You are a very special person and that is part of why making love to you is so wonderful. At this time Susan was having sex with at least three men. If you want to catch a nice guy like me one day, you have to act like a nice girl. David passed, but Susans results were inconclusive. They contacted two of the nation's largest newspapers, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, to suggest a news item. " Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating. Either way, before you settle down with anyone again, there is something you need to do. Susan was devastated by the end of her relationship with Tom. He broke it off sometime in March, Findlay said, after David Smith caught them talking on the phone and angrily warned him to stay away from Susan. . She will be eligible for parole in 2025 when she is 53 years old. The married man broke off their extramarital relationship and her reaction to the breakup was to attempt suicide by taking painkillers. Susan Smith's attorney, David Bruck, summed up the case as bad for all, calling it "an awful human tragedy." Join the world's news leader for an in-depth multimedia look at the top news stories of 1995. . I love writing and I also love criminal cases, nothing better than combining business with pleasure. After the interview, Susan met with Sheriff Wells for another questioning. Susans mother, Linda Russell, continuedto support her daughter,claiming as recently as five years ago thatSusan simply lost touch with reality at the momentshe murdered her sons. Tom Findlay, 28, is a graphic designer who works in his father's firm. , the woman who killed her young sons in 1994, will be explored in the upcoming Lifetime docuseries. Fox Carolina Susan seemed to be integrating high society, just like her mother Linda. Back in the 1990s, Susan Smith claimed a Black man kidnapped her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. Despite the comings and goings of their marriage, they were always present in the upbringing and education of their children. I know I did when we were messing around earlier this year. In fact, I think you should do just that. Brackett is grateful for the fellowship that grew from the Smith case. Susan Smith called the police saying that she had her car stolen by a black man who kidnapped her two young children. He said her family history was just "the abuse excuse.". They also heard from state and federal investigators who told of Smith's fake tears, curious smiles and furious outbursts as they confronted her with the mounting evidence that she was involved in the disappearance of 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex Smith. Take an eye for an eye, prosecutor Tommy Pope urged the jury. Throughout the nine-day investigation, Susan received several polygraphs and was questioned about the inconsistencies in her carjacking story. Russell has not attended the trial but may be called as a witness. Well, people can change. The story gained national attentionwith the images of 3-year-old Michaeland 1-year-old Alex flashed on television screens across the country, including images of Smith and her grieving husband, David. Thank you for the info. Where is Bev Berverly Russell? CAPTION: Thomas Findlay, right, Susan Smith's former boyfriend, leaves courthouse. Even before Susans confession, investigators already suspected her. These feelings may change one day, but I doubt it. If a mother who deliberately drowns her children in a pique over a failed romance doesn't deserve to die, who does? Caso Criminal 2023 - All rights reserved. The fruit typically ranges from 8 to 10 ounces and is smooth with no blemishes or cracks. The letter gave reasons justifying the end of the relationship. SUSAN SMITH'S LETTER TO TOM FINDLAY Dear Tom, Just a note to say thank you for everything. I remember this story well and its interesting to know how things have played out over the years. 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. She is currently serving his sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina. "We all felt like Susan was a really disturbed person," said juror Deborah Benvenuti. 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. And special thanks to my fellow true crime buffs in the True Crime Discussions group on FB, especially PAT! I do want us to be friends forever and Ill never let anything happen that would change that. Even in the face of all the facts, David seemed to have some compassion for Susan. , whose father owned the mill she worked at. Tom Findlay testified as a prosecution witness at the trial-for in the prosecution's view, he was the real reason Susan killed her boys. 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. She went to Lake John D. Long and drove up a ramp, got out of the car, put the car in movement, released the parking brake and watched the car, with her children sleeping in the back seat, sank into the lake. UNION, S.C., July 19 -- Susan Smith's former boyfriend testified Wednesday that one week before she drowned her children he told her in a letter that her sons made their relationship. The witnesses were pivotal figures in Smith's life-men she had slept with, people who'd loved her and, in the case of her ex-husband, someone whose life she had ruined. 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. In the spring, they'll plant boxwoods, build a split-rail fence and lay a gravel walkway. We have been raised in two totally different environments, and therefore, think totally different. Susan Smith's most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. He hired Smith as an assistant to his executive assistant in 1994, and she got to know his son while working at the Conso plant. Smith's lawyer, David Bruck, answered with Christ's defense of the adulterous wife in the Gospel according to John. These evil perverts should be castrated (preferably with a blunt knife). . So, where are all of the key players now, including the woman at the center of it all? Susan Smith has been returned to her tiny cell at the Women's Correctional Institution in Columbia, S.C. She has no personal possessions, no contact with other inmates and she wears only paper gowns--a precaution against suicide, because real clothes can be turned into nooses. The dramatic high pointcame when he read aloud from a letter he'd sent Susan on Father's Day, 1995, when she was already in prison. Susan stood by and watched until the car was completely submerged. In late October and early November 1994, the town of Union, S.C., ceased to be just another speck on the map. Many sent her flowers after the trial. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. Other key figures in the case have gone on to both fame and failure. Her descent began with the divorce of her parents in 1977, when Susan was 6 years old. . While being treated in the hospital, she admitted that she had already attempted suicide when she was thirteen. I was a good mother, and I loved my boys. Current Mayor Harold Thompson said while it is something the people of Union try to forget, its a part of history now., ABC News Have a tip? By September she was dating Tom Findlay again and planning their future together. On Oct. 17, according to Findlay, Smith gave him a greeting card and a handwritten letter accepting their breakup with equanimity and pledging her eternal friendship, saying, "I will always love and care for you the rest of my life. In her confession, she stated that she wanted to die and was going to her mothers house, but she gave up. To be the perfect woman for a rich man. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made. Her attitude toward the kidnapping of her children was extremely exaggerated. also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. Susan became pregnant and had an abortion. Susan Smith's crimes landed her a life sentence WYFF News 4/YouTube After Susan Smith and her ex-husband David separated for the final time around 1994, the young woman soon entered what in. In 1994, Susan sued for divorce, alleging infidelity, and David later counter-sued, also alleging infidelity. Susan told her mother and Social Services what had happened. . "Giving her the death penalty wouldn't serve justice.". Smith's mother and stepfather are still around. What was only supposed to last a few months, resulted in a promotion to accountant at the store. She claimed that she did not see any other cars on the road, but the light turned red. This happened when David and Susan's marriage was in jeopardy and had already filed for divorce. Despite Davids protests, Susan Smith was spared the death sentence and received a 30-year prison sentence. ``One more thing before I go, please dont ever hesitate to call me if you ever need anything! Excerpts from a letter Susan Smith wrote to Tom Findlay on Oct. 17, and his reply, written the same day and given to her Oct. 18. Are Janelle, Christine and Meri Suing Kody Over Money From Coyote Pass? ". Findlay, balding early, is nice-looking if not quite a hunk; he allegedly told investigators that he considered himself "a ladies' man" whose mission in life was "servicing these women." " Cladwell said Smith then began crying, said she wanted to go home, and stalked out, hollering in the hallway of the sheriff's office: "I just can't believe they think I did it.". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Susan Smiths childhood was disturbing. It was such an unbearable thing.". I will always be here for you! Tom Findlay's letter, as gentle as it tried to be, had brought Susan Smith in direct and brutal contact with her own lies, deceit, narcissism, and lust. The relationship deteriorated more and more. 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. . "She proceeded to tell me she had had an affair with her stepfather and she told me she had a sexual relationship with my father . 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. ``Susan, I could really fall for you. Ms. Smith's letter (handwritten, not dated): ``Dear Tom, ``Just a note to say thank you for everything. Tom, meanwhile, was trying to figure out how he would end his relationship with Susan. Brown (reportedly friend Benjy Brown), of course you have to make your own decisions in life, but remember you have to live with the consequences also. The most startling testimony, however, came from Smith's ex-lover, Thomas Findlay, who said aloud in open court what has been whispered in this small Southern town since Susan Smith confessed to murder last fall -- that she had been having a secret affair with her stepfather, Beverly Russell. At this point she seemed to get everything she wanted, especially about relationships with men. Michael and Alex Smith were buried together in the same casket in the Bogansville United Methodist Church cemetery on November 6, 1994, next to the grave of Davids brother and the childrens uncle, Danny Smith. Red Rocket is a determinate tomato variety that is well-suited to hot, muggy climates like those found south of Memphis. Sheriff Howard Wells took polygraph tests on David and Susan. October 10, 1991 was a happy day. After picking up her children from nursery, she stopped to chat with a friend in a parking lot and expressed her fears about Toms reaction now that he knew she had slept with his father. She seemed to be unhappy with her pregnancy, complaining almost all the time about her condition. 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. 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. Tom Findlay, who was 27 at the time of the boys' deaths and who had an affair with her while she was separated from her husband, said in . 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. According to previously secret records from a state family court, Russell began molesting Susan when she was 15. These feelings may change one day, but I doubt it. The mom of two made headlines at the time of the news due to her shocking motive and she has since been behaving herself behind bars, which means she could soon be a free woman. 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. I would hate for people to perceive you as an unreputable [sic] person. Initially, Smith told authorities a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the boys. I was not myself, she wrote in a letter to, in 2015. He noted that as good as Smiths children may be, the fact was he did not want any children. When Susan Smith's ex-boyfriend Tom Findlay climbed onto the witness stand Wednesday afternoon, he glanced quickly at her and smiled kindly. He also reiterated that at no point, he suggested that her children were the only obstacle in any potential relationship with her., Something went very wrong that night. In June 1993 he started dating a co-worker. In Northern California, side grafting wasnt very successful either. He was considered twenty years ago to be the most eligible bachelor in Union, as the son of a wealthy mill owner. If Smith in fact was rational, why risk a police investigation? They came because it was the third anniversary of the brothers' deaths. "That's one of the things that helped the healing process," says the Rev. 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. The divorce apparently led her millworker father, Harry Vaughan, to commit suicide one month later, an event that may have helped create the emotional vacuum that has haunted her ever since. 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. Who knows what the future holds for our relationship. The psychiatric view was that Smith is a uniquely fragile person who had concealed her emotional conflicts for years. Over the next several days, Findlay testified, they had a series of highly emotional conversations. She is currently based at the Leath Correctional Institution near Greenwood, South Carolina. 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. Sordid and tragic and powerfully real, Susan Smith's story begins with sex and ends with the murder of innocents. In. Please note that this form cannot be used to reset your Google or Facebook password. During her adolescence Susan became popular at school, she was a very attractive young woman and seemed to take leading positions in school activities. Susan had been a sad and introspective child. "They thought she should get a death sentence." 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