Susan Smith, who is in prison for the cold-blooded murder of her two young sons in 1994, believes she has lost her chances of parole next month after being convicted of trying to cash in on her disgrace.
“She is inconsolable,” a family member told the Post. “She was so close to getting out, and it seems to be collapsing before her eyes. She derailed it herself. She’s not happy at all.”
“She knows it’s very unlikely she’ll get out now,” the family member said. “This is a new disciplinary action, one month before her parole hearing. The parole board pays 100% attention to these things. This is really bad.”
Smith, who is serving a life sentence, was caught when he agreed to give a documentary filmmaker contact information for friends, family and victims, including her ex-husband, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
In return, the filmmaker deposited money into Smith’s commissary account, authorities said.
The 53-year-old was charged on August 26 with communicating with a crime victim and was subsequently convicted earlier this month, a Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed.
The filmmaker’s name has been taken from the report.
South Carolina Department of Corrections inmates are not allowed to conduct interviews by telephone or in person. They are only allowed to write letters.
Additionally, South Carolina statutes prohibit criminals from profiting from their crimes. In their conversations, Smith and the filmmaker discussed ways she could get paid for filming a documentary.
Smith was a 22-year-old mother when she became a household name for killing her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. In 1994, she drove her car into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina, with her boys still strapped into their car seats.
Smith then falsely told police that a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the toddlers, sparking a manhunt that had authorities going door to door in local neighborhoods that were predominantly African-American.
Smith and her then-husband David appeared on national news every day pleading for the boys’ safe return.
But nine days later, Smith finally confessed that there was no carjacker and that she had drowned her sons in the lake.
Her alleged motive: she had an affair with a rich man who didn’t want children. The car was pulled out of the water with the two boys still strapped into their seats.
She was convicted of murder but spared the death penalty and instead received life in prison with the possibility of parole after thirty years.
But Smith believes the parole hearing, set for Nov. 4, is unlikely to go her way, the family member said.
Smith had a rocky road in prison. She was punished in 2000 for having sex with two guards while behind bars. She has always maintained that the sex was not consensual, due to the different power dynamics.
She has also committed several offenses – including in 2010 and 2015 – for having narcotics or marijuana behind bars.
But for nine years, Smith has been a model prisoner – until now.
Smith has lost her phone, tablet and cafeteria privileges for 90 days starting Oct. 4. Days before she lost her phone, the killer mother spoke to relatives about her plight.
“She was really, really upset,” the family member said. “And the worst part is she knows she messed up. This is hers. How could she be so stupid?”
