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Susan Smith

What is susan smith?

· Sarah Mitchell

Key facts

Full name Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith[2]
Birth date September 26, 1971[2]
Birth place Union, South Carolina, U.S.[1]
Conviction Murder (2 counts)[2]
Sentence Life imprisonment with possibility of parole after 30 years[2]

Susan Smith is an American woman convicted of murdering her two sons in South Carolina in 1994 by letting her car roll into a lake with the children strapped in their seats. She was sentenced to life imprisonment and was denied parole in 2024.

Context

Susan Smith is an American woman convicted of murdering her two sons in South Carolina in 1994 by letting her car roll into a lake with the children strapped in their seats [2]. She was sentenced to life imprisonment and was denied parole in 2024 [2]. Her full name is Susan Leigh Vaughan Smith, born September 26, 1971, in Union, South Carolina [2]. She initially told police a Black man had carjacked her, but later confessed there was no carjacking [4]. A jury convicted her in 1995 [3]. The name is not unique; she is commonly confused with Susan Daniels Smith, an FBI informant murdered in 1989 [1].

Documented claims

  • She initially told police a Black man had carjacked her and kidnapped her children. [4]
  • She later confessed that there had been no carjacking and that she had let the car roll into the lake. [4]
  • A jury convicted her in 1995. [3]
  • She was denied parole in November 2024. [4]

Questions and answers

What did Susan Smith do?

She let her car roll into a lake with her two sons strapped in their seats, drowning them, in 1994 [2].

What was Susan Smith's sentence?

She received life imprisonment with possibility of parole after 30 years [2].

Was Susan Smith granted parole?

No, she was denied parole in November 2024 [4].

Who were Susan Smith's victims?

Her sons Michael, age 3, and Alexander, age 14 months [2].

Sources

  1. Susan Smith - Crime Museum — crimemuseum.org (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  2. Where Is Susan Smith Now? Inside Her Life in Prison After Drowning Her Sons — people.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  3. Susan Smith, who drowned her two children 30 years ago, is asking parole board for her freedom — pbs.org (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  4. Susan Smith - Biographie - IMDb — imdb.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)

Sources last checked August 3, 2026. · More in People