The Murders of Michael and Alex Smith

These are facts and opinions that come from decades of being interested in true crime. I have been educated on this story from many different sources over the years. I am not a journalist or a true crime specialist, I am merely someone interested in true crime with the knowledge of a lot of stories.

The story began with a frantic mother, Susan Smith, claiming a black man jumped in her vehicle when she was stopped at a red light, forcing her out at gunpoint, leaving behind her precious cargo: 3 year-old Michael and 14-month old Alex. It was October 24, 1994 , and for the next 10 days she would be broadcast everywhere, including nationally on the Today Show, pleading for her beautiful children to be returned to her. The police weren't buying any of it, as there were multiple inconsistencies in her story and more than one failed polygraph test.

Confession

When being questioned again by the police on November 3rd, Susan finally confessed to doing the unthinkable: she murdered her children. She drove her car into a lake and left them strapped in their seats to die. Now it was the job of investigators to find out why a woman would take the lives of her own children.

Susan Smith was not a stable person at the time she committed this heinous crime, but she was mentally capable of knowing that taking her children's lives was wrong. That's why the found her fit to go on trial. I think it can be easily said that Susan Smith lived in chaos and continued to until the fateful day in October and carried that with her to prison.

Background

She had a rocky relationship with her husband, David, and just recently ended an extramarital affair with the son of a well to do businessman in their town of Union, South Carolina named Tom Findlay. The dissolution of the affair was not her idea, and in letters that were exchanged between the two, Tom made it clear that he could fall for her and that she was a wonderful woman, but he would not bear the responsibility of children. That's when she made the decision that her boys had to go.

Susan will claim, even to this day that Tom Findlay had nothing to do with the death of her children. It was a failed murder/suicide. Susan left the vehicle after plunging it into a local lake, leaving her two toddler sons to die a horrific death. The diver who found the car saw one of the little boy's hand's pressed against the window. I can only imagine how terrified those babies were, wanting their mama, the person who was supposed to protect them at all costs taking their lives from them.

The Trial

Within the car they also found the letter from Tom Findlay that expressed their relationship wouldn't work, partly due to the fact she had children. Findlay even testified for the prosecution, explaining to them that he never thought she was capable of doing something like this. I wonder if he feels guilt regarding this situation and that if he hadn't used that as a reason in his letter to her that they might still be alive. It isn't guilt he should carry, but I think if I were in that situation it would be haunting.

Another bombshell did come out during her trial, she had been molested by her stepfather since she was a teenager, and engaged in consensual sex with him up to two months before she committed the murders.

A jury very quickly found Susan guilty of murdering Michael and Alex. They showed her mercy by not sentencing her to death. Instead, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 30 years. She will be eligible in 2024.

Aftermath

In my opinion: Susan Smith killed her boys because she thought in her delusional mind that the only thing standing between she and Tom being together were her children. If the letter weren't in the vehicle with them, then maybe I could see where there could be speculation, but there it was, floating along with the boys. I can imagine her reading it obsessively, growing angry over a life of having children young in a volatile marriage. When it comes down to it, she is selfish, cold, calculating and manipulative.

A psychiatrist went on to diagnose her with dependent personality disorder (DPD), which falls under anxiety related personality disorders. People suffering from DPD can feel incapable of being alone or taking care of themselves. Maybe Susan's mental issues did play into some of this. If she had a feeling that she was losing her lover, in a bad marriage full of lies and infidelity, and nobody that wanted to be with her or take care of her, she felt incapable of taking care of the boys and made the decision. I think blaming mental illness is an easy cop out.

Many people in this world deal with mental illnesses and personality disorders and they don't murder their children. When it comes down to it, Susan was a lovesick woman who missed out on an opportunity with a wealthy man because she had children. Nothing led Susan to kill her children that day except for her own selfish needs and the thought that she could potentially get away with it so that she could be with Tom.

Prison Life

Susan hasn't been on her best behavior in prison either, another reason why she deserves to stay where she is. She has had two affairs with two different men of authority. One guard who spent three months in prison, another sentenced to 5 years of probation, both losing their jobs and respect. She has also been involved with drugs. Lately she has been on her best behavior, having it spinning around in her delusional head that she could be released if she is good. I think that shows how far her manipulation can spread and that she would kill her children again and again given the chance of "love."

When her parole hearing comes up in 3 years, I hope they do the right thing and keep this monster locked up. As a mother of two children I suffer from mental illness and I have never been in a state where I want to eliminate anyone, especially my babies. I could never imagine putting another human above or before them. My job is to protect them, and I will do that until the day I die. It wasn't a bad judgement call because of one bad day, it was a plan. She is exactly where she belongs and I would be willing to bet if we could see inside her mind there isn't regret and mourning because she killed Michael and Alex, it is the regret that she wasn't smart enough and got caught.

Michael and Alex deserved a mom, not a monster. I hope their sweet little souls are resting, waiting for the people who loved and lost them to be with them once again.