Susan Smith
Susan Smith drowned her two sons, Michael, 3, and Alexander, 14 months, by rolling a car into a South Carolina lake with the children strapped inside in October 1994.
At a glance
- What happened
- Smith killed both young children in the submerged car. She initially falsely blamed a Black carjacker, then admitted the killings. A jury convicted her of murder in 1995.
- When
- Killings: October 25, 1994. Conviction and life sentence: 1995. First parole hearing denied: November 20, 2024.
- Where
- John D. Long Lake near Union, South Carolina.
- Why / motive
- Prosecutors argued that she viewed the children as an obstacle to a relationship. Her defense said she intended suicide and left the car at the last moment; these are competing explanations.
- Outcome
- Sentenced to life imprisonment. South Carolina's parole board unanimously denied release at her first hearing in November 2024; subsequent eligibility is not a grant of parole.
Who is involved
- Susan Smith — subject
Sources
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: Susan Smith”
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: Susan Smith drowned her two sons, Michael, 3, and Alexander, 14 months, by rolling a car into a South Carolina lake with the children strapped inside in October 1994.”
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: Smith killed both young children in the submerged car. She initially falsely blamed a Black carjacker, then admitted the killings. A jury convicted her of murder in 1995.”
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: Killings: October 25, 1994. Conviction and life sentence: 1995. First parole hearing denied: November 20, 2024.”
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: John D. Long Lake near Union, South Carolina.”
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: Prosecutors argued that she viewed the children as an obstacle to a relationship. Her defense said she intended suicide and left the car at the last moment; these are competing explanations.”
- Susan Smith“Paraphrase: Sentenced to life imprisonment. South Carolina's parole board unanimously denied release at her first hearing in November 2024; subsequent eligibility is not a grant of parole.”
Sources last checked: Not recorded · Dossier last changed: · Editorially reviewed: Not yet reviewed.