Susan Smith, a 23-year-old single mother from South Carolina, drowned her two young sons, Michael, 3, and Alexander, 1, in a lake and then staged their kidnapping in September 1994. Smith claimed that a ‘black man’ had taken her boys from her car at gunpoint. An extensive search ensued, but no evidence of a kidnapping was found. Smith’s story began to unravel when investigators discovered inconsistencies in her account. She eventually confessed to the crime, stating that she had killed her sons due to the stress of being a single mother and the fear of losing custody. Smith was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
