Susan Smith

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For other people named Susan Smith, see Susan Smith (disambiguation).
Susan Smith
Susan Smith
Born
Susan Leigh Vaughan

(1971-09-26) September 26, 1971 (age 52)
Union, South Carolina, U.S.
Criminal statusIncarcerated at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood County, South Carolina
SpouseDavid Smith (1991–1995) (divorced)[1]
ChildrenMichael Daniel, born October 10, 1991 (aged 3 at death)
Alexander Tyler, born August 5, 1993 (aged 14 months at death)
Both children died October 25, 1994.
Parent(s)Linda Sue Harrison and Harry Ray Vaughan
Conviction(s)Two counts of murder
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment with a possibility of parole after 30 years

Susan Leigh Vaughan-Smith (born September 26, 1971) is an American convict who was sentenced to life in prison for filicide. Born in Union, South Carolina, she is a former student of the University of South Carolina. On July 22, 1995, she was convicted of the drowning deaths of her two sons, 3-year-old Michael Daniel Smith, and 14-month-old Alexander Tyler Smith.[2]

The case gained worldwide attention shortly after it developed, due to her false claim that a black man carjacked her and kidnapped her two sons. Her defense attorneys, David Bruck and Judy Clarke, presented expert testimony that she suffered from mental health issues that impaired her judgment when she committed the crimes.[3]

According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Smith will be eligible for parole on November 4, 2024, after serving a minimum of thirty years. She is incarcerated at South Carolina's Leath Correctional Institution, near Greenwood.[4]

The case

On October 25, 1994, Smith reported to police that her vehicle had been carjacked by a black man who drove away with her sons still in it. For nine days, she made dramatic pleas on national television for their rescue and return. However, following an intensive investigation and a nationwide search, on November 3, 1994, she confessed to letting her 1990 Mazda Protegé roll into nearby John D. Long Lake,[5] drowning the boys inside.[6] Her motivation was reportedly to be able to have a relationship with a local wealthy man, even though the latter had no intention of forming a family.[7]

Later investigation revealed that detectives always doubted Smith's testimony, and believed that she murdered her sons. On the second day of the investigation, the police, suspecting that she knew their location, hoped that they were still alive. Investigators started to search the nearby lakes and ponds, including John D. Long Lake, where their bodies were eventually found. Initial searches did not uncover the car because the police believed it would be within 30 feet off the shore, and did not search farther; it turned out to be 60 feet off-shore. After the boys were missing for two days, Smith and her estranged husband, David, were subjected to a polygraph test. The biggest breakthrough of the case was her description of the carjacking location. Smith had claimed that that a traffic light had turned red to compel her to stop at an otherwise empty intersection. However, it was determined that the signal would not have changed to red for her unless a vehicle were present on the intersecting road. This conflicted with Smith's statement that she did not see any other cars at the intersection when the carjacking took place. [8]

Smith's defense psychiatrist diagnosed her with dependent personality disorder and major depression.[9] Her father committed suicide when she was 6 years old, and she rarely had a stable home life. It was disclosed in her trial that she was molested in her teens by her stepfather, who not only admitted to it, but also revealed that he had consensual sex with her when she was an adult. At 13, she attempted suicide. After graduating from high school in 1989, she made a second attempt to end her own life.[10] She married David and had the two sons, but the relationship was rocky due to mutual allegations of infidelity, and they separated several times.

At one time, Smith was incarcerated in the Administrative Segregation Unit in the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina.[11] While she has been in prison, two correctional officers have been punished for having sex with Smith: Lt. Houston Cagle and Capt. Alfred R. Rowe, Jr.[12] Consequently, she was moved to a prison in Greenwood where she is currently held. In 2003, she placed a personal ad at WriteAPrisoner.com, which has since been retracted.[13]

1996 drownings

On the evening of September 2, 1996, a group of ten local people arrived in a GMC Suburban at John D. Long Lake, to view two monuments that had been erected to Smith's sons at the site of the boat ramp where she had drowned them. The vehicle, which had a history of transmission issues, was parked with seven people inside on an incline facing the lake, and headlights shining on the monuments. Although still in Park, it rolled down the incline and into the lake.

All seven people, five in the same family, drowned.[14] The deaths were ruled accidental.

The original Smith murders and the accidental 1996 drownings prompted calls to make changes at the lake. On November 16, 1996, the South Carolina National Resources Department made the decision to dismantle the boat ramp where both incidents occurred. Another one on the opposite side of the lake remains in use.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rekers, George (1996). Susan Smith: Victim Or Murderer. Glenbridge Publishing Ltd. pp. 12, 16. ISBN 0-944435-38-6.
  2. ^ Spitz, D.J. (2006): Investigation of Bodies in Water. In: Spitz, W.U. & Spitz, D.J. (eds): Spitz and Fisher’s Medicolegal Investigation of Death. Guideline for the Application of Pathology to Crime Investigations (Fourth edition), Charles C. Thomas, pp.: 846–881; Springfield, Illinois.
  3. ^ "Susan Smith, Mother Who Killed Kids:". NBC News. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  4. ^ "Inmate Details Susan Smith." (Page Archive, Image Archive) South Carolina Department of Corrections. Retrieved on 2007-11-22.
  5. ^ "John D. Long Lake". scgreatoutdoors.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. ^ Charles Montaldo. "Susan Smith — Profile of a Child Killer". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  7. ^ Kemp, Kathy (17 April 2005). "In The Arms of Angels" (PDF). Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama.
  8. ^ CAHILL, HARRISON (18 October 2014). "Susan Smith: 20 years later, case still a shocker". The State. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  9. ^ Child murderer or victim?
  10. ^ Pergament, Rachel. "Susan Smith Child Murderer or Victim?". truTV Crime Library. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved 24 February 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ Hewitt, Bill. "Tears of Hate & Pity." People. March 13, 1995. Volume 43, No. 10. Retrieved on October 28, 2010.
  12. ^ "Sex With Child Killer Charged Again". ABC News. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
  13. ^ Susan Smith apology, WriteAPrisoner.com, July 17, 2003.
  14. ^ Bragg, Rick (1996-09-03). "Latest Drownings Add To the Infamy of a Lake". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-02-20.
  15. ^ Press, Associated. "State orders boat ramp dismantled | chronicle.augusta.com". chronicle.augusta.com. Retrieved 2016-02-20.

Further reading

  • Eady, Cornelius (2001). Brutal Imagination. New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 978-0399147203.
  • Eftimiades, Maria (February 1995). Sins of the Mother. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-95658-5.
  • Rekers, George (September 1995). Susan Smith: Victim or Murderer. Glenbridge Publishing. ISBN 0-944435-38-6.
  • Russell, Linda; Stephens, Shirley (April 2000). My Daughter Susan Smith. Authors Book Nook. ISBN 978-0-9701076-1-9.
  • Smith, David (July 1995). Beyond All Reason: My Life With Susan Smith. Zebra. ISBN 978-0-8217-5220-3.
  • South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED); SLED Latent Print and Crime Scene Worksheet: Floatation Characteristics of 1990 Mazda Protege; May 24, 1995

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Susan_Smith&oldid=729230129"