Conso. 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. At least 10 Conso employees were subpoenaed as possible witnesses, and five have testified in the trial. Eventually, she sent her car driving into a lake, she watched as the car with her two sons inside sank. Susan Smith falsely accused a black man of carjacking her children in 1994 Andrew Smith, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. 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. The story became international news, even landing on the cover of PEOPLE. But testimony in Smith's murder trial has thrust Union County's biggest employer into the national spotlight. As the daily interrogation proceeded, the police discovered inconsistencies in Susans story. Doctors diagnosed her with an adjustment disorder and blamed her behavior on stress. As Susan Smith and Findlay talked on the phone, David Smith jumped out of the closet. "Conso is an outlet for fantasy," said Mike Stevens, a commercial printer who does work for Conso. Mayor Jane Castors partner vowed not to lobby the city. She is serving a life sentence in Leath Correctional institute in North Carolina after she eventually confessed to the murder of her children. She would ultimately find a partner in David Smith, a fellow Winn-Dixie supermarket worker who was raised a Jehovahs Witness by strict parents. At that point, says Rowe, "She could not longer get the male attention that she used as a drug.". Susan Smith was sentenced to life in prison. I was not in my right mind.. 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." Susan Smith (born Susan Vaughan) led a troubled childhood, though nobody at her high school would have noticed. But then, she purposefully rolled her car into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina, and left them to die. (AP/Wide World Photos) Findlay admitted seeing Smith three times on that fateful day, and that she had been overwrought. Prosecutor Tommy Pope told reporters he would try in closing arguments to emphasize the character of the crime. But she changed her mind, and began driving aimlessly. She is now working as a ward keeper assistant and interacts sparingly with other guards and inmates. Susan will have a chance of parole in November 2024, and at that point shell have been behind the bars for 30 years. 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. 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. Susan Smith's most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. So what has Susan Smith's life been like for well over two decades? When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. David and Susan Smith had a rocky relationship plagued by mutual infidelity. 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. She told her mother and Social Services what was being done to her. "It has very much sent a devastating ripple through Conso and the community," said Jim Cooney, a company attorney. In 1994, Smith strapped her two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, into their car seats and pushed the vehicle into a lake. "I am far from it. And is there a possibility that she could set foot into the world again one day as a free woman? 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. He sent her a lot of money.. 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. You dont have all the guilt of this tragedy, he read from a letter he wrote Ms. Smith this past Fathers Day. When the murders occurred, Smiththen married to a man named David Smithwas involved in an extramarital relationship with a wealthy man who reportedly didnt want kids. Back in the 1990s, Susan Smith claimed a Black man kidnapped her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. At thirteen Smith attempted suicide, though nobody knew. Though shes eligible for parole in just a few short years, it remains unclear whether Smith will be able to convince a parole board to release her, given the severity of her crimes and her prior record of infractions in prison. Later that year, she attempted suicide yet again. For seven months they attempted to fix what they had, but during off spells, Smith had an affair with an old boyfriend. Tom had caught Smith in a hot tub while making out with someone elses husband at a party. 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. 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. She divulged her ongoing relationship with her stepfather, Bev, and even admitted she had an affair with Toms father. Smith, 23, is charged with two counts of murder in the Oct. 25 killings of Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months. Closing arguments in the trials penalty phase were to begin today, with jury deliberations possibly starting this afternoon. 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. 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