In. Susan Smith was both perpetrator and victim. This year, I am considering a few varieties for graft, Take Action Now: How You Can Fight Climate Change and Protect Our Environment, The Effects of Climate Change on Our Environment 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. ", Paul Patrick, a florist, says, "It was a real tragedy but I don't think anybody's still dwelling on it three years later. . THE BOYFRIEND'S STORY. 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. On the outside everything looked good, but Susan carried with her a big family secret. The whole family drowned, and the friends, too. However, a letter sent by Tom Findlay took Susan by surprise. The following year, prison captain. Linda and her children moved from their small modest home to Bevs house, located in a great location in Union. Now, at Foster Park, there's a new set of playground equipment, and a marker, in memory of the Smith boys. So is Sheriff Howard Wells, whose office wall is crowded with photographs and certificates of gratitude, not only for his integrity, but for coming across on camera as a noble representative of Union and South Carolina. I could never express in words how much you mean to me. ``Friends Forever, (two heart-shaped designs). But what can we do to help? Chicago Tribune 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. . Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating Tom Findlay, whose father owned the mill she worked at. "Every time we think it's all behind us, it comes up again," says June Miller, Union County's longtime clerk of court. Due to a tumultuous marriage between her parents, full of aggression, they divorced when she was seven years old, and soon after, her father Harry, at the age of 37, committed suicide. David never questioned the paternity of the child despite their separation. They planned historic-home tours, an art exhibit, a barbecue cookoff, a log-rolling contest and live bands. The letter gave reasons justifying the end of the relationship. "There is no good outcome in this case," he said. However, RST 106 on large potato leaved types did well when grown in grow bags. Other key figures in the case have gone on to both fame and failure. "We agreed the intimate part of our relationship should be postponed till she was divorced," Findlay testified. Sheriff Howard Wells took polygraph tests on David and Susan. Find the editorial stock photo of Findlay Tom Findlay Center Former Boyfriend, and more photos in the Shutterstock collection of editorial photography. She began sleeping with her boss's son, Tom Findlay, in January 1994. So the trial result is likely to divide Americans just as it divides Union, S.C. "A lot of people in Union are not feeling too good," said Christine Bird, one of many residents who gathered at the courthouse to hear the decision. 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. The contempt for Susan was overwhelming, not only because of the racial tension triggered by the false accusation of a black man, but because her motive was extremely futile and selfish: to get rid of her children in order to maintain a relationship with a rich man. Who knows what the future holds for our relationship. She flirted with another man, and Tom, to judge by the Dear Jane letter he sent her two days later, was at least somewhat offended. By September she was dating Tom Findlay again and planning their future together. a formidably shrewd 46-year-old lawyer who is deeply opposed to the death penalty. Take an eye for an eye, prosecutor Tommy Pope urged the jury. And as for your relationship with B. Susan became famous for the brutality and coldness with which she killed her two children. She is currently serving his sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina. They were buckled into their car seats when their mother stepped out, lowered the emergency brake and let the car roll down the steep ramp, into the deep water. Because of her position, she became exposed to affluent people and how the wealthy lived. After the interview, Susan met with Sheriff Wells for another questioning. 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. Concerned for his safety, Findlay avoided Susan from March to September. We met at Conso (the company Findlays father operates, where Ms. Smith also worked), and I fell for her like `a ton of bricks. Well, even though I fell enlove (sic) 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. On the other hand, he sounds quite narcissistic and preachy in his Dear John letter, and he isnt even attractive. 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. Her melodramatic case had placed her squarely in the limelight since Oct. 25, 1994, the day she reported Michael and Alex abducted by a car-jacker. Bev was influential in the community, had good lawyers who would know how to successfully suppress situations like this. "She said, 'I'm going to give you this; I may not see you again'," Findlay recalled. Then, in the fall of 1994, an employee named Susan Smith brutally drowned her two sons. Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating. . 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. But the marriage slowly un-raveled. Sources Smith ended her young boys lives by letting her 1990 Mazda roll into a South Carolina lake with both 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander strapped into their car seats. The fact is, I just don't want children. ", The urge to kill in the name of justice poses infernally tricky issues-and the outcome in the Smith case may be the clearest evidence yet of America's persistent ambivalence about capital punishment. Many people believe her motive was because she was dating a man who didnt want children at the time. The following year, prison captain Alfred Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years probation. But just dont get seriously involved with anyone until you have done the things in life that you want to do, first. But I am very thankful that there are people like you who are not so selfish as I am, and dont mind bearing the responsibility of children. With the promotion came a new life for Susan. At the lake where they died, a little girl from Monroe, N.C., left a stuffed scarecrow and a pumpkin made of cornhusks. ``But our differences go far beyond the children issue. ``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. In 1994, Smith strapped her two sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, into their car seats and pushed the vehicle into a lake. Davids parents were grieving the recent loss of another son who died of Crohns disease just 11 days before Susan and Davids wedding. Such a position also gave her the chance to get close to her boss son, one of Unions most desired bachelors, Tom Findlay. In fact, its probably someone that you may not know at this time or that you may know, but would never expect. Source: http://www.thomasandrewart.com/KathyKemparticle.html. Susan had asked if Tom had said anything about her, but he didnt say anything. Everything is different except the gently rippled lake and its thick ring of trees. . My heart breaks for what I've done to you, for your pain and for your loss. David Smith worked in the store as a produce clerk. "Susan, I am not mad at you about what happened" at the hot-tub party, Findlay wrote. In late October and early November 1994, the town of Union, S.C., ceased to be just another speck on the map. She reddened slightly and stared back at him. While being treated in the hospital, she admitted that she had already attempted suicide when she was thirteen. On Oct. 18, Findlay wrote Smith, breaking off the relationship because he did "not want the responsibility of children." Over the next week,. For court records, I would make a request to Union County if you cant find them online. I know! She is currently based at the Leath Correctional Institution near Greenwood, South Carolina. In May 1991, the stress of losing a child was too much for Davids parents. He was considered twenty years ago to be the most eligible bachelor in Union, as the son of a wealthy mill owner. Yet nobody talks about his guy or where he is or what other girls he has been doing. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made. Susan Smith murdered her young sons in 1994. Chicago Tribune. 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. Halleck said that she had sex with Tom Findlay, 28, the textile heir, but that he was not the main focus of her life. Yet, he said Life is much better now, and noted that he is doing well. . They were screaming, weren't they, and that's why you killed them?" And I want you to know that I am flattered that you have such a high opinion of me. The jury took less than 3 hours to return a guilty verdict on two charges of murder. 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. 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. Her ex, Tom Findlay, had broken up with her after having stated that he was not interested in having or raising children. Susan Smith Trial: 1995 Defendant: Susan SmithCrime Charged: MurderChief Defense Lawyers: David Bruck and Judy ClarkeChief Prosecutor: Tommy PopeJudge: . Susan stood by and watched until the car was completely submerged. "I didn't know what to do," he said. "There will always be something to remind each of us that such a thing happened here," she says. This year, as the bands and barbecue mavens set up, television trucks arrived on Main Street, but not for anybody's sauce recipe. But something was not right in their relationship, Susan was extremely materialistic and always borrowed money from her mother. ``It is 11:50 p.m. and I am getting very sleepy. We have been raised in two totally different environments, and therefore, think totally different. That man, Tom Findlay, took the stand and read a letter he had written to Smith breaking off their relationship. Since that day twenty years ago, the town of Union, S.C. has also moved on. Susan felt indebted to her mother and allowed her to dictate the rules. He relocated to another city and runs an art business using his first and middle name. He has turned to his part so often the spine is creased. What was only supposed to last a few months, resulted in a promotion to accountant at the store. ", 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?". Susan was already familiar with such a situation and she was able to comfort David in the following months. 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. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made. Linda Russell told a social worker that Susan told her "Bev was sitting in the chair watching TV and Susan got in his lap and went to sleep." Watched part of youtube video on this horrific death of this young girl. Later that evening, she called her friend who she knew was having dinner with Tom and friends. . The dead boys' father, David Smith, said he and his family were "disappointed" at the verdict. On October 25, 1994, a then 23-year-old married mother of two sons, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, rolledher car into John D. Long Lake with herboys strapped inside, drowningthem both. However, although she was sentenced to life in prison, she is up for parole in 2024. Union - isn't that where that woman drowned her babies? 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. "I'll never forget what Susan has done to me and my family, [and] I even have to say, to her family," Smith said. THE NEWSWEEK POLL (c) 1995 BY NEWSWEEK, INC. I want you to know that I will always love and care for you for the rest of my life. 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. ", That was the bitter end of a tumultuous, too-early marriage. After she made emotional pleas on television for the safe return of her children, the incident gained worldwide media attention. Many sent her flowers after the trial. I wont do that again. SUSAN SMITH'S LETTER TO TOM FINDLAY Dear Tom, Just a note to say thank you for everything. After initially standing by Susans side until he learned the truth and then grieving over the small caskets of his boys at their funeral while Susanwas in jail, it now appears David has been able to move on. 'You don't have all the guilt,' Beverly Russell, Smith's stepfather, says at her trial. But then Laura came along. Now more than ever, Americans support the death penalty by striking majorities. 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