• HOME
  • Media
  • About Michael
  • The Books
  • What People are Saying
  • News & Events
  • Contact
2015
10.19

Susan Smith Murdered Her Children (October 25, 1994)

Category: This week in crime history / Tag: Susan Smith, Susan Smith murdered her children, This week in crime history / Add Comment

This week (October 19-25) in crime history – John DeLorean was arrested for drug dealing (October 19, 1982); 2 Live Crew members were acquitted of obscenity charges (October 20, 1990); A bomb exploded at the LA Times building (October 21, 1910); Olympian Oscar Pistorius was sentenced for murdering his girlfriend (October 21, 2014); Pretty Boy Floyd was killed by FBI agents (October 22, 1934); Chechen rebels took hostages at Moscow theater (October 23, 2002); Marine barracks in Beruit was blown-up by suicide bomber (October 23, 1983); Marv Albert was charged with sexual assault (October 24, 1997); Susan Smith reported false carjacking to cover-up murder of her children (October 25, 1994)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week –

susan-smith[1]

On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith reported that she had been carjacked in South Carolina by a man who took her two small children in the backseat of her car. Although authorities immediately began searching for three-year-old Michael and one-year-old Alex, they could find no trace of them or of Smith’s car. After nine days of intense national media attention, Smith finally confessed that the carjacking tale was false and that she had driven her Mazda into the John D. Long Lake in order to drown her children.

Both Susan and her husband, David Smith, who had had multiple affairs during their on-and-off relationship, had used their children as pawns in their tempestuous marriage. Apparently, Susan was involved with another man who did not want children, and she thought that killing her children was the only way to continue the relationship.

Ironically, Smith’s murder came to light because she had covered her tracks too well. While believing that the car and children would be discovered in the lake shortly after the search was started, she never anticipated that the authorities might not be able to find the car. After living under the pressure of the media’s scrutiny day after day, Smith buckled. She was convicted on two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In a book David Smith later wrote about the death of his children, Beyond All Reason, he expressed an ambiguous wish to see Susan on death row because he would never be able to relax and live a full life with her in prison.

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.”

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that includes Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949.

Comments are closed.

  • California's Deadly Women

    Murder and Mayhem in the Golden State 1850–1950


      Buy from Amazon
      Buy from Schiffer

      • California Crime

        In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980


          Buy from Amazon
          Buy from Schiffer

        • America's Literary Legends

          America's Literary Legends: The Lives & Burial Places of 50 Great Writers


            Buy from Amazon
            Buy from Schiffer

          • Short Story

            Once in a Blue Moon

              Buy from Amazon

            • Literary Legends

              The Lives & Burial Places of 50 Great Writers

                Buy from Amazon
                Buy from Barnes and Noble
                Buy from Schiffer

            • Great Britain's Royal Tombs

              A Guide to the Lives and Burial Places of British Monarchs

                Buy from Amazon
                Buy from Barnes and Noble
                Buy from Schiffer

            • Murder and Mayhem

              52 Crimes that Shocked Early Califonia

                Buy from Amazon
                Buy from Barnes and Noble
                Buy from Schiffer

            • Fade to Black

                 

                Buy from Amazon
                Buy from Barnes and Noble
                Buy from Schiffer Books

            • Final Resting Places


                 

                Buy from Amazon
                Buy from Barnes and Noble
                Buy from Schiffer Books

            • Reviews and Testimonials

              "This is an enjoyable read offering more then the interesting anecdotes and history so well described by Michael Barry, but an opportunity for loyal fans to pay their respects to those they love and admire. Thank you Michael for your gift and I hope others enjoy it as much as I have."

              -Celeste Holm, winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 1948

              Read More

            • Newsletter Sign-Up

              Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates and information about upcoming events.

MichaelThomasBarry ©2009. All rights reserved.                                                                                      Created by SmartAuthorSites.com ... Websites for Authors