Wicked and Grim: A True Crime Podcast · Ben Gibson

Susan Smith - Filicide

·1 hr·4 clips

Tom Finley’s letter told Susan Smith he did not want children or the responsibility of raising someone else’s.

1. Wicked and Grim: A True Crime Podcast centers this episode on Susan Smith and the 1994 disappearance of Michael and Alexander Smith. 2. Ben, Nicole, and Susan host the episode, and Brian King Sharp is introduced in a separate promo for the Disturbing History Podcast. 3. The episode asks how a mother’s carjacking story collapsed into a murder investigation in Union County, South Carolina. 4. Michael Smith was 3 years old and Alexander Tyler Smith was 14 months old when Susan said a stranger took them. 5. Susan told police a black male forced his way into her burgundy 1990 Mazda Protégé at gunpoint after a stop at a red light. 6. Police, the FBI, volunteers, and dive teams searched roads, woods, lakes, and ponds while porch lights stayed on in Union County. 7. Investigators checked Monarch Mills Road, where a sensor-triggered traffic light made Susan’s red-light explanation difficult to sustain. 8. Officers found no tire marks, no clear struggle evidence, and no visible injuries matching Susan’s account of being pushed out of the car. 9. Susan’s retellings shifted on details such as timing, direction, and where she said she was going that night. 10. The episode notes that Susan appeared emotional on camera but calm, conversational, or even cheerful away from the cameras. 11. David Smith stood beside Susan in public while the search continued and while the two boys were still believed to be missing. 12. Susan’s polygraph results were inconclusive twice, while David Smith’s test showed no indication that he knew what had happened. 13. Susan later told investigators she had been planning to visit a friend, but that friend was not expecting her and was not home. 14. The sheriff confronted Susan with the traffic-light problem and then used a fabricated undercover-operation detail to push for the truth. 15. Susan then said, quote, "my children are not all right," and wrote a confession describing her drive to John D. Long Lake. 16. Her confession described repeated stops at the boat ramp, a decision to let the car roll, and her claim that the boys were still strapped in their seats. 17. Divers later found the burgundy Mazda submerged about 122 feet from shore in roughly 18 feet of water. 18. Michael and Alexander were recovered from the car seats, and Susan Smith was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. 19. The episode has a tense investigative tone, with the hosts alternating between narration, commentary, and direct reaction to the evidence. 20. Listeners interested in true-crime investigations and courtroom-relevant details will likely stay engaged, while listeners avoiding child homicide cases may skip it.

As heard by us

A grim, steady look at how a public story unravels under scrutiny.

Suzanne Smith's story is handled as a measured, uneasy study in how a public explanation can begin to fray under ordinary scrutiny. The episode stays with the missing boys, Suzanne's shifting demeanor, and the investigators tracking what does not quite fit, which gives the case…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a case where a public story starts wobbling under pressure, this is for you.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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