When Susan Smith's ex-boyfriend Tom Findlay climbed onto the witness stand Wednesday afternoon, he glanced quickly at her and smiled kindly. . 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. Keep scrolling below to find out more about Susan Smiths case, trial and to find out where she is today. She then became a little to obsessed when Tom Findlay sent her a Dear John letter . But something was not right in their relationship, Susan was extremely materialistic and always borrowed money from her mother. ', Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. The mom of two made headlines at the time of the news due to her shocking motive and she has since been behaving herself behind bars, which means she could soon be a free woman. On the other hand, he sounds quite narcissistic and preachy in his Dear John letter, and he isnt even attractive. 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. With Findlay, Susan finally believed she would be able to have some stability in her life but, she was mistaken. She will be eligible for parole in 2025 when she is 53 years old. By October 1994, Susan had already signed divorce papers with David. Sordid and tragic and powerfully real, Susan Smith's story begins with sex and ends with the murder of innocents. During his ex-wifes trial, he visited her once in jail to get answers as to why she did what she did but got nothing. That poor. Smith, now 26, is in prison in Columbia; she was sentenced in 1995 to life in prison and must serve at least 30 years. Please note that this form cannot be used to reset your Google or Facebook password. ``Thank you for being there for me through all the rough times. The fact is, I just don't want children. He has turned to his part so often the spine is creased. For those who've been before, the changes will show. However, although she was sentenced to life in prison, she is up for parole in 2024. Her experience as an accountant earned her a position at Conso Products. They still receive gifts. From an early age Susan Smith lived in a troubled environment, in a wealthy family that was overly concerned with appearances. People.com Smith's mother and stepfather are still around. The sheriff wanted to find the bodies first, and then call David to tell him the truth. With the promotion came a new life for Susan. "I didn't know what to do," he said. Smith claims a black carjacker stole her Mazda with the two children inside and helps police create a sketch of the suspect. Russell signed a statement admitting his conduct and the family sought counseling-but Susan and her mother said they didn't want to prosecute. . " In fact, I think you should do just that. But unfortunately, it won't be me. "There will always be something to remind each of us that such a thing happened here," she says. A guardrail now barricades the parking lot. . But others, when they travel, won't say where they're from because they'd rather not answer questions. . How have people written about the torture,, You missed Patricia's "theory" of a lesbian crime of passion involving Gaia, Mirian and the french girl they met in, I totally agree with all of you. She reddened slightly and stared back at him. "He was threatening to her. These feelings may change one day, but I doubt it. Do you favor or oppose the death penalty for Timothy McVeigh if he is convicted of the bombing in Oklahoma City? Sheriff Howard Wells served time for public corruption in 2010. They eventually settled down in a brick starter home in Union. "He that is without sin among you," Bruck said, "let him first cast a stone at her. "Really, I think this is an example of how little this situation is on the minds of people who live here. In fact, its probably someone that you may not know at this time or that you may know, but would never expect. Findlay, balding early, is nice-looking if not quite a hunk; he allegedly told investigators that he considered himself "a ladies' man" whose mission in life was "servicing these women." Susan could not continue working at the same place as David, so she looked for a new job. Most of them have left town. I really wanted to be with you and hated that I wasnt. But seeing you kiss another man put things back into perspective. Smith's natural father committed suicide when she was 6. Smith and her husband, David Smith, filed for divorce in September 1994 and it was finalized in May 1995. As he told it, he and Susan became lovers in early 1994. David felt left out. Susan may say that she wouldnt care (copy unintelligible) husband had an affair, but you and I know, that is not true. ), A strapping, silver-haired man, Russell stunned the courtroom by admitting that his consensual involvement with Susan continued intermittently through her marriage and subsequent separation from David Smith. The bottom line is: Im glad we are friends and if that is all we can be, then we will just have to do a hell of a job of being that. So, where are all of the key players now, including the woman at the center of it all? 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. "She was crying--she was very upset," Findlay said. Jurors heard Smith's love letters read aloud and watched a videotaped television interview Smith gave shortly after reporting that her two toddlers had been kidnapped by a black carjacker last Oct. 25. In his Dear John letter, he was honest with the girl and told her they would never be together although I did think he sounds like a total D-bag (re: ..maybe somebay youll meet a nice guy like me. Whatever!). In July 1995, Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, which is around the corner in November 2024. ", She went to his office later the same day to return an Auburn University sweat shirt that belonged to Findlay. The letter about the reasons for the breakup, written by Tom, was also inside the car. I was a good mother, and I loved my boys. I care for you, but also care for Susan Brown and I would hate to see anyone get hurt. The mom of two made headlines at the time of the news due to her shocking motive and she has since been behaving herself behind bars, which means she could soon be a free woman. Findlay said he had begun seeing Smith again last September after she assured him that she was in the process of divorcing her husband, a 24-year-old produce worker at the local Winn-Dixie. One of the most intriguing parts of this story was Lindas conduct in the face of abuse. Nearly 30 years after her conviction, Smith's cellmate is speaking out and . A coincidence, says Vickie Shields, the local "hometown coordinator" under the South Carolina Downtown Development Corp. No one noticed the timing until too late. Susan became famous for the brutality and coldness with which she killed her two children. In 2019, 25 years after the incident, PEOPLE obtained records. Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating Tom Findlay, whose father owned the mill she worked at. Brackett is grateful for the fellowship that grew from the Smith case. He quickly pulled her out of his office. I was not myself, she wrote in a letter to The State in 2015. At the time, Tom didnt know, but she had sex with David; her stepfather, Bev Russell; and also her boss, who was Toms father. Something went very wrong that night. Susan had been a sad and introspective child. Final testimony for the prosecution includes a tearful David Smith saying, 'All my hopes and dreams, everything that I had planned for the rest of my life-it ended that day. He admits molesting Smith before she turned 16-and then continuing a consensual sexual relationship until just weeks before the murders. According to Findlay, Smith claimed: * that her husband was tapping her phone and having her followed; * that she had had an affair with Findlay's father; * that she made up the story of the affair with the elder Findlay to test his son's feelings for her; * that she was considering having an affair with the husband of a good friend; * that she had had an affair with Beverly Russell and David Smith was going to publicize it. Now more than ever, Americans support the death penalty by striking majorities. Well, people can change. With all of the crazy, mixed-up things that take place in this world today, I just dont have the desire to bring another life into it. On October 25, 1994, the Union native, who was 23 years old at the time, called the police and claimed an armed black man stole her car and drove off with her two sons inside. Russell has not attended the trial but may be called as a witness. They argued there was no evidence, as the defense claimed, that Smith had driven to the lake to commit suicide. ``Again, you will always have my friendship. Tom and Susan quickly began a casual relationship in January 1994, but in the spring David became part of her life again, and the two resumed their marriage. State police investigator David Caldwell testified that Smith was first accused of killing her sons just a day after they disappeared. I could never express in words how much you mean to me. They were screaming, weren't they, and that's why you killed them?" Cellmate Secrets premieres Friday, June 4, at 10 p.m. on Lifetime. Send it to us! Her saga of suicide attempts and molestation and depression and marital deception is embodied in those closest to the case. Susan Smith and Tom Findlay; the boyfriend After breaking up with David, Susan started working as a bookkeeper at the largest employer in the area, Conso Products. All the time, people bring them gifts. Susans thenhusband David Smith is nowremarried and a father again. . Whether you are using plastic or fabric containers, Earthboxes, or even old buttercream buckets, there are a few important things to consider before planting. "But like I have told you before,there are some things about you that aren't suited to me, and yes, I am speaking about your children. This is "a difficult letter to write because I know how much you think of me . Something went wrong and their Suburban rolled into the lake. They planned historic-home tours, an art exhibit, a barbecue cookoff, a log-rolling contest and live bands. But what can we do to help? You are one of the few people on this earth that I feel I can tell anything. In the summer of 1988, Susan got a temporary job as a cashier at a local grocery store. On the weekend of Oct. 15, Tom invited Susan to his father's estate for a hot-tub party. Over the next several days, Findlay testified, they had a series of highly emotional conversations. 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. 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. " Cladwell said Smith then began crying, said she wanted to go home, and stalked out, hollering in the hallway of the sheriff's office: "I just can't believe they think I did it.". The relationship deteriorated more and more. I can't get my head around it either! The children received love, attention, and were very happy. Susan Smith had fallen in love with her supervisor at work, Tom Findlay, a wealthy businessman, and had an affair with him. They parked on the ramp. She is currently serving his sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina. "We all felt like Susan was a really disturbed person," said juror Deborah Benvenuti. To be the perfect woman for a rich man. Since that day twenty years ago, the town of Union, S.C. has also moved on. Susan, I value our friendship very much. Then Susan told him she and David were going through with the divorce, Findlay said, and he resumed their affair. Then he "slid her bra up and fondled her breast and took her hand and put it on his penis." A team of state psychiatrists certified that Smith was competent to stand trial. But after that, Susan was severely punished for exposing what was described by her mother as family conflicts. Appearances seemed to matter more than her daughters well-being. 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. . This development led to Smiths arrest and confession that she was behind her childrens tragic deaths. Susan Smith was both perpetrator and victim. During her trial, Susans stepfather, testified that he had sexually molested his stepdaughter when she was a teenager and again in the months leading up to her drowning the boys. See the 'Counting On' Kids' Houses, Look How Much the Little Couple's Kids Will and Zoey Have Grown Up, Every Look From the Kardashian-Jenner Family at the 2021 Met Gala, Gabby Petito's Texts Show 'More and More Tension' With Brian Laundrie, 'Welcome to Plathville' Kim Plath's DUI Case Closed: Fine, More Details, Sister Wives Kody, Robyn Were With a Mystery Blonde: Identity Revealed, Megan Fox and MGK's Relationship Is 'Toxic': 'There Is Concern for Her', Farrah Abraham Slams Mom-Shamers Over Daughter Sophias Piercings, Jon Gosselin Is 'Open' With Kids Collin, Hannah About Their Dating Lives. 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