Mum pleaded for ‘kidnapped’ children to be returned – but she had murdered them

Susan Smith was the mother of two children who were killed in a case that shocked the world

It’s a case that captivated the globe.

On October 25, 1994, 23-year-old Susan Smith told police in Union, South Carolina that a Black man had carjacked her vehicle with her two sons – three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander – still strapped inside.

For nine days she made repeated television appearances, weeping as she begged for their safe return. Hundreds rallied to the search, desperately hoping the lads would be discovered alive and unharmed.

But a devastating truth would soon emerge: Smith had fabricated the entire story.

Both her sons and the motor, she would eventually admit, lay at the bottom of a local lake.

She had allowed her car to roll in as part of an elaborate double child murder which she believed would help her reclaim a wealthy former boyfriend.

Smith endured a traumatic upbringing. When she was six, her father took his own life, reports the Mirror.

Her mother’s next partner, a well-known local Republican, sexually abused her during her teens – a relationship that persisted until six months before the killings.

By her secondary school graduation, she had made two suicide attempts.

During her trial, Smith was found to have dependent personality disorder and severe depression. Her legal team argued this was a matter of “despair and sadness”, rather than “evil”.

However, prosecutors believed the driving force behind the appalling murders was a letter from her lover, the son of a well-off local business owner, with whom she was conducting an extramarital relationship. In the letter, he informed Smith that he wished to end their relationship.

Among his reasons was that he didn’t feel prepared to become a stepfather to her two youngsters.

Upon reading this, prosecutors contended, Smith concluded that the sole method to reclaim her boyfriend and begin afresh would be to end the lives of her two defenceless children.

Her legal team presented a different account, asserting that Smith had planned to take her own life at the lake alongside her sons, but exited the vehicle at the final moment.

However, specialists maintain the car would have remained afloat on the lake’s surface for six minutes before completely submerging, during which period Smith could have rescued her children’s lives if she had chosen to do so.

The jury needed just two and a half hours to find Smith guilty of murder.

She received a life sentence rather than the death penalty, as jurors felt this would compel Smith to contemplate her actions.

In November 2024, Smith petitioned for parole, declaring she was “very sorry” and stating “I know what I did was horrible.”

She also professed to have discovered faith, saying “God is a big part of my life”, and that He has pardoned her.

The parole board remained unmoved and unanimously dismissed her petition.

David Smith, Susan’s former husband and father of the two lads, said through tears: “It’s just not enough. So I’m asking that you please, deny her parole today, and hopefully in the future, but specifically today.”

He pledged to preserve his sons’ memories and demonstrate that Susan’s actions weren’t a “tragic mistake”, but rather a deliberate and evil choice.

Reports emerged in 2022 that Smith had been sending “flirty” correspondence to at least six men from behind bars. At least two prison guards have also faced charges for engaging in sexual relationships with her during her incarceration.