Susan Smith has had enough of serving time in prison for the 1994 murders of her two young sons, a case that shocked the nation and made her a public figure.
Her first parole hearing on her life sentence is scheduled for Nov. 4, and her family says she has spent the past few months believing she will be released.
As a result, she has become obsessed with finding patrons to help her with life outside of prison — and the 52-year-old inmate is willing to engage in a little phone sex to seduce them, according to family sources and recordings of South Carolina prison calls reviewed by The Washington Post.
“It’s time for me to get out,” she told one suitor over the phone earlier this year. “I’ve served my sentence. I’m ready to get out.”
During a conversation with one of her suitors in March, she asked him how she would support herself when she was released from prison, and he told her that if she was released on parole, she would have a large savings waiting for her, made up of money from the sale of family property, gifts from fans, and some of the money he had saved up.
“Let me tell you what I did last night thinking of you,” the caller told Smith. “I created a spreadsheet that starts at $213,000, and you’ll get a lot more than that. I think it comes out to about $220,000.”
The man continued: [spend] $40,000 per year. While you are withdrawing from that balance, interest will accrue on the remaining amount.”
“In 20 years, we’ll have used up most of it,” he says, “but we’ll still have some left.”
After a brief pause, Smith signed: “I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” he replied and they began making kissing noises.
The conversation then turned sexual, accompanied by giggling and heavy breathing.
“I’ll let you sit in the passenger seat of my car,” the man said, after imagining what she would look like in a wet T-shirt.
“You’re such a badass,” she replied with a giggle, “I have some ideas we could do, but I’m going to make you squirm and flinch before I can even say it.”
“Baby,” he said, “I’m already squirming and struggling.”
But this man is not alone: Smith has had ongoing sexual and romantic conversations with at least 12 men over the past three years, according to prison phone records made public under South Carolina law.
During a conversation with another man late last year, she speculated about how she would wake him up in the morning.
“I have a way of getting your attention,” she teased, “I can wake you up in the morning. I can really wake you up.”
The reality is that Smith is unlikely to be paroled on his first try, and experts say he will probably never be paroled.
Smith was a 22-year-old mother whose two boys, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, were still in their car seats when her car plunged into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina. Smith stood on the shoreline as the car sank to the bottom of the lake and her two boys drowned.
Smith then falsely reported to police that black men had stolen his car and kidnapped the boys, prompting authorities to conduct a door-to-door search in his predominantly African-American neighborhood.
Smith and her then-husband, David, appeared on national news to plead for the safe return of their sons.
Nine days later, Smith finally confessed that there had been no carjacker and that he had dropped the boys into the lake.
Her motive was that she was having an affair with a wealthy man who didn’t want children.
She was convicted of murder but avoided the death penalty, instead receiving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
David Smith, who has since remarried and had two more children, and his family plan to vigorously oppose her release.
Still, Smith remains convinced she will be a free woman again.
“She’s trying to figure out her future,” a family member told The Washington Post. “She’s trying to figure out who she can rely on, who’s going to help her.”
The Post has confirmed that Smith has indicated his intention to attend the hearing.
The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardons has notified the victim’s family of the upcoming hearing.
