Dateline: Who is Susan Smith and what did she do? Harrowing details of the 1994 South Carolina murder case, explored

The latest Dateline episode Return to The Lake on NBC brings back the disturbing details of the 1994 South Carolina murder case. Susan Smith, an American woman had murdered her two young sons by securing them in their car seats and letting the vehicle roll into the lake. She alleged that she was carjacked by a Black man who kidnapped her children in the course of action.

During the investigation, the whole country was shocked by the incident that happened in Union, South Carolina. Even after 30 years, the story continues to resonate with the people who could not fathom how a mother could harm her two little boys and go on to fabricate the story for days. In the Dateline episode, her ex-husband David Smith recalls the events that changed his life forever.

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Who is Susan Smith?

Coming from a dysfunctional household, Susan Smith reportedly had a difficult childhood. She married David Smith in 1991 and had two sons. On October 25th, 1994, 23-year-old Susan told the police that a Black man had carjacked her and driven off with her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, still in the vehicle.

For nine days, she continued to stand by her claim, making heartfelt pleas on national television for the return of her children. Her then-husband, David, stood by her through it all as he told the cameras,

‘We’re not going to give up until we find you.’

On investigation, the authorities found several loopholes in Susan’s account of the night. David vividly remembers the moment she admitted to drowning their sons in John D. Long Lake. He told NBC's Craig Melvin,

‘She just casually, like you and I sitting here, said ‘I’m sorry.’ And that was about as far as it went... I asked her ‘Why did you do this? Why?’ And she said, ‘I don’t know why, but I’m sorry.’

Susan’s lawyers urged that she was remorseful of her actions and was suffering a mental breakdown. The murder case not only traumatized her family but also the whole country who watched the case unfold with bated breath. The prosecutors said that Susan murdered her kids as she was secretly in a relationship with another man who disapproved of children.

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Where is Susan now?

In 1995, Susan was convicted of two counts of murder. She is currently serving a life sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood. In November 2024 she had applied for parole, which was denied. As per the video obtained by Dateline, she appealed to the parole board,

‘I know that what I did was horrible. And I would give anything if I could go back and change it.’

Following this, David said in a press conference,

‘In two more years, we’ll go through this again. But at least I know, for now, she’ll still be behind bars.’

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David Smith’s Life today

David Smith remarried in 2003. He lives in South Carolina with his children and wife, Tiffany.

He told Dateline,

‘I saw how dedicated and faithful and compassionate Tiffany was through all of it and stuck by my side, so I knew that, better make that jump before I lose it.’

He is still coping with the tragedy of losing his sons,

‘She (Susan) deliberately killed Michael and Alex and they can’t let her out. Thirty years is not enough.’

David detailed his relationship with Susan and the incident in his book Beyond All Reason: My Life with Susan Smith. The NBC’s Dateline episode, which premiered on February 14th, features a series of interviews by her ex-husband, David, his wife, Tiffany, Susan Smith’s defense attorney, and the chief of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The episode also includes the rarely heard audio of Susan’s initial interrogations.