The letter is a classic of its caddish kind; Findlay read it aloud in court. For those who've been before, the changes will show. She goes to Tom and reveals that she has been having sex with her stepfather since she was 16. Many people believe her motive was because she was dating a man who didnt want children at the time. And a nation that has heard the squalid evidence about Smith's liaisons with four different men, including her own stepfather, voted 63 percent to 28 percent in a NEWSWEEK survey that she should have been put to death. "Dear Susan," Findlay said. Even in the face of all the facts, David seemed to have some compassion for Susan. Smith's lawyer, David Bruck, answered with Christ's defense of the adulterous wife in the Gospel according to John. Tom Findlay, Susan Smith's ex-lover, started a new life in Birmingham, Ala. Cary Findlay, who is Tom Findlay's father and Susan Smith's former employer, let his mansion become a bed-and-breakfast; he now divides his time between England and Union. Email In Touch at contact@intouchweekly.com. Then Susan told him she and David were going through with the divorce, Findlay said, and he resumed their affair. I dont blame him for declining interviews and book deals and disappearing. . I love writing and I also love criminal cases, nothing better than combining business with pleasure. One diver described seeing the little hand of one of the children pressed against a window. . After picking up her children from nursery, she stopped to chat with a friend in a parking lot and expressed her fears about Tom's reaction now that he knew she had slept with his father. I do want us to be friends forever and Ill never let anything happen that would change that. For. He was considered twenty years ago to be the most eligible bachelor in Union, as the son of a wealthy mill owner. ``Susan, I could really fall for you. There was even an episode at the end of high school where Susan sought help from a school counselor. The card reads, "Never forgotten.". In the past nine years, Smith has been disciplined at least five times, including self-mutilation and the use and possession of narcotics or marijuana. I would hate for people to perceive you as an unreputable [sic] person. Cellmate Secrets premieres Friday, June 4, at 10 p.m. on Lifetime. Current Mayor Harold Thompson said while it is something the people of Union try to forget, its a part of history now., ABC News Take an eye for an eye, prosecutor Tommy Pope urged the jury. I was not ready to assume the important responsibilities of being a father, Findlay wrote in a statement issued through his lawyers. CAPTION: Thomas Findlay, right, Susan Smith's former boyfriend, leaves courthouse. Nine days later, she confessed and, eventually, it was revealed her motive was to pursue a relationship with a wealthy local man who did not want children. Smith was separated from her now-ex-husband, and started dating Tom Findlay, whose father owned the mill she worked at. But like I have told you before, there are some things about you that arent suited for me, and yes, I am speaking about your children. Smiling nervously and occasionally stumbling over his words, Findlay described an emotionally volatile Smith days before she sent her car rolling into the lake with her children strapped in their car seats. Both Smith and Findlay worked at Conso. I mean Bev was getting around having sex with his wife and dauther for not days or weeks or months, but for years! "Every time we think it's all behind us, it comes up again," says June Miller, Union County's longtime clerk of court. This irritated David. She is currently based at the Leath Correctional Institution near Greenwood, South Carolina. I will always treasure our friendship and all of the many wonderful memories we have made. Killing her sons was a horrifying act that bespeaks a personality crisis: at that moment, she must have been emotionally numb. They made a point of showing jurors the videotaped interviews in which Smith tearfully maintained the kidnapping hoax. I want you to know that I will always love and care for you for the rest of my life. Findlay received a salary of $214,615 last year, according to company filings with the. At the lake where they died, a little girl from Monroe, N.C., left a stuffed scarecrow and a pumpkin made of cornhusks. Actually, it "literally says" after 4 years he allowed her to leave, go shopping AND get a job. Her confession of pushing the car into the lake began to come out. She is currently based at the Leath Correctional Institution near Greenwood, South Carolina. At the time, Tom didnt know, but she had sex with David; her stepfather, Bev Russell; and also her boss, who was Toms father. With the promotion came a new life for Susan. Susan was already familiar with such a situation and she was able to comfort David in the following months. But I wanted to write you this letter because you are the one who is always making the effort for me, and I wanted to return the friendship. FOR THIS NEWSWEEK POLL, PRINCETON SURVEY RESEARCH ASSOCIATES TELEPHONED 752 ADULTS JULY 27-28. Findlay, a slight, balding graphic designer, appeared to exchange a quick half-smile with Smith from the stand during a break in his testimony about their brief fling, which he said began around Christmastime of 1993 and ended the following March when David Smith angrily warned him to stay away from his wife. "He was threatening to her. She kept those, too. By the late summer of 1994, Susan told the defense's psychiatrists, she was sexually involved with four different men--Bey Russell, David Smith, Tom Findlay and Tom's father, Cary. Jurors in Susan Smith's murder trial heard the words written by an ex-boyfriend that prosecutors say drove the young mother to kill her two sons: ``I just don't want children.'' In a letter to Smith written a week before 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex were drowned in a lake, Tom Findlay described her as ``intelligent, beautiful, The previous year, Union had the festival two years to the weekend after Smith confessed to the sheriff where he could find her boys. "But forgive--that's something I'm going to have to deal with, I guess, further on down the road. But the marriage slowly un-raveled. Ms. Smith's letter (handwritten, not dated): ``Dear Tom, ``Just a note to say thank you for everything. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Susan Smiths childhood was disturbing. Susan Smith and Tom Findlay; the boyfriend After breaking up with David, Susan started working as a bookkeeper at the largest employer in the area, Conso Products. Smith's natural father committed suicide when she was 6. During her adolescence Susan became popular at school, she was a very attractive young woman and seemed to take leading positions in school activities. During her trial, Susans stepfather, testified that he had sexually molested his stepdaughter when she was a teenager and again in the months leading up to her drowning the boys. Which is the lie? She seemed very nervous and asked to leave work early. But others, when they travel, won't say where they're from because they'd rather not answer questions. ", June Miller, the clerk of court, says, "It's over and done with and we go on with our lives.". Susan Smith's nervous paramour cast doubt today on charges that she killed her children to pursue their romance, saying Smith's anguish actually stemmed from a recent affair with her own stepfather. His father attempted suicide and his mother left for another city. Only a few days before Susan Smith drowned her two young sons, her former boyfriend testified today, he wrote her that the children were one reason their relationship could not continue. He really got a bad rap out of all of this even though, IMHO, he had no contribution to the situation. David never questioned the paternity of the child despite their separation. Russell, 48, was then active in South Carolina Republican politics and in Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition--but he is no longer, and the shattering disclosures triggered by his stepdaughter's prosecution are the reason. The Monarch Mills headlight light was always green and only turned red if it was triggered by a car on the cross street. But then Laura came along. Excerpts from a letter Susan Smith wrote to Tom Findlay on Oct. 17, and his reply, written the same day and given to her Oct. 18. The most startling testimony, however, came from Smith's ex-lover, Thomas Findlay, who said aloud in open court what has been whispered in this small Southern town since Susan Smith confessed to murder last fall -- that she had been having a secret affair with her stepfather, Beverly Russell. However, the case of Susan Smith highlights two distinct points of view. Initially, Smith told authorities a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the boys. Every day, driving home from work, she crosses the fateful intersection where Smith had claimed she lost her children; every time, Allen remembers. You are a very special person and that is part of why making love to you is so wonderful. Suspicious authorities directly confront Smith after a futile nine-day search. "Everything I had planned on, my life with my kids, was gone. But I am very thankful that there are people like you who are not so selfish as I am, and dont mind bearing the responsibility of children. Even before Susans confession, investigators already suspected her. We won't post to any of your accounts without asking first. Tom Findlay is the son of Cary Findlay, president of the company. ``I do hope that we will be able to date some and be together again someday, but if we never made love again, my feelings for you would not change because having you as my friend is worth more than sex could ever be worth. As I told you, I was starting to let my heart warm up to the idea of us going out as more than just friends. On November 3, 1994, David and Susan appeared on the CBS This Morning program and David expressed his full support for Susan and her story about the kidnapping. "Susan, I am not mad at you about what happened" at the hot-tub party, Findlay wrote. "I had a bad day," he said Smith replied. Susan decides to use emotional appeals. And your friendship is one that I will always look upon with sincere affection. The justice system imposes the death penalty far more often than it actually delivers it (page 24). Last year, I grew Fortamino but the seeds didnt do well at all. THE NEWSWEEK POLL (c) 1995 BY NEWSWEEK, INC. As a $17,000-a-year secretary to Cary Findlay, Smith worked for one of Union's wealthiest people. Hours later, a co-worker called to ask if he had heard the news about Susan-- and Findlay's first thought was, "Oh my God, she's killed herself. "There will always be something to remind each of us that such a thing happened here," she says. Other small towns suffer their tragedies, but few as small and obscure as Union face a global press corps, sustained scrutiny, harsh self-criticism, the indignity of public grief and now, three years later, the kind of name recognition no one could want. For court records, I would make a request to Union County if you cant find them online. I know I did when we were messing around earlier this year. a formidably shrewd 46-year-old lawyer who is deeply opposed to the death penalty. Tom Findlay, who was 27 at the time of the boys' deaths and who had an affair with her while she was separated from her husband, said in . I can see this may be a bit difficult for you because you are a bit boy crazy, but as the proverb states `good things come to those who wait. I am not saying you shouldnt go out and have a good time. Since that day twenty years ago, the town of Union, S.C. has also moved on. Are Janelle, Christine and Meri Suing Kody Over Money From Coyote Pass? . From extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, and wildfires to the melting of polar ice caps and rising sea levels, it's clear that our planet is in trouble. Something went wrong and their Suburban rolled into the lake. I was not in my right mind., In July 1995, Smith was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, which is around the corner in November 2024. However, some feel it will never be forgotten. We met at Conso (the company Findlays father operates, where Ms. Smith also worked), and I fell for her like `a ton of bricks. Well, even though I fell enlove (sic) with Laura, I had my doubts about a long and lasting commitment, but I never said anything, and I eventually hurt her very, very deeply. Smith had told him, 'i will love you for the rest of my life.'. After the first sentence, insert eyes rolling in parentheses. He told her to keep it: Smith was wearing the shirt when she drove her sons to the lake that evening. TUESDAY, Oct. 18, 1994 _ Susan Smith's boyfriend, Tom Findlay, breaks off their relationship saying he doesn't want the responsibility of children. He is known to some local young women as "The Catch.". Shortly after joining the company she was promoted to the position of executive secretary to Consos president and CEO, Carey Findlay. Actually, he is online. I know! If you want to catch a nice guy like me one day, you have to act like a nice girl. But like I have told you before, there are some things about you that arent suited for me, and yes, I am speaking about your children. So, where are all of the key players now, including the woman at the center of it all? premieres Friday, June 4, at 10 p.m. on Lifetime. The following year, prison captain. Smith was also disciplined in 2000 for having sex four times with prison guard Houston Cagle, who later pleaded guilty and spent three months behind bars for the crime. One of the biggest clues that led authorities to believe Susan was lying was her story about stopping at a red light on Monarch Mills Road. She wept and rocked in her seat as he described seeing "a small hand" pressed against the glass of the car window. Tom Findlay, 28, is a graphic designer who works in his father's firm. To be the perfect woman for a rich man. In late October and early November 1994, the town of Union, S.C., ceased to be just another speck on the map. What got into Susan Smith's mind that night, only the devil knows. However, when he began to learn more details of the story, he came to his senses. . The mom of two made headlines at the time of the news due to her shocking motive and she has since been behaving herself behind bars, which means she could soon be a free woman. "I asked her what's wrong," Williams said. I remembered how I hurt Laura, and I wont let that happen again; and therefore, I cant let myself get close to you. The idea that she would kill her . Source: http://www.thomasandrewart.com/KathyKemparticle.html. A.L. "We agreed the intimate part of our relationship should be postponed till she was divorced," Findlay testified. Williams said Smith came to her in tears that afternoon and asked to go home early. Russell signed a statement admitting his conduct and the family sought counseling-but Susan and her mother said they didn't want to prosecute. The first step is to understand the causes of climate change and how we can reduce our impact on the environment. Anyhow, my advice to you is to wait and be very choosy about your next relationship. ``It is 11:50 p.m. and I am getting very sleepy. I told her the intimate part of our relationship would have to end. Williams testified about a conversation with Susan Smith on Oct. 17, eight days before the murders: "I have a problem," Smith said. (Cary Findlay has denied any involvement with Smith.) The married man broke off their extramarital relationship and her reaction to the breakup was to attempt suicide by taking painkillers. Susan Smith's most intense extramarital affair was with a newfound employee at Conso Products in 1993. Findlay, balding early, is nice-looking if not quite a hunk; he allegedly told investigators that he considered himself "a ladies' man" whose mission in life was "servicing these women." Prosecutor Tommy Pope went into private practice in 2006 and is now a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives. Then he "slid her bra up and fondled her breast and took her hand and put it on his penis." The familiar landmarks remain: the courthouse on Main Street, where Smith stood trial for her life; her small brick house on Toney Road (a nurse's aide now rents it from Smith's mother); Conso Products, the decorative-trim factory where Smith worked as a secretary. Despite the comings and goings of their marriage, they were always present in the upbringing and education of their children. And I want you to know that I am flattered that you have such a high opinion of me. 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