Susan Smith.
Susan Smith, the notorious South Carolina woman whokilled her two sons in 1994, is eligible for parole in late 2024 — and she has told herlong-distance boyfriendin letters that she wants to marry him if she’s freed from jail.
PEOPLE viewed parts of two of letters she has sent to the man, who is in his mid-40s and has grown children.
“I can’t wait to build a life with you,” Smith writes in one letter. “Leave the past mistakes behind and start fresh, just you and me.”
Smith’s relative tells PEOPLE that the couple is seriously talking marriage if her parole goes well. “She’s talking like a schoolgirl about it,” the relative says. “Just saying how much she’s in love with him. It’s a bit strange since they’ve never met in person, but she says she’s sure he’s Mr. Right.”
Smith, now 50, is one of the most notorious prisoners in South Carolina history.
But it was all a lie.
Dave Martin/AP.
As her story began to unravel, Smith admitted that there was no carjacker, and that she had let her car roll into a lake with Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, still strapped in their car seats.
Her motive: She was secretly dating a man who didn’t want children. The story became international news, even landing on the cover of PEOPLE. Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and is serving a life sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, S.C.
Smith’s time behind bars has beenfraught with disciplinary actions, including illicit drug use, self-mutilation and sexual contact with a guard.
But Smith claims she has been misunderstood.
In 2015, Smith wrote a letter toThe State. “I am not the monster society thinks I am,” she wrote. “I am far from it.”
“Something went very wrong that night. I was not myself,” she continued. “I was a good mother and I loved my boys. There was no motive as it was not even a planned event. I was not in my right mind.”
Smith’s ex-husband — and the father of the boys — told PEOPLE in 2010 that he has never fully recovered from the pain. “There’s always this nagging and gnawing heartache,” David Smith said. “It’s there every day, even if I’m not always conscious of it.”
Smith wants to leave the past behind, but not everyone in her life is on board with that. “She can talk about wanting a new life,” says her relative, “but the rest of us are still mourning for Michael and Alex. I know it’s been a long time, but we still miss them. I am always wondering what type of men they would be today. I’ll never know, because she killed them.”
“Don’t get me wrong: I hope she can find something productive in her life, and I hope she’s happy. I’m a Christian and I believe in forgiveness. But I still oppose her getting out on parole, and I always will. She deserves to be in jail.”
source: people.com
