If you want to catch a nice guy like me one day, you have to act like a nice girl. She also had dramatic moments of deep sobbing, but remained dry-eyed and tearless. She was later promoted to the executive secretary position, as she was dating Tom Findlay, the son of her boss. Williams said Smith came to her in tears that afternoon and asked to go home early. Citizens support the death penalty in general, but frequently refuse to apply it when, as in the Smith case, they are confronted with a face, a name and human frailties that, however lurid, bear at least some resemblance to their own. After the interview, Susan met with Sheriff Wells for another questioning. She was also introduced to her boss's son, Tom Findlay. . For nine days, she pleaded for the safe return of her babies while making appearances on television, only to have the, Many people believe her motive was because she was dating a man who didnt want children at the time. First were Michael, who was 3, and Alex, 14 months. The world watched as townspeople searched fields and forests; as Smith went on national television with her estranged husband, David, and pleaded for the return of their sons; and as the sheriff, after nine long days, delivered the horrible truth, that the boys weren't missing but had been murdered - not by any black man, but by Susan Smith herself. They were screaming, weren't they, and that's why you killed them?" They still credit him for containing a potentially volatile racial divide by refusing to detain the many black men who might have fit Smith's description of her hijacker. Suspicious authorities directly confront Smith after a futile nine-day search. An autopsy of the children proved that the two boys were still alive when they were submerged in the water. Around 8 pm, Susan, in desperation, puts her two children in the car. She asks the sheriff to pray with her, then confesses to the murders and tells police where to find the boys. In. Everything is different except the gently rippled lake and its thick ring of trees. Smith's supervisor, Sandra Williams, testified about the day Michael and Alex Smith disappeared. You are one of the few people on this earth that I feel I can tell anything. According to a deposition taken in March in connection with Susan and David's divorce (which became final in May), soon after she began working at Conso Products in 1993, Susan took up with. State police investigator David Caldwell testified that Smith was first accused of killing her sons just a day after they disappeared. A nine-man, three-woman jury unanimously votes for life in prison. This year, as the bands and barbecue mavens set up, television trucks arrived on Main Street, but not for anybody's sauce recipe. , filed for divorce in September 1994 and it was finalized in May 1995. They argued there was no evidence, as the defense claimed, that Smith had driven to the lake to commit suicide. Since that day twenty years ago, the town of Union, S.C. has also moved on. You will without a doubt make some lucky man a great wife. 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. 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. I wont do that again. Her mother was never good at solving her emotional problems, and her fathers suicide seemed to create a wound that never healed. Bruck had it exactly right. People.com Idania Pena sent a letter from Miami: "In loving memory of two beautiful creatures that perished in the hands of the person they most trusted: their own mother. His father attempted suicide and his mother left for another city. ``Susan, I am not mad at you about what happened this weekend. 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. During the trial's penalty phase, the courtroom became a-battleground for the two competing views of the defendant-the scheming vixen and the emotionally damaged post-adolescent. Her saga of suicide attempts and molestation and depression and marital deception is embodied in those closest to the case. At the time of the murders, Susan and David were separated and David was working at the Winn-Dixie in Union where he met his now wife, Tiffany. So, where are all of the key players now, including the woman at the center of it all? "I had a bad day," he said Smith replied. "I didn't know what to do," he said. When it all came apart, she committed an act of savagery that defies understanding. As he told it, he and Susan became lovers in early 1994. She worried about her hair and makeup in front of the television cameras and sometimes asked about Tom Findlays whereabouts. ``Once again, Im sorry for Sat. Susan Smith murdered her young sons in 1994. The marriage was a step up: Susan and her brothers, Michael and Scotty, moved into a comfortable ranch house in Mount Vernon Estates, an upscale subdivision outside Union. Im sure that your kids are good kids, but it really wouldnt matter how good they may be the fact is, I just dont want children. The familiar landmarks remain: the courthouse on Main Street, where Smith stood trial for her life; her small brick house on Toney Road (a nurse's aide now rents it from Smith's mother); Conso Products, the decorative-trim factory where Smith worked as a secretary. For. . Susan may say that she wouldnt care (copy unintelligible) husband had an affair, but you and I know, that is not true. Susan had a troubled childhood, which was plagued with suicide attempts and traumatizing events. In Northern California, side grafting wasnt very successful either. And a nation that has heard the squalid evidence about Smith's liaisons with four different men, including her own stepfather, voted 63 percent to 28 percent in a NEWSWEEK survey that she should have been put to death. Why not simply give custody of the boys to their father? Brackett is grateful for the fellowship that grew from the Smith case. . And it brought her David Bruck. The judge took into consideration the abuse suffered by the defendant. During this period, Susan had a relationship with a former co-worker, which only made the situation worse. Keep scrolling below to find out more about Susan Smiths case, trial and to find out where she is today. CAPTION: Thomas Findlay, right, Susan Smith's former boyfriend, leaves courthouse. We are the home of true crimeMade with in Brazil. The boat ramp is gone. "What's wrong?" 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. Chicago Tribune But then Laura came along. 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 around Christmastime of 1993 and ended the following March when David Smith angrily warned him to stay away from his wife. Susan Smith called the police saying that she had her car stolen by a black man who kidnapped her two young children. Susan Smith had fallen in love with her supervisor at work, Tom Findlay, a wealthy businessman, and had an affair with him. Although Russell clearly initiated sexual contact, the case file suggests Susan may have led him on. At the time David was engaged to another woman and broke it off to be with Susan. . The prosecution's main weapon was tear-drenched testimony from a vengeful David Smith, who accepted a box of tissues from Judge William Howard. The outcome flatly contradicts current public opinion. Brown or any other married man for that matter, you will lose your self-respect. In addition to Findlay, several other Conso Products employees testified. But what can we do to help? Who knows what the future holds for our relationship. HLNTV I was not in my right mind., In July 1995, Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, which is around the corner in November 2024. He encouraged Susan to act with more self-respect and referred to an episode where Susan and a friends husband were kissing in a hot tub during a party at Toms fathers house. Yet, he said Life is much better now, and noted that he is doing well. She made a tearful plea on national television for their safe return. On the weekend of Oct. 15, Tom invited Susan to his father's estate for a hot-tub party. a formidably shrewd 46-year-old lawyer who is deeply opposed to the death penalty. On Oct. 18, Findlay wrote Smith, breaking off the relationship because he did "not want the responsibility of children." Over the next week,. Fox Carolina But on Oct. 16, Findlay testified, Smith acknowledged she was not even separated from her husband. After she made emotional pleas on television for the safe return of her children, the incident gained worldwide media attention. She was told to press charges, which she refused to do. Other testimony pointed to the deep shame that stemmed from her incestuous relationship with Russell. And sometimes when her 5-year-old grandson says his prayers, he still says God bless Michael and Alex. But unfortunately, it won't be me. The psychiatric view was that Smith is a uniquely fragile person who had concealed her emotional conflicts for years. Whether Smith is granted parole remains to be seen as she has not exactly been a model prisoner afterbeing found guilty of sexual misconduct in 2000with two prison guards. ``Friends Forever, (two heart-shaped designs). A married man older than her who was an employee at the same store; another younger co-worker; and Bev, her stepfather. She was in a bit of a hurry, as her goal at the time was a new marriage to Tom. TUESDAY, Oct. 18, 1994 _ Susan Smith's boyfriend, Tom Findlay, breaks off their relationship saying he doesn't want the responsibility of children. Stunned by Susan's confession, mourners line the seven-mile route between the church and cemetery as David Smith buries his sons in a single casket, because 'they were just so close', At a press conference it was announced that Tommy Pope, an aggressive young prosecutor, would seek the death penalty if Smith was found guilty of the boys' murders, Tom Findlay, known as 'The Catch' in Union, testifies that he ended his affair with Susan clays before the murders because they weren't 'suited'--and he wasn't ready to be a father. It is the story of a woman who, to judge by the evidence ofher life, succumbed to her own molestation as a teenager and grew up to become a promiscuous, sexually exploitive adult. Please note that this form cannot be used to reset your Google or Facebook password. Susan Leigh Smith (ne Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. I remembered how I hurt Laura, and I wont let that happen again; and therefore, I cant let myself get close to you. At 11 that night, Smith called Williams and said she wouldn't be at work the next day. The jury was 11-1 in favor of life in prison when it began deliberating her sentence, and the lone hard-liner finally joined the majority. But the rich, handsome 27-years-old broke things off with her in October writing Smith a letter clarifying he wasn't ready for a relationship involving kids. "I'll never forget what Susan has done to me and my family, [and] I even have to say, to her family," Smith said. Bev was influential in the community, had good lawyers who would know how to successfully suppress situations like this. I do want us to be friends forever and Ill never let anything happen that would change that. ``It is 11:50 p.m. and I am getting very sleepy. You will, without a doubt, make some lucky man a great wife. Brazilian, 28 years old, medical professional. night and would take it back in a (heart-shaped design) beat if I could. 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