Susan Smith, in prison for the cold-blooded 1994 murders of her two young sons, believes that she blew her chances at being paroled next month after she was convicted of trying to cash in on her infamy.
“She’s inconsolable,” a relative told the Post. “She was so close to getting out, and it seems to be collapsing in front of her very eyes. She has derailed it herself. She’s not happy at all.”
“She knows it’s now very unlikely she’s going to get out,” the relative said. “This is a fresh disciplinary action, a month before her parole hearing. The parole board 100% pays attention to these things. This is really bad.”
Smith, who is serving a life sentence, was caught agreeing to give a documentary filmmaker contact information for friends, family and victims, including her ex-husband, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
In return, the filmmaker deposited money into Smith’s commissary account, authorities said.
The 53-year-old was charged with communicating with a crime victim on Aug. 26, and then convicted earlier this month, a Department of Corrections spokesperson confirmed.
The filmmaker’s name has been redacted from the report.
South Carolina Department of Corrections inmates are not allowed to do interviews on the telephone or in person. They may only write letters.
Additionally, South Carolina statutes prohibit criminals from profiting from their crimes. In their conversations, Smith and the filmmaker discussed ways for her to get paid for filming a documentary.
Smith was a 22-year-old mom when she became a household name for killing her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. In 1994, she let her car roll into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina, with her boys still strapped into their car seats.
Smith then falsely told police that a black man had carjacked her and kidnapped the tots, leading to a manhunt in which authorities went door to door among local neighborhoods that were predominantly African-American.
Smith and her then-husband, David, appeared on national news every day, pleading for the boys’ safe return.
But nine days later, Smith finally confessed that there was no carjacker, and that she had drowned her sons in the lake.
Her alleged motive: She was having an affair with a wealthy man who didn’t want children. The car was pulled from the water with the two boys still strapped in their seats.
She was convicted of murder, but spared the death penalty and instead given life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
But Smith believes that that parole hearing, which will be heard on Nov. 4, is now unlikely to go her way, the relative said.
Smith had a rocky road in prison. She was disciplined in 2000 for having sex with two guards while behind bars. She has always maintained that the sex was not consensual, due to the differing power dynamics.
She has also had several infractions — including in 2010 and 2015 — for having narcotics or marijuana behind bars.
But for nine years, Smith has been a model prisoner — until now.
Smith has lost her telephone, tablet and canteen privileges for 90 days, beginning Oct. 4. Days before losing her phone, the killer mom talked to relatives about her plight.
“She was really, really upset,” said the relative. “And the worst part is that she knows she messed up. This is on her. How could she be so stupid?”
