On Tuesday, October 25th, 1994, A mother and her two children were stopped at a traffic light after leaving their local Walmart. Before the light turned green, a gunman approached the vehicle and forced his way into the car, kicking out the desperately distraught mother and taking the car with the two children still strapped in their car seats.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Long_Lake
https://apnews.com/article/a7da0567d147567548f2d237c94fc994
https://apnews.com/article/89ccfaadabf960be2ce94fe0b0e6cecd
https://people.com/crime/susan-smith-sex-prison-guard-drug-use-lifetime-show/
On Tuesday, October 25th, 1994, A mother and her two children were stopped at a traffic light after leaving their local Walmart. Before the light turned green, a gunman approached the vehicle and forced his way into the car, kicking out the desperately distraught mother and taking the car with the two children still strapped in their car seats.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Long_Lake
https://apnews.com/article/a7da0567d147567548f2d237c94fc994
https://apnews.com/article/89ccfaadabf960be2ce94fe0b0e6cecd
https://people.com/crime/susan-smith-sex-prison-guard-drug-use-lifetime-show/
John D. Long Lake is in Union County, South Carolina.
It is a manmade 80 acre lake. It is primarily used for fishing with an abundance of bass, bluegill and catfish. The lake though calm and pretty from the shoreline has seen death. In fact 9 people have died on the lakes old boat ramp and in 1994 two more innocent lives would be taken in the lakes waters.
On Tuesday, October 25th, 1994, A mother and her two children were stopped at a traffic light after leaving their local Walmart. Before the light turned green, a gunman approached the vehicle and forced his way into the car, kicking out the desperately distraught mother and taking the car with the two children still strapped in their car seats.
The mother not knowing what to do and desperate to save her children ran to a house and pounded on the door. It was the house of the McClouds and through tears she begged for help and explained that a black male wielding a gun had carjacked her and in the process had abducted her two children.
Today Lakers we are covering the story of Susan Smith.
Susan Leigh Vaughan was born on September 26, 1971, in Union, South Carolina. Her life had been unstable from an early age. Susan was 6 years old and had already witnessed domestic violence between her parents until they finally divorced. This however did not bring about peace for Susan as After the divorce her father committed suicide. Susans mother was quick to jump back into a relationship and apparently had an eye for monsters. Life became incredibly worse after her mother married Beverly Russel and when Susan was 13 she attempted suicide. Her already very troubled life now only worse due to her step father sexually abusing her from the moment he began a relationship with Susan’s mother.
Despite her depression and unimaginable sexual abuse happening at home, Susan managed to graduate high school in 1989. However, her demons were never far off and she tried to commit suicide once again.
Susan had worked at the WinDixie since being in High School. It was there that she Met David Smith who also worked at the Windixie. David was a few years older and was actually engaged to a girl named Christy. This however did not stop him from dating Susan. When susan asked him to end things with Christy because she wanted a committed relationship, David would tell her to be patient and he would eventually break things off with christy. “Eventually” came in the form of Susan becoming pregnant at the age of 19.
This did not scare Susan, she was ecstatic with the idea of becoming a mother. She even chose her biological father’s birthday for her wedding day. David and Susan seemed to have figured things out, they moved in with his grandmother and even built a nursery. However, things were not as amazing as Susan had envisioned them to be. For one, pictures of David’s Ex’s were proudly displayed throughout his grandmother’s house and David refused to take them down. David’s mother and Father were divorced shortly after their wedding and his father attempted suicide. it was Susan who found him unconscious from an over dose….the woman whos own father died from suicide, and she had attempted to take her own life twice was now alone with her father in law doing whatever she could to get him help and keep him alive. Fortunately davids father would recover and receive the help he needed.
The day Susan gave birth to Michael her family and David’s father were all at the hospital awaiting his arrival. When it came time to deliver, Susan’s mother Linda Russel stayed in the room. This would cause an intense animosity towards her from David for the remainder of their relationship. In Linda’s book “my daughter Susan smith” she writes that she stayed because both Susan and David said it was ok. David says this isn’t true and claims that Linda was an overbearing presence in Susan’s life, dictating everything she did. After reading Linda’s book, though she stresses Susan always turned to her, I got the feeling that Linda never truly encouraged Susan to be independent.
At the same time David never encouraged Susan to be independent either. He resented when she got a job that wasn’t at the windixie where he worked. He resented when she left him and stayed at her mother’s for a while with Michael after a fight. Because David liked to control her.
David was a terrible husband to Susan. He cheated on her all of the time, even starting a full blown relationships with a girl he met. Some fights he even became violent. He was never home and when they separated, he wooed her back to him only to treat her exactly the same way. During their reconciliation Susan insisted on having a home of their own. So they scraped together what they could and bought a small house and furnished it with what they could. Susan was very proud of their accomplishment and being able to provide Michael with a home. Michaels room was decorated with mickey mouse and fun little toys. Michael loved showing off his room when family would stop by and he would point to the mickey mouse characters that lined the boarder of his bedroom.
In 1993 Susan had become pregnant with Alex. David was not happy and beraided susan for allowing herself to get pregnant. (yeaaa not how that works but ok…) During this pregnancy David met a girl named tiffany at windixie. He turned the charm on hard for her and finally began officially dating her…all while his pregnant wife and son were waiting for him at home. Susan would find out about this, not from David, not from tiffany, but by calling another girl she thought david was seeing, which in fact he was but she had ended dating the married man…not because he had a pregnant wife and kid…but because he had another girlfriend…tiffany.
The day Alexander was born Susan was scheduled for a c-section at 6am. David was gone that night and arrived to the hospital by 5 am…in Davids book, Beyond all reason My life with susan smith he admits that he had left his girlfriend tiffanys house around 4 to make it the hospital in time. How nice of you to show up David.
Shockingly Susan and Davids relationship was just about over shortly after alex was born. David moved out and Susan encouraged him to see the kids but really he showed up when he wanted sex from Susan and then would leave. In the time they were separated he only had the kids sleep at his house one night and then told susan he would never do that again because he got no sleep…
Susan began to truly spiral but despite the depression She was really trying to start a new life and take her life in a different direction and had gotten a job at Conso, she worked as a secretary for the mill owner, J. Carey Findlay. This is around the time that Susan began trying to fill this deep hole of depression and lonliness the only way she knew how. She began sleeping with her boss, she started sleeping with her step father again,
but then she met her bosses son and she was enamored with him. She started sleeping with him, but it was more than that to her. Thomas Findlay was everything she wanted. He was kind to her, he was a good friend to her, he listened and pushed her to be the best version of herself.
But there was one catch about Tom. He didn’t want kids. Tom and Susan seemed to hit it off in every other aspect, until the night he invited her to a party where some of the guests climbed into the hot tub and it was that night that Susan believed she imploded any chance with Tom. While in the hot tub, Tom was flirting with a another woman, she was single and pretty and Susan was jealous. So susan started flirting with another man, and then kissing him….except this man wasn’t single, he was married, to her friend.
Tom pulled her to the side at work the next day and told her that he would always be her friend but after that the romantic part of their relationship was over. Susan was devastated…she cried and thought of everything she could to win him back. So she wrote him a letter:
Dear Tom,
Just a note to say thank you for everything. I could never express in words how much you mean to me. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made.
I want you to know that I have never felt with anyone, the way I feel when I'm with you. I have never felt so needed. You are a very special person and that is part of why making love to you is so wonderful.
I know how you feel about our relationship and I respect that. I'm appreciative of your honesty with me. I do want us to be friends forever and I'll never let anything happen that would change that.
I do hope that we will be able to date some and be together again someday, but if we never made love again, my feelings for you would not change because having you as my friend is worth more than sex could ever be worth.
Once again, I'm sorry for Sat. night and would take it back in a (heart-shaped design) beat if I could. I really wanted to be with you and hated that I wasn't.
Thank you for being there for me through all the rough times. You are a true friend. I want you to know that I will always love and care for you for the rest of my life. You are the best friend anyone could ever have.
Well, I hope I said everything right. The bottom line is: I'm glad we are friends and if that is all we can be, then we will just have to do a hell of a job of being that. Who knows what the future holds for our relationship. I'm just going to live one day at a time.
One more thing before I go, please don't ever hesitate to call me if you ever need anything! I will always be here for you!
Friends Forever, (a heart-shaped design on each side of the words)
Susan
And Tom also responded in a note:
Dear Susan,
I hope you don't mind, but I think clearer when I am typing, so this letter is being written on my computer.
This is a difficult letter for me to write because I know how much you think of me. And I want you to know that I am flattered that you have such a high opinion of me. Susan, I value our friendship very much. You are one of the few people on this earth that I feel I can tell anything. You are intelligent, beautiful, sensitive, understanding, and possess many other wonderful qualities that I and many other men appreciate. You will, without a doubt, make some lucky man a great wife. But unfortunately, it won't be me.
Even though you think we have much in common, we are vastly different. We have been raised in two totally different environments, and therefore, think totally different. That's not to say that I was raised better than you or vice versa, it just means that we come from two different backgrounds.
When I started dating Laura, I knew our backgrounds were going to be a problem. Right before I graduated from Auburn University in 1990, I broke up with a girl (Alison) that I had been dating for over two years. I loved Alison very much and we were very compatible. Unfortunately, we wanted different things out of life. She wanted to get married and have children before the age of 28, and I did not. This conflict spurred our breakup, but we have remained friends through the years. After Alison, I was very hurt. I decided not to fall for anyone again until I was ready to make a long commitment.
For my first two years in Union, I dated very little. In fact, I can count the number of dates I had on one hand. But then Laura came along. We met at Conso, and I fell for her like "a ton of bricks." Things were great at first and remained good for along time, but I knew deep in my heart that she was not the one for me. People tell me that when you find the person that you will want to spend the rest of your life with ... you will know it. Well, even though I fell enlove with Laura, I had my doubts about a long and lasting commitment, but I never said anything, and I eventually hurt her very, very deeply. I won't do that again.
Susan, I could really fall for you. You have so many endearing qualities about you, and I think that you are a terrific person. But like I have told you before, there are some things about you that aren't suited for me, and yes, I am speaking about your children. I'm sure that your kids are good kids, but it really wouldn't matter how good they may be ... the fact is, I just don't want children. These feelings may change one day, but I doubt it. With all of the crazy, mixed-up things that take place in this world today, I just don't have the desire to bring another life into it. And I don't want to be responsible for anyone elses children, either. But I am very thankful that there are people like you who are not so selfish as I am, and don't mind bearing the responsibility of children. If everyone thought the way that I do, our species would eventually become extinct.
But our differences go far beyond the children issue. We are just two totally different people, and eventually, those differences would cause us to break-up. Because I know myself so well, I am sure of this.
But don't be discouraged. There is someone out there for you. In fact, it's probably someone that you may not know at this time or that you may know, but would never expect. Either way, before you settle down with anyone again, there is something you need to do. Susan, because you got pregnant and married at such an early age, you missed out on much of your youth. I mean, one minute you were a kid, and the next minute you were having kids. Because I come from a place where everyone had the desire and the money to go to college, having the responsibility of children at such a young age is beyond my comprehension. Anyhow, my advice to you is to wait and be very choosy about your next relationship. I can see this may be a bit difficult for you because you are a bit boy crazy, but as the proverb states "good things come to those who wait." I am not saying you shouldn't go out and have a good time. In fact, I think you should do just that ... have a good time and capture some of that youth that you missed out on. But just don't get seriously involved with anyone until you have done the things in life that you want to do, first. Then the rest will fall in place.
Susan, I am not mad at you about what happened this weekend. Actually, I am very thankful. As I told you, I was starting to let my heart warm up to the idea of us going out as more than just friends. But seeing you kiss another man put things back into perspective. I remembered how I hurt Laura, and I won't let that happen again; and therefore, I can't let myself get close to you. We will always be friends, but our relationship will never go beyond that of friendship. And as for your relationship with B. Brown, of course you have to make your own decisions in life, but remember ... you have to live with the consequences also. Everyone is held accountable for their actions, and I would hate for people to perceive you as an unreputable person. If you want to catch a nice guy like me one day, you have to act like a nice girl. And you know, nice girls don't sleep with married men. Besides, I want you to feel good about yourself, and I am afraid that if you sleep with B. Brown or any other married man for that matter, you will lose your self-respect. I know I did when we were messing around earlier this year. So please, think about your actions before you do anything you will regret. I care for you, but also care for Susan Brown and I would hate to see anyone get hurt. Susan may say that she wouldn't care if her husband had an affair, but you and I know, that is not true.
Anyhow, as I have already told you, you are a very special person. And don't let anyone tell you or make you feel any different. I see so much potential in you, but only you can make it happen. Don't settle for mediocre in life, go for it all and only settle for the best ... I do. I haven't told you this, but I am extremely proud of you for going to school. I am a firm believer in higher education, and once you obtain a degree from college, there is not stopping you. And don't let these idiot boys from Union make you feel like you are not capable or slow you down. After you graduate, you will be able to go anywhere you want in this world. And if you ever wanted to get a good job in Charlotte, my father is the right person to know. He and Koni know everyone who is anyone in the business world in Charlotte. And if I can ever help you with anything, don't hesitate to ask.
Well, this letter must come to an end. It is 11:50 p.m. and I am getting very sleepy. But I wanted to write you this letter because you are the one who is always making the effort for me, and I wanted to return the friendship. I've appreciated it when you have dropped me nice little notes, or cards, or the present at Christmas, and it is about time that I start putting a little effort into our friendship. Which reminds me, I thought long and hard about getting you something for your birthday, but I decided not to because I wasn't sure what you might think. Now I am sorry I didn't get you anything, so you can expect something from me at Christmas. But do not buy me anything for Christmas. All I want from you is a nice, sweet card ... I'll cherish that more than any store bought present.
Again, you will always have my friendship. And your friendship is one that I will always look upon with sincere affection.
Tom
Susan truly loved his letter. She cried and thanked him for it….but then David happened. During this time Susan had filed for divorce on the grounds of infidelity. David was furious that she had named Tiffany in her papers to the court. He was plotting his revenge. He would show up at her house uninvited, he took the TV from their living room, then the VCR that his son Michael used to watch his Disney movies at night. He would go to the house and go through all of their things. He would also coerce sex out of Susan, Then one night he showed up at Susans house and when he saw she was asleep on the floor next to Alex in the nursery he went through her purse and found the letter that Tom had wrote to her.
He was so excited that he could tell the court that she too was guilty of infidelity (even though they were in divorce proceedings and separated for a year) he made copies of the note and the next day placed the original back in her purse.
When Susan asked him why he looked so happy he told her all about finding the note and making copies. He also told her that he had tapped her phone and that he had her followed…He hadn’t tapped her phone but he did have her followed. He had enlisted tiffany to follow susan around and tiffany happily excepted the mission. Susan believed that her phone was tapped she believed it all. He knew about her sleeping with Toms dad, he knew about her step father…and he was going to expose it all.
Susan was completely out of her mind with anxiety and depression. On October 18th, She decided to tell Tom before he heard it from anyone else that she had slept with his dad. Of course Tom was very weirded out and upset by this. But he still offered her his friendship after all of that. But Susan knew, he would never ever love her and He would never look at her the same way.
And a week later On October 25th Susan would tell authorities her two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, were taken by a gunman who jumped into her car at a traffic light. She told police she had been at Wal-Mart before the abduction, then changed her story, saying she was just driving around.
So, From day one police did not believe Susans story. The biggest issue they had with her story was her description of the carjacking location. She claimed that a traffic light had turned red causing her to stop at the empty intersection. However, that specific 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 when she was carjacked.
Susan did tons of interviews and even David looked absolutely devastated by his sons disapearances. They begged for help to find their boys. Tips flooded in especially when the story hit Americas most wanted. A man who robbed a local convience store was looked at, a child matching alexander was called in at a local motel…turned out to be the son of one of the motels guest. A child was heard crying in the woods, none of the tips lead to anything and police were looking harder at susan. She was given two lie detector tests both of which she failed. Her house was then searched for evidence, nothing was found. On Thursday November 3rd Susan and David sat for an early morning news interview to beg again for help in finding their children. By that afternoon though, Susan could no longer bare the weight of the truth. And that afternoon she sat down with police and it was then that police found out where the boys were.
Michael and Alexander Smith were at the bottom of John D Long lake, in her car still strapped in their car seats.
In Susan’s confession she wrote:
When I left my home on Tuesday, Oct. 25, I was very emotionally distraught. I didn't want to live anymore! I felt like things could never get any worse.... I was going to ride around a little while and then go to my mom's.
As I rode and rode and rode, I felt even more anxiety coming upon me about not wanting to live. I felt I couldn't be a good mom anymore, but I didn't want my children to grow up without a mom. I felt I had to end our lives to protect us from any grief or harm.
I had never felt so lonely and so sad in my entire life. I was in love with someone very much, but he didn't love me and never would. I had a very difficult time accepting that. But I had hurt him very much, and I could see why he could never love me.
When I was at John D. Long Lake, I had never felt so scared and unsure as I did then. I wanted to end my life so bad and was in my car ready to go down that ramp into the water, and I did go part way, but I stopped. I went again and stopped. I then got out of the car and stood by the car a nervous wreck.
Why was I feeling this way? Why was everything so bad in my life? I had no answers to these questions. I dropped to the lowest point when I allowed my children to go down the ramp into the water without me.
I took off ... screaming, "Oh God! Oh God, no! What have I done? Why did you let this happen?" I wanted to turn around so bad and go back, but I knew it was too late. I was an absolute mental case! I couldn't believe what I had done.
I love my children with all my (heart). That will never change. I have prayed to them for forgiveness and hope that they will find it in their (heart) to forgive me. I never meant to hurt them!! I am sorry for what has happened and I know that I need some help. I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself for what I have done.
My children, Michael and Alex, are with our Heavenly Father now, and I know that they will never be hurt again. As a mom, that means more than words could ever say.
I knew from day one, the truth would prevail, but I was so scared I didn't know what to do. It was very tough emotionally to sit and watch my family hurt like they did. It was time to bring a peace of mind to everyone, including myself.
My children deserve to have the best, and now they will. I broke down on Thursday, Nov. 3, and told Sheriff Howard Wells the truth. It wasn't easy, but after the truth was out, I felt like the world was lifted off my shoulders.
I know now that it is going to be a tough and long road ahead of me. At this very moment, I don't feel I will be able to handle what's coming, but I have prayed to God that he give me the strength to survive each day and to face those times and situations in my life that will be extremely painful. I have put my total faith in God, and he will take care of me.
Susan was arrested that day and divers were sent to find the boys and the car. It took them some time though because they were certain that the car would be deeper in the water, when in fect it was little over 100 feet from the shoreline.
In 1995 Susan Smiths trial began. During the time inbetween the arrest and trial,David wrote a book ,where on the stand he admitted to accepting $20,000 to write the book and expected $200,000 to $300,000. Some of which he said he would donate. He spoke about how his future plans for his children had been ripped away and he didn’t know what to do now that his boys were gone. Outside of court he spoke freely of wanting the death penalty for Susan for what she had done.
In court Smith's defense psychiatrist diagnosed her with dependent personality disorder. They said “This is not a case about evil. This is a case about despair and sadness” The prosecution, however, argued that she murdered her sons in order to start a new life with Tom. The state's psychiatrist, Dr. Donald Morgan, testified that Susan would kill herself if she could. Failing that, Dr. Morgan said, she might try to sabotage her defense if she took the stand. In the end the jury found Susan guilty of two counts of murder, one for each of the little boys she left under the water of John D. Long Lake
The jury voted against imposing the death penalty.
Giving her life and a chance at parole after 30 years….and that 30 year mark is just about here. In 2024 Susan smith will be allowed the chance at parole.
Susan has spent more than half her life behind bars and even in jail she still has turned to her same methods of filling the voids of lonliness and depression that she had when she was free. Self harm, sex and drugs. In 2000, Susan was disciplined for having sex four times with 50-year-old prison guard Houston Cagle. He pleaded guilty and spent three months in jail. Former prison guard Alfred Rowe, pleaded guilty in 2001 to having sex with Susan and was sentenced to five years of probation. Twice in 2010 and once in 2015, susan was disciplined on drug charges, losing privileges for more than a year.
In a letter to the state Susan wrote:
"I am not the monster society thinks I am," "I am far from it." "I was a good mother and I loved my boys. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. I was not in my right mind."
Susan Smith has been in a long distance relationship with a man from South Carolina. I wont give anymore detail than that because he deserves his privacy. In letters she has stated that she wishes to marry him if she is parrolled.
Susan smith without question had a unstable childhood, she was sexually abused, she lost her father to suicide and she herself attempted suicide, she even witnessed her father in law try and take his own life. She never had a stable man in her life that loved her. Her husband David cheated constantly, never supported her in her dreams of bettering herself and the men she dated really only wanted sex. She was diagnosed with manic depression and dependent personality disorder which went untreated her entire life.
When I think about Susans struggles I cant help but feel for her….but when I reread her confession statement I stop….
She said “I wanted to end my life so bad and was in my car ready to go down that ramp into the water, and I did go part way, but I stopped. I went again and stopped. I then got out of the car and stood by the car a nervous wreck. I dropped to the lowest point when I allowed my children to go down the ramp into the water without me. “
So she drove to the boat ramp…she stopped….she decided she wanted to end their lives together…she started to roll again then hesitated and hit the brakes and then she rolled again and stopped again…then she put the emergency brake on and stepped out of the car….she stood there…then reached in and released the emergency brake watching her car roll into the water with her babies strapped into their carseats…then watched the car bob in the water until finally submerging.
How many times did she stop and think about the fact that she didn’t want to die that way….how many times did she have the opportunity to think what the hell am I doing?
I can’t buy the “I wasn’t in the right mind theory” because she was in a clear enough mindset when she got out of her car and saved herself. She was in a clear enough mind set when she concocted a story of a black man stealing her car and children wielding a gun….she was in a clear mind set when she constantly asked reporters to interview her….and honestly I think she liked the attention. But this all is just my opinion.
There is no denying that Susan Smith had a messed up life and struggled from mental illness….that absolutey in no way gives her an accuse for why she killed her children.
Today Susan Smith is incarcerated at leath correctional institution near greenwood South Carolina. She will be eligible for porole on November 4th, 2024.
David Smith married Tiffany in April of 2003, they have a daughter together and David has a son with another woman whom the son lives with.
Susan’s mother and Step father have divorced since the trial ended.
A monument was placed by the lake after the trial in 1995 in honor of the boys lives. It brought many visitors whom brought toys and letters to leave for them. unfortunately On Aug. 31, 1996, seven people, including a Union County family of five, drowned in the lake during a nighttime visit to the lake to look at the monument. It has now been relocated to the lakes access road. The blue granite monument features a solor panel so the glass angel on top can light up at night. There is a photo of the brothers and a poem that describes them as ``two little angels with beautiful smiles. ″ The main inscription says: ``Dedicated to the loving memory of Michael and Alex Smith, whose precious lives touched the hearts of all.″