Susan Smith
- Active
- 1994–1994
- Region
- Union, South Carolina, USA
- State
- SC
- Kind
- Single
- Status
- Convicted
- Victims
- 2
On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith let her car roll into John D. Long Lake near Union, South Carolina, with her sons Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, strapped inside, and they drowned. She told police a Black man had carjacked her car with the boys in it, and for nine days made televised pleas for their return before confessing on November 3, 1994. A Union County jury convicted her of murder in July 1995 but rejected the death penalty, and she was sentenced to life in prison. She was denied parole in 2024.
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Victims
We remember the people whose lives were taken.
- Michael Smith, 3 · October 25, 1994
- Alexander "Alex" Smith · October 25, 1994
He was 14 months old.
Timeline of locations
- October 25, 1994John D. Long Lake (Crime scene, approximate area)
Smith let her car roll down into the lake with both boys in their car seats. After she confessed, divers found the car in the lake with the children inside.
- July 22, 1995Union County courthouse, Union (Court / trial, approximate area)
The trial ran from July 18 to 28, 1995. A jury of Union County residents convicted Smith of two counts of murder and then chose life in prison over the death penalty.
- 2024Leath Correctional Institution, Greenwood (Prison)
Smith was first held at Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution in Columbia and later moved to Leath Correctional Institution, where she is serving her life sentence. (The transfer date is not given in the sources read.)
Sources
- Susan Smith (Wikipedia)
- Susan Smith Trial, 1995 (Encyclopedia.com, Great American Trials)
- This Day in History: July 22, 1995: Susan Smith convicted of murdering her children (Live 5 News)
- Susan Smith set for parole hearing 32 years after drowning sons in Upstate lake (Fox Carolina, Oct 2026)
Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.