Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman who admitted to drowning her two children 30 years ago, was denied bail after her first court appearance on Wednesday.
“I know what I did was horrible. And I would give anything if I could go back and change it,” Smith, overcome with emotion, told the parole board via Zoom. “I love Michael and Alex with all my heart.”
PHOTO: Susan Smith appears during her parole hearing on November 20, 2024 via zoom in South Carolina. (LAKE)
PHOTO: Susan Smith appears during her parole hearing on November 20, 2024 via zoom in South Carolina. (LAKE)
On October 25, 1994, Smith, then 23, strapped her sons — three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander — into their car seats and let the car slide into a lake near her home.
At first, Smith lied to the police and said a Black man took his car and kidnapped his sons. Smith’s husband believed her, and the young parents appeared on TV pleading for the accused to bring the boys home.
On November 3, 1994, police confronted Susan Smith about her case, and she admitted to the murder.
PHOTO: In this 1995 file photo, Michael Daniel Smith and Alexander Tyler Smith are shown at a sign laying flowers near the beach where the boys drowned. (William Campbell/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE)
MORE: Laken Riley case: Suspect found guilty by jury of all counts in campus killing
The panel said how her case took away resources from the military who searched for her sons. Asked what he would say to those who responded, Smith said, “I’m sorry I put them through it.”
“I wish I could take it back, I do,” Smith, now 53, said. “I didn’t lie to get rid of it. … I was just scared. I didn’t know how to tell the people who love them that they won’t see them again.”
“I’m a Christian and God is a big part of my life. And I know he’s forgiven me,” said Smith.
PHOTO: Susan Smith appears during her parole hearing on November 20, 2024 via zoom in South Carolina. (LAKE)
MORE: What’s next for the Mendez brothers? A look at their life in prison, 3 ways to be free
Susan Smith’s ex-husband, David Smith, was devastated when he asked the board to deny parole.
“This was not a tragic mistake. … He wanted to end their lives on purpose,” he said, adding, “I never felt any remorse from him for this.
“He came close to causing me to end my life because of the pain he caused me,” said David Smith.
So far his ex-wife has worked “15 years per child,” he said. “It’s not enough.”
PHOTO: In this 1994 photo collection, Susan Smith is shown. (Brooks Kraft/Sygma via Getty Images, FILE)
David Smith’s current wife, Tiffany Smith, asked the court to keep Susan Smith in prison for life so that the family can have peace.
She said her husband can’t get out of bed some days because of the pain.
“Michael and Alex did not get a chance in life. They were forced to the death penalty,” he said.
IMAGE: A grieving David Smith (wearing red tie & son’s photo on lapel) mourns among mourners as he leaves the funeral of his sons Michael & Alex. (Thomas S England/Getty Images)
Tommy Pope, the prosecutor in the case, also asked the board to deny parole, saying, “Susan has always looked after Susan.”
“Susan made a terrible, terrible decision to choose a man over her family,” Pope said. “If he could have put David in the car, he would have been there too.”
“Because of what he committed … that punishment has not yet been served,” said the Pope.
PHOTO: In this 1994 file photo, law enforcement officials, one wearing scuba gear, speak while scraping the underwater car of Susan Smith, who admitted to drowning her sons Michael and Alex in her car in John D. Long Lake. . (Thomas S. England/Getty Images, FILE)
During the trial, prosecutors argued with the young mother that she had a boyfriend and that her boyfriend separated for the sake of their children.
Susan Smith’s defense said she planned to kill herself with her children, but left the car at the last second.
The pope said Wednesday that he “wasn’t wet, he wasn’t hurt” when he ran to get help.
The defense also focused on his mental health and his young age; Susan Smith’s stepfather testified that he sexually abused her for years.
MORE: Revisiting murder mother Susan Smith’s 1994 case as she seeks parole
Susan Smith was convicted but not sentenced to death and sentenced to life in prison.
He is eligible for parole every two years beginning at age 30.
David Smith told the parole board Wednesday, “I’m going to be here every two years going forward to make sure their deaths don’t go in vain.”
PHOTO: This May 24, 2021 photo provided by the South Carolina Department of Corrections shows Susan Smith. (South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP, FILE)
Susan Smith has faced numerous charges in prison, including having sex with correctional officers, drug possession and providing contact information for her ex-husband’s family to a documentary producer.
Susan Smith’s attorney, Tommy Thomas, told the parole board the case was about “the dangers of untreated mental illness.” He said that Susan Smith had an undiagnosed depression after the birth of her second son.
Thomas confirmed that he has no criminal record, and said that if he is pardoned, he will live with his brother.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Susan Smith denied parole 30 years after killing her two sons appeared first on abcnews.go.com