Child K*ller Susan Smith Says She’d be a “Good Stepmom” as Parole Hearing Nears

In October 1994, Susan Smith drove her vehicle into the river with her two young sons. 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex strapped into their car seats. Before authorities found the vehicle with the boys strapped inside, Smith pleaded for their safe return on national TV, claiming a Black man had carjacked them. She was convicted of their deaths and sentenced to life in prison. Now, 30 years into her sentence, Smith hopes a parole board will see it fit for her release when she appears before them in November.

October 25, 1994. Susan called the police to report that a Black man had carjacked her car with her two sons strapped in the backseat. She provided a description of the man, allowing police to generate a sketch of what they thought he looked like.

Over the next nine days, police, rescue teams, and volunteers searched for the missing boys. Susan cried alongside her husband, David, in front of family, friends, and the cameras. But her story had holes in it and police suspected she knew more about the boys than she told.

A Shocking Murder Confession

On November 3, Susan confessed she drowned her children after driving her vehicle into the John D. Long Lake with the boys strapped inside. The vehicle was recovered 122 feet from the lake pier.

According to Susan, she planned to commit suicide and planned to jump in the car with them as it plunged into the lake, although conventionally changed her mind at the last moment.

Susan told authorities that she had been having an affair with a wealthy man named Thomas Findley, although he broke off their relationship via a letter days before she killed her boys because he did not want children.

"Susan, I could really fall for you. 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," he wrote, per Deseret News.

Despite this, she claimed she did not plan to murder the kids and claimed she did not have a motive to kill them. Instead, she claimed she was in a bad way, not mentally sound, when she committed the most heinous act imaginable and killed her children.

Smith Says She Would be a "Great Stepmom" Ahead of Parole Hearing

In 1995, David divorced Susan weeks before a judge convicted her of murdering the boys. She was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility after 30 years. That time has arrived, and 52-year-old Susan hopes the parole board will see her as a changed woman worthy of a chance to live life in the free world.

She hopes to get out of prison and find someone to settle down with. She corresponds with about half a dozen men from behind prison walls, and even told one of the men during a recorded phone call that she’d make a “good stepmom.” The male agreed, responding by telling Susan, “You’d be great, babe.”

Several of the men have offered to accommodate Susan if the parole board sees it her way, offering her cash, clothes, vehicles, and a place to stay.

Susan’s ex-husband, David, will be among those attending the hearing in opposition to her prison release. David thinks Susan should die in prison and is right where she belongs.

Weigh In

Do you think 30 years is enough prison time for Susan Smith? Should she be granted parole in November and given an opportunity to find love? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!