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After high school,\\xa0 Susan Leigh Vaughan marries David Smith.

They have two sons, but the children don\'t keep the marriage together. \\xa0The Smiths separated several times. During one of these separations, Susan Smith begins dating Tom Findlay, the single son of a wealthy mill owner. \\xa0Smith is planning a future with her new beau when she gets a Dear John letter from Findley. He explains that he doesn\'t want an instant family.

On the night of October 25, Susan Smith knocks on the door of a house near John D Long Lake. She is hysterical when the man answers the door and tells him to call the police. She says an armed black man just carjacked her at a red light. Her two boys, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, are still in the car.\\xa0 For days Susan Smith tells an ever-changing story of the carjacking.

Then Susan Smith finally admits what she has done. There never was a hijacker. She went out for a drive with her sons buckled into their car seats in the back. Feeling desperate, \\xa0alone, and suicidal, she drove to John D. Long Lake and puts the car in neutral. She jumps out and watches the car sink. Scuba divers locate the vehicle with the boys in the back, still buckled into their seats.

Since Susan Smith was convicted and jailed, tabloid news reports claim Smith told prison investigators that she had four sexual encounters with Lieutenant Houston Cagle, a supervisor at South Carolina\'s Women\'s Correctional Institution.

Cagle admitted having sex with Smith and another prisoner. He was charged with the offenses in August 2000. The 50-year-old Cagle pleaded guilty and spent 3 months in jail. Captain Alfred Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years\' probation.\\xa0 \\xa0

Now Smith\'s relationship with men turns to pen pals. Several men have written to Smith over the years, with Smith looking to a life outside prison.\\xa0 \\xa0In March of 2022, People magazine gained access to letters Smith wrote to a long-distance boyfriend. \\xa0In one letter Smith wrote, "I can\'t wait to build a life with you, leave the past mistakes behind and start fresh, just you and me."\\xa0

The Messenger has reportedly obtained transcripts of dozens of voice and text messages that Susan Smith traded with at least six men while serving her time in Prison. One man has gone so are as to build a fake life for Susan Smith and himself in the game the Sims also has a pet name for the convicted child killer, "Pookie."\\xa0

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

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• Tara Malek\\xa0\\u2013 Boise, ID, Attorney & Co-owner of Smith + Malek; Former State and Federal Prosecutor; Twitter: @smith_malek
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• Dr.\\xa0Bethany\\xa0Marshall\\xa0\\u2013 Psychoanalyst (Beverly Hills, CA); Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall; Twitter: @DrBethanyLive\\xa0
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• Chris McDonough\\xa0\\u2013 Director At the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective; Host of YouTube channel: \\u201cThe Interview Room\\u201d
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• JoScott Morgan \\u2013 Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University; Author, \\u201cBlood Beneath My Feet;\\u201d Host: \\u201cBody Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan;" Twitter: @JoScottForensic\\xa0
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• Dave Mack - CrimeOnline Investigative Reporter
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