The Most Horrible Women: The Case of Susan Smith | True Crime Documentary | EP-01

hello and welcome to the channel on October 25th 1994 an unknown man called the police to report that a woman had knocked on his door screaming so furiously the woman confided that she had been carjacked and that the suspect had taken her two children what has happened let's start from the beginning the case of today drove us to Union South Carolina with the 2010 census the population of the small County was about 85,000 people super 2019 in general that number is expected to fall below 8,000 super 2019 the individuals from Union have a high sense of religion they are family centered with such a small population it is easy to meet someone you are familiar with Susan Smith was a resident of Union County Sarah Leon was born on September 26th 1971 to Linda Harrison and Rayvon and her childhood was not something to smile about Susan was supposed to love her dad since when he showed up a 6year girl's face tightened with dazzling Delight Henry 1995 upon wedlock the marriage of Susan's parents did not last the Union County spouse is divorced later in 1977 and after 5 weeks after the pronouncement of the decree marital Rayvon hanged himself deflated in sorrow two weeks after divorce mother Linda became the lawful wife of the most devoted member of the Christian coalition's local cell Beverly Russell Bev was the owner of an appliance store East of Main Street and a member of the South South Carolina state executive committee of the Republican party the party that has long retained control of Union and other so-called South Carolina UpCountry counties the people 1994 Susan tried to commit suicide when she was about 13 years gey 1995 the death of Mister vaugh and the suicide of his daughter had a profound impact on the John Jim Bob Paul Smith's kin and kith however Ms Smith continued to be an excellent perceiver and graduated from Union High Colman 1995 moreover her called Sarah the friendliest coal female she forwards 1995 students defined her as a very good-hearted person Susan began working at wind Dixie supermarket in 1988 while still in school she started as a cashier and was promoted to head cashier later she became the supermarket's bookkeeper while she was working there she started an affair with a married colleague Malcolm Barkin was in his mid- 4S Susan kept the relationship secret from others and at the same time she was dating another colleague when barin got to know about Susan's over dating he stopped seeing her Susan was heartbroken and her depression deepened therefore in November 1988 she made another attempt at suicide she was admitted to the hospital for a week Hadley took a month to recover from the unsuccessful suicide her bosses were compassionate people and when she was ready to go back to Power she got her old job at wind Dixie in the meantime her work was still at wind Dixie he and Susan became romantically involved in the summer of 1990 although he was engaged to marry Susan found out that she was pregnant with power's baby in John 1991 she informed power of the news and they decided to have the child power confessed everything to Mary and the two broke up power and Susan wanted to marry and they married in January 1991 Susan became pregnant and delivered her first child on 10d October 1991 the boy weighed 7B and 2 ooun at Birth and was 21 in Long they named their child Michael Daniel Smith in honor of Susan's father brother and other relatives who had the same name before they married however Susan's mother and stepdad were given the impression that Susan would be married to a college graduate they were also led to believe that Susan would stay in her financial class David was beneath that standard because he was not well educated and because he came from a different social class after Susan got pregnant with David's child for the second time in November 1992 the couple began discussing reconcile in December 1992 the young mother and her partner reconciled but soon enough in 1993 when the child her son Alexander Henderson was born on August 5th the partners broke up by the time her son was born Susan had left work in Wind Dixie due to the fact that she could not work with her former boyfriend anymore as he had begun a new relationship with one of his employees already in February 1993 Susan left wi Dixie as a dair's manager and was hired as a bookkeeper in console products where one of of her duties included paying premiums and taxes simply because she wanted job stability in addition Susan later expanded with promotions within the company into an assistant to the president Jay Cary Finley Susan enjoyed working at conso she liked her duties and was happy to have been able to experience another kind of Lifestyle at conso because her relationship with J Carrie Finlay was always very close finally Susan liked working at conso for the final reason the CEO's Heir Tom Finley Tom Finley a son of a very rich and influential owner of an international company was a very popular single man in Union that was why Susan fell in love with him and they began meeting in January 1994 the next few months the couple's life largely revolved around visitations of fine restaurants perhaps the most remarkable event in Susan's relationship with Tom during this time was their visit to Tom's Peak wood Cottage on his father Estate another memorable event is their attendance of a party Tom organized a Party featuring a live three-piece band yet by the summer of 1994 Susan and David's Association had come to an end Susan reunited and tried to revive her marriage which ended in divorce although the couple diverged in July 1994 Susan and David stayed together Susan found that she still loved Tom and wished to embrace him again she continued to contact him in September 1994 eventually Susan began to contact Tom in September 1994 Susan visited his cabin and read cheerful letters but the two were soon over indeed Susan and David watched a film with Tom however Tom did not want children and did not want them to matter he wrote back an impassive note stating that the two of them could no longer connect Susan attempted to revisit the relationship on October 23rd 1994 first one must understand that Susan was not alone firstly at these times Susan had several intense feelings thus she was anxious and depressed when she was alone Susan withdrew from work and friends said she had a lot of drinking secondly the family believed that Susan was overworked or confused and that she should get out of the house to receive some peace it was the day everyone first encountered Susan on October 25th 1994 Susan's day began it starts at 5:00 a.m. dressed and feeds Michael and Alex then she drove them both to the nursery and attended to work at condo she had dinner there she and her boss kept their mouths shut she sat at the kitchen table until the supervisor in question came and said she wanted to meet a man she cared for but he didn't love her the supervisor asked Susan who her boyfriend was and Susan replied it was Tom Finlay yet she could not accept it because she has kids in the end Susan chose to spend all day at her desk an hour later Susan phoned Tom and asked him to meet her outside conso in order that she could voice similar worries that David would uncover truths about fooing the IRS or even claiming she had been making it with of all people his own father Jay Cary Finley Tom assured Susan that he was going to be there for her as a friend however when push came to shove and despite what she said beforehand Tom told her their sexual relationship had stopped She also tried to schedule another meeting with Tom at 4:30 p.m. in the afternoon over koo's photography studio but this never materialized as he seemed intent on keeping the war Frozen between them forever more she tried to give Tom back his hoodie however he told Susan to hang on to it that afternoon Susan was on her way to pick up the kids from daycare and she was upset by news of another rejection when she saw Sue Brown console marketing manager she told Sue she had lied to Tom about having sex with his father then asked her if whether or not he would forgive her for such an ignominious Act was important and how bad that lie made him look liking the way it tasted on tongue like sweet honey all over again good Sue said and they went back to conso Susan and Sue sent the kids to safety inside where there also was a secure phone so Susan could ring Tom yet he scoffed and immediately told her to get out of his office this depressed Susan who warned Sue that she might just kill herself around half 6 that evening Susan drove Sue back home to Hickory nuts and returned with the kids that night Susan phoned Hickory nuts and inquired of Sue as to whether Tom was there Sue confirmed that he was and when Susan asked sue if Tom had said anything about her by name the answer was no it was 8:00 p.m. and Susan went out for a drive again she dressed her kids strapped them into their car seats and drove around Union here is what Susan remembers about everything yes ma am there is a lady that came up to my door and said A man jumped in her car at the red light her car with her two children inside was driven away she stepped out of the car right here in Ohio and he's got both kids yes Ma I am and her ride I don't know if she's really hysterical but I was like damn maybe I should call and get them down here we've not even sure what direction he's heading in what sort of car is this we need to know something a am Mazda Protege what was the color a burgundy Mazda Protege Pam get them going I have two kids look y all a black guy she said yes I am I am a black man you know what direction he went in which way did he go if she saw him toward Chester she thinks did he have a gun or anything now did he have a weapon or guns of any kind did he have that glance towards Chester what is inside the back a gun or a weapon happen the union Daily Times had been in her home reading as it was 9:00 p.m. when Shirley McLoud said she heard hammering and screaming on her front porch Susan Smith stood there distraught Shirley Susan is a mess please dot dot dot she's crying uncontrollably and our non-stop ringers shrill around the room she said a black man had abducted her and stolen her kids Susan was in shock Shirley's husband Rick mlod called police finally Susan quieted down enough for Shirley to find out what had transpired she said she was driving through Union County and stopped at the red lights on Monarch Hill as Susan sat a black man came up to driver side brandishing a gun pulled the door open and got inside while pleading with her not to kill him if he didn't get out of there her carjacker told her to drive about 4 miles Northeast of Union then made Susan pull over past the sign indicating John D long Lake Shirley and Rick's house was just a few hundred yards away he commanded Susan to do so they were moving smoothly they traded surprised how quickly you boys have grown up Checkout that time laps from the bottom of my street and Susan said oh no traffic here with a gun now pressed into her ribs she pleaded with the carjacker to take the kids but he told her there was no time for Michael or Alex he assured her they would not be hurt before leaving with her car and two children Susan then called her mother but since Auntie had the other phone off she could not get to Mommy but she got hold of her stepfather Bev and the boy's Father David police were already searching the mlad residence for Susan's car a red Mazda and before she talked to David after 11: p.m. they had been there quite some time Susan got to meet with Sheriff Howard Wells who warned her that he would be addressing a lot of those issues recognizing that they were not equipped to deal with the situation on their own Sheriff Wells called South Carolina law enforcement division sled Chief the FBI was brought in to help with the investigation as well the carjacking and kidnapping spread panic in the Small Town of Union and across America friends strangers were rallying around Susan Smith Susan's story was of course complete gibberish though as you might infer from the name of this movie and authorities would soon realize that Susan had pulled one over on them when they met at the mcclouds Susan and David as well as her parents then went back to Russell's residence Susan sought to politely warn David that Tom Finley may come by David of course had found that bizar as it would then have been apparent the one thing he was trying to do locate his kids and not then be concerning himself with what action figure number which whatever bow she'd taken up with at the time Sheriff well said on October 26th he worked with sled to secure special divers for a search of John D long Lake sled also deployed its aircraft with their thermal sensor technology to redar the lake in vicinity during the course of that inspection nothing was located he then had a police sketch artist visit Susan and she worked with him to produce an actual composite of the black man who ripped her from our car so they could ask more questions about this nutcase the man was 40 years old wore a dark cap shirt pants and a plaid jacket described by Susan David's parents had flown into Union from California the same day to be with their son during his time of need as did his Uncle Doug and Aunt who drove down on a few hours unique drive from Michigan to try and comfort The Grieving couple family and friends flooded the Russell home by then expressing their condolences and helping in any way possible Susan Smith was no longer feeling alone she even received a call from a concerned Tom Finley who offered his assistance during this call Susan shifted the focus from her missing children to their relationship Tom supposedly encouraged Susan not to worry about it and instead focus on finding her children were missing and started talking about their relationship Susan thought Tom told her not to worry about it and just focus on getting the kids out Susan was then interviewed by Sheriff Wells later in the day and David talked to sled investigator Eddie Harris who encouraged him Susan to make a televised on air plea for Michael and Alex the point was to make David who initially felt he needed prodding comfortable National media poured into Union a rustic village with barely enough stop lights to keep traffic on the move as it rolls past people hanging out at what's known only as the old store last night at a press conference David and Susan felt message the carjacker directly I pray most of all for them that they are cared for safe you look after everyone then come home safely I need to tell my babies that their mom and dad as well as the rest of their family love them but you guys have to be strong because you are I will be and everyone I love is so in my heart of hearts I know you are too from one power to another they're mightier than us we just got to look out for each other Susan was then interrogated over and over by both Sheriff Wells as well as sled investigators which relived each event of the previous day David and Susan submitted to polygraph tests administered by the FBI 2 days after the alleged carjacking and not too surprising was that David got an on the I had no no idea my boys were gone test though Susan's tests came back as indeterminate the rest of Susan's later polygraph tests would produce the same results of all the questions asked one question was singled out as being particularly deceitful did Susan know where her children were polygraph tests are not admissible in a court of law and I have my doubts about their validity however the police were worried for other reasons behavioral specialist agent Caldwell who interviewed Susan Smith at least three times caught some very significant inconsistency in her story she said she had been to a Walmart just before the carjacking but police questioned people who worked there that night and none of them saw Susan in the store that may not look unique to folks who live in a Metropolitan Place but Union is property to fewer than 8,000 persons her submission of an artist depiction was also a problem it was a very generic sketch many Union blacks share the same attributes Susan listed media then removed the image due to its non-specific nature she also told cops she was hooking up with a how that night but the acquaintance told investigators they had not been home that night and were not aware Susan was coming her carjacking location was also later called into question she told detectives she stopped at the red light and no other cars went by she would have had to wait for traffic on the crossing Crossroads in order to stop at a red light as the lights only turned red when a vehicle activated sensors and there was her love Tom Finlay it emerged police discovered Tom had cut off contact with her after learning she was a mom asked if this was in connection to the The Disappearance of her children Susan answered no man would ever do anything like that they were my life Susan used the word were indicating to police that she was aware her children were dead according to a probable cause statement AA North Carolina car reported with similar attributes to that of Susan's was discovered and the police followed up from there well clearly it was Susan but this wasn't her car for days to come Sheriff Wells would brief media in press conferences but never entirely remov David and Susan Smith as Suspects according to the union Daily Times of what else 29th October 1994 901 Susan's story was full of inconsistencies investigators were certain that Susan Smith was involved in The Disappearance of her children by this time and they badgered here daily hoping she would crack even after all that David said he would still like to think Susan was telling the truth and she even suggested they could try again if they found their children Day N everything changed Susan I do know they searched your home inside and out of doors yesterday did you hear them sort of ask for it when this happened mom I wasn't there and beyond that don't know anything about what happened I have signed a document on this I just expected they would do that and I guess it is pretty customary in investigations Susan NBC News has learned that Federal investigators have been examining the nature of your relationship with Mitchell Sinclair the man you were taking your children to see on Saturday night they told NBC your stories are contradictory and you know what discrepancies they were talking about that I really do not know but what I can tell you is this David and Susan Smith gave three Network TV interviews 9 days after Michael and Alex disappear David turned to Susan who swore she had nothing to do with Michael or Alex going missing Sheriff Wells also interviewed Susan again following the interviews when even that was too much to bear Susan asked for Sheriff wells's weapon and killed herself Wells asked why to which she responded you are wrong my kids are troubled October 25th 1994 she told Sheriff Wells here is what she wrote about the thoughts and actions of her night I was emotional when I went home on Tuesday October 25th I wanted to die it seemed like things could never get worse after leaving home I'd bike about before going to my mom's I became increasingly anxious about not wanting to live as I rode I couldn't be a decent mom anymore and didn't want my kids to be alone I ended our lives to spare us grief and harm nothing had ever made me so lonely depressed I Loved Someone deeply but he never would I had trouble understanding that but I damaged him so deeply that I could see why he couldn't love me I had never felt so afraid and uncertain as at John D long Lake I wanted to die so much that I was in the automobile to go down the ramp into the ocean but I halted halfway after stopping again I stepped out of the car and Stood Beside it apprehensive why did I feel this way why was everything horrible in my life these questions stumped me I hit my lowest moment when I let my kids go down the ramp into the sea without me I ran screaming oh god what have I done why did you allow this I wanted to turn around and go back but felt it was too late I was insane I couldn't believe my actions I adore my kids that never changes I have asked for their forgiveness and hope they will I never meant to hurt them sorry for what happened and I need help don't think I'll ever forgive myself my children Michael and Alex are with our heavenly father and will never be H again that matters More Than Words to A mom I knew the truth would win from the start but I was too terrified to act watching my family suffer was difficult emotionally it was time to calm everyone including myself the trial began on Wednesday July 19th 1995 and lasted 9 days the defense claimed that Susan killed her children in a failed suicide attempt and blamed her mental illness however the prosecution would claim that Susan murdered her children to win back Tom Finlay who abandoned their relationship because he didn't want children as expected Susan Smith was convicted of murdering her two boys the jury appeared to favor the prosecution but this was just the beginning determin Susan's punishment the jury that found Susan guilty was asked if she should be executed or sentenced to life in prison David Smith testified emotionally about his bond with Michael and Alex for the prosecution they also played interview videos of Susan lying about the Phantom carjacker to expose her deception the defense brought on its own witnesses to give character statements supporting their assertions that Susan Smith was unstable Beverly Russell Susan's stepfather testified Beverly shockingly revealed on the stand that he had sexually abused Susan since she was 15 this continued for years with her last assault 3 months before she killed Michael and Alex in John D long Lake prosecutors even recreated the car sinking the actual anguish that Michael and Alex surely went through was made clear when they used cameras inside and inside the car to demonstrate how quickly the automobile became completely submerged less than 6 minutes in fact this video was shown twice once to the entire court when Susan was observed crying as the video played and again in a private setting where she played Tic-tac-toe and mumbled in support of herself after hearing all of the testimony and hearing the final arguments the jury was instructed to decide Susan Smith's penalty the jurors returned with their verdict after 2.5 hours they had saved Susan Smith's life on July 27th 1995 Susan was given a life sentence by judge Howard with a 30-year parole period in 2024 she will be qualified for parole Susan has stayed at the leth correctional institution in Greenwood South Carolina in the Years following her release from prison during her 5 years in prison she has had five run-ins with the law including two instances in which she had sex with two different male prison guards after being sacked one was sentenced to 3 months in prison while the other was given a suspended sentence I don't know why someone would want to sleep with a child killer but Susan was publicly called manipulative by one of the guards sure but killing children strikes me as kind of a deal breaker her behavior was said to have improved in 2020 but I doubt this has anything to do with the fact that 2024 is quickly approaching and she wants to provide a positive example for the parole board Susan didn't deserve to die as the defense successfully persuaded the jury but I'm not that easily persuaded it was thought that the prosecution aired in trying to establish a motive when they didn't need to I understand that Susan had difficulties as a child in my opinion she took those actions in order to win Tom Finley back she seems to me to be exactly the same as Chris Watts if you found today's video informative please subscribe to the channel hit the notification Bell icon like and share the video until next time take care and goodbye for now