Maybe he has no responsibility for all of this, but hes still a d-bag. 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. Her father committed suicide when she was 7 years old. Later that evening, she called her friend who she knew was having dinner with Tom and friends. 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. The following year, prison captain Alfred Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. Or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to real news you can count on. Suspicious authorities directly confront Smith after a futile nine-day search. At this time Susan was having sex with at least three men. . You are one of the few people on this earth that I feel I can tell anything. My heart breaks for what I've done to you, for your pain and for your loss. A guardrail now barricades the parking lot. Susan felt indebted to her mother and allowed her to dictate the rules. He said she slammed her hand down on the table, uttered a profanity and said, " I can't believe you think that!' Beverly Russell, a leader of the Christian Coalition at one time, and Linda Russell split up before the trial. "This case was an awful case of tragedy from the beginning. "She said, 'I'm going to give you this; I may not see you again'," Findlay recalled. 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. Even in the face of all the facts, David seemed to have some compassion for Susan. They eventually settled down in a brick starter home in Union. Either way, before you settle down with anyone again, there is something you need to do. Back in the 1990s, Susan Smith claimed a Black man kidnapped her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. According to sources close to the case, Susan has said she became jealous when Tom began necking with another woman. Why not simply give custody of the boys to their father? ", That was the bitter end of a tumultuous, too-early marriage. The jury found otherwise -- a tacit recognition that the core issue was whether Smith was mentally ill. South Carolina's definition of insanity is one of the most restrictive in the nation: it did not permit Smith to plead not guilty by reason of insanity or, more plausibly, temporary, insanity. 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. Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating. SC State House And city and county leaders, who had to work together to prepare Union for a trial-time media deluge, allied again this year. . FAVOR OPPOSE Severely abused as a child 48% 58% In an emotional state involving a lover or a family member at the time of the crime 49% 39% Temporarily insane at the time of the crime 46% 46%, 28% Only those convicted of the most brutal murders, mass murders and serial killings, 31% All those convicted of murder, especially violent crimes and major drug dealing, 17% Oppose the death penalty in all cases, Just days after receiving a Dear Jane letter from a boyfriend, Susan Smith lets Alex, 14 months, and Michael, 3, drown in John D. Long Lake. This resulted in one of the most barbaric crimes that a human being can commit: killing her own children. From extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and wildfires to the melting of polar ice caps and rising sea levels, it's clear that our planet is in trouble. He finally understood that it all resulted from Susans desire to rebuild her relationship with Tom Findlay. 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. Poinsettias will come at Christmas and bunnies at Easter, and then this time next year, as the trees begin to go auburn and gold, it will start over again, because it all began in autumn. CAPTION: Thomas Findlay, right, Susan Smith's former boyfriend, leaves courthouse. 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. a formidably shrewd 46-year-old lawyer who is deeply opposed to the death penalty. Union lost its anonymity the moment a local secretary named Susan Smith claimed a black man had hijacked her Mazda and driven off with her two little boys. ", Findlay went on to write: "Susan, I could really fall for you. She is currently based at the Leath Correctional Institution near Greenwood, South Carolina. Shortly after joining the company she was promoted to the position of executive secretary to Consos president and CEO, Carey Findlay. With the boys' at her side, Smith issues a national appeal for help. Susan Smith murdered her young sons in 1994. "That's one of the things that helped the healing process," says the Rev. One of the biggest clues that led authorities to believe Susan was lying was her story about stopping at a red light on Monarch Mills Road. Susan was devastated by the end of her relationship with Tom. Are Janelle, Christine and Meri Suing Kody Over Money From Coyote Pass? He relocated to another city and runs an art business using his first and middle name. The case of Susan Smith, the woman who killed her young sons in 1994, will be explored in the upcoming Lifetime docuseries Cellmate Secrets. ", No other details of the purported affair between Russell and Smith were disclosed, and defense attorney David Bruck underscored the revelation on cross-examination, asking, "She had had a relationship with her own stepfather, Bev Russell?". In the past nine years, Smith has been disciplined at least five times, including self-mutilation and the use and possession of narcotics or marijuana. If you want to catch a nice guy like me one day, you have to act like a nice girl. . Who knows what the future holds for our relationship. A nine-man, three-woman jury unanimously votes for life in prison. The dead boys' father, David Smith, said he and his family were "disappointed" at the verdict. They contacted two of the nation's largest newspapers, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, to suggest a news item. " "Had I been true to you in my responsibilities, you would have been stronger in yourself, not needing to be constantly supported and reassured emotionally. You are a true friend. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20358219,00.html Since she said there were no other cars on the road, there was no reason for her to see the red light. ``Thank you for being there for me through all the rough times. , filed for divorce in September 1994 and it was finalized in May 1995. Susan and Tom began dating in January 1994, however, Susan and David got back together in the spring. Susan was already familiar with such a situation and she was able to comfort David in the following months. After the birth of their second son, Alexander Tyler, on August 5, 1993, David and Susan resumed their relationship, but within three weeks David once again moved out and they decided that the relationship was over. But her composure crumbled when the diver who found her two small sons in her car at the bottom of John D. Long Lake took the stand. You will without a doubt make some lucky man a great wife. Susans biological father committed suicide when she wassix. "He that is without sin among you," Bruck said, "let him first cast a stone at her. And you know, nice girls dont sleep with married men. But like I have told you before, there are some things about you that arent suited for me, and yes, I am speaking about your children. His father attempted suicide and his mother left for another city. In 2019, 25 years after the incident, PEOPLE obtained records. In Touch Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services. . Besides, I want you to feel good about yourself, and I am afraid that if you sleep with B. Smith had told him, 'i will love you for the rest of my life.'. Findlay ended their relationship one week before Smith reported the children missing and he later gave investigators a copy of the letter in which he explained his feelings. Tom Findlay, 28, is a graphic designer who works in his father's firm. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. When it all came apart, she committed an act of savagery that defies understanding. He noted that as good as Smiths children may be, the fact was he did not want any children. This didnt seem to work, so she told him about the supposed affair with her boss, also Toms father, and warned him that the details of the relationship might come to light during the next few days. After the first sentence, insert eyes rolling in parentheses. ``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. Prosecutor Tommy Pope went into private practice in 2006 and is now a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. But they also said she suffered from a mental illness that could have affected her behavior, and one of the shrinks, Dr. Donald Morgan, startled the court by warning that Smith was clearly suicidal and might sabotage her own defense. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. The highway sign simply reads John D. Long Lake. Halleck said that she had sex with Tom Findlay, 28, the textile heir, but that he was not the main focus of her life. "I think you're involved in this thing," Caldwell told Smith in an interview that day. 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." . It was only last week that the true, terrible scope of Smith's dismal world came clear. Smiling nervously and occasionally stumbling over his words, Findlay described an emotionally volatile Smith days before she sent her car rolling into the lake with her children strapped in their car seats. But something was not right in their relationship, Susan was extremely materialistic and always borrowed money from her mother. ), A strapping, silver-haired man, Russell stunned the courtroom by admitting that his consensual involvement with Susan continued intermittently through her marriage and subsequent separation from David Smith. Ms. Smith's letter (handwritten, not dated): ``Dear Tom, ``Just a note to say thank you for everything. Well, people can change. David passed, but Susans results were inconclusive. also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. When she went on to say she had been riding around in the car singing with her sons, Caldwell said he interrupted and reminded her she earlier had described the boys as fussy that day. 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. Susans ex, Tom Findlay, ironically went on to find happiness with a girlfriend and HER TWO KIDS! Smith's supervisor, Sandra Williams, testified about the day Michael and Alex Smith disappeared. She reddened slightly and stared back at him. . Susan Smith chose to do the worst thing a mother can do and covered it up, Pope argued, pushing for the death penalty. Many sent her flowers after the trial. Susan graduated from Union High School in 1989 and went to work in the local Winn-Dixie supermarket as a checkout girl. 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. 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. ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT I am compiling information about sexual misconduct in the US correctional system for a research paper and would like to include the facts of that case, if those facts are available for review. After the interview, Susan met with Sheriff Wells for another questioning. The married man broke off their extramarital relationship and her reaction to the breakup was to attempt suicide by taking painkillers. . He has turned to his part so often the spine is creased. . Russell and Smith's mother, Linda, are separated. He admits molesting Smith before she turned 16-and then continuing a consensual sexual relationship until just weeks before the murders. ", Findlay delivered his response to Smith at work the next day, writing: "You are intelligent, beautiful, sensitive, understanding and possess many other wonderful qualities that I and many other men appreciate. In. She made a tearful plea on national television for their safe return. . If a mother who deliberately drowns her children in a pique over a failed romance doesn't deserve to die, who does? Such a position also gave her the chance to get close to her boss son, one of Unions most desired bachelors, Tom Findlay. WISTV During the marriage, Smith had several affairs, and in August, 1993, after the birth of her second son, she hooked up with her wealthy boss, Tom Findlay. These feelings may change one day, but I doubt it. He was considered twenty years ago to be the most eligible bachelor in Union, as the son of a wealthy mill owner. In fact, its probably someone that you may not know at this time or that you may know, but would never expect. In his Dear John letter, he was honest with the girl and told her they would never be together although I did think he sounds like a total D-bag (re: ..maybe somebay youll meet a nice guy like me. Whatever!). While being treated in the hospital, she admitted that she had already attempted suicide when she was thirteen. "Susan, I could really fall for you," he continued. But unfortunately, it wont be me. Susan may say that she wouldnt care (copy unintelligible) husband had an affair, but you and I know, that is not true. She was in a bit of a hurry, as her goal at the time was a new marriage to Tom. He is known to some local young women as "The Catch.". She worried about her hair and makeup in front of the television cameras and sometimes asked about Tom Findlays whereabouts. The psychiatric view was that Smith is a uniquely fragile person who had concealed her emotional conflicts for years. She wept and rocked in her seat as he described seeing "a small hand" pressed against the glass of the car window. I could never express in words how much you mean to me. Smith, now 26, is in prison in Columbia; she was sentenced in 1995 to life in prison and must serve at least 30 years. In Northern California, side grafting wasnt very successful either. "And she said, Everything.' Concerned for his safety, Findlay avoided Susan from March to September. She then became a little to obsessed when Tom Findlay sent her a Dear John letter . Actually, it "literally says" after 4 years he allowed her to leave, go shopping AND get a job. Anyhow, my advice to you is to wait and be very choosy about your next relationship. It was such an unbearable thing.". The RST series, Estamino, and Fortamino are all good choices for shorter growing seasons. 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. Watched part of youtube video on this horrific death of this young girl. . He is known to some local young women as "The Catch." Tom Findlay testified as a prosecution witness at the trial-for. Who is he to be dishing out advice? Something went wrong and their Suburban rolled into the lake. Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and is serving a life sentence in Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, S.C. Despite its steamy undertones--despite the ripe mixture of family dysfunction and sexual shenanigans-the Smith case is ultimately a story of heartbreaking human loss. Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh if he is convicted of the bombing in Oklahoma City? Actually, he is online. 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. ``But dont be discouraged. This is "a difficult letter to write because I know how much you think of me . In the years since the murders, Davidhas switchedto a career as a commercial truck driver, moved 25 miles away from Union to the town of Moore, S.C., married Tiffany in 2003 and became the father to a girl and a boy, Savannah and Nicolas. People.com Smith had stood by his estranged wife during her nine-day charade, and he said he first heard about her confession on television. , whose father owned the mill she worked at. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made. ", Paul Patrick, a florist, says, "It was a real tragedy but I don't think anybody's still dwelling on it three years later. Susan asked Sheriff Wells to pray with her, and then she began to cry and say how ashamed she felt for what she had done. ", June Miller, the clerk of court, says, "It's over and done with and we go on with our lives.". However, when he began to learn more details of the story, he came to his senses. Jurors in Susan Smith's murder trial heard the words written by an ex-boyfriend that prosecutors say drove the young mother to kill her two sons: ``I just don't want children.'' In a letter to Smith written a week before 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex were drowned in a lake, Tom Findlay described her as ``intelligent, beautiful, Susan Smith, killed her two children to marry a rich man, Sophie Lionnet case, murder followed by incineration, William Bonin, raped and murdered of a minimum of 21 young men, Mirna Salihin, poisoned by her best friend, Lisa Irwin, the baby who disappeared in her sleep, Maria Korp, murdered by her husbands mistress, Sylvia Likens: tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski, Newlyweds missing case, unsolved disappearance in Busan, JonBent Ramsey: The unsolved mystery of her death, Takahiro Shiraishi, used Twitter to lure women to his home, Lynette Dawson, a podcast can help solve the case, Megan Kanka, child murdered by her neighbor, Candace Newmaker, killed during therapy session, Junko Furuta case: raped, tortured, held captive and brutally murdered, Gaia Molinari case, the Italian tourist killed in Jericoacoara, Sarah Payne, murdered while on vacation at her grandparents home, Skylar Neese, teenager murdered by her best friends, Tanya Kach, kidnapped and locked in a room for 10 years. ``Friends Forever, (two heart-shaped designs). I remembered how I hurt Laura, and I wont let that happen again; and therefore, I cant let myself get close to you. Susan, I value our friendship very much. David felt left out. 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. Other small towns suffer their tragedies, but few as small and obscure as Union face a global press corps, sustained scrutiny, harsh self-criticism, the indignity of public grief and now, three years later, the kind of name recognition no one could want. 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. Rst series tom findlay susan smith Estamino, and Linda Russell split up before the murders great.. Carolina House of Representatives fall for you, '' says the Rev products and services happiness with girlfriend. 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