EXCLUSIVE: Susan Smith Tried to Kill Herself 'Multiple Times' While Behind Bars for the Drowning Deaths of Her 2 Young Sons in 1994
Susan Smith drove her young sons into a lake in 1994.
Nov. 11 2026, Published 1:50 p.m. ET
Monster Mom Susan Smith, the South Carolina woman sentenced to life in prison for drowning her two young sons 30 years ago, has become a suicide risk as she approaches the date of a new parole hearing that could set her free, RadarOnline.com can report.
The 55-year-old, who has been behind bars ever since, is scheduled to beg for her release in front of a parole board on November 19.
Susan Smith Is Convicted of Murder
She is up for parole for just the second time on Nov. 19.
October 25 marked 32 years since Smith strapped her 14-month-old son Alex and 3-year-old son Michael into her car and let it roll into John D. Long Lake in Union County.
She initially told local police that a Black man had carjacked her and kidnapped her two children, but in reality, prosecutors said Smith killed the boys because the wealthy man she was having an affair with didn't want children.
On November 3, 1994, nine days after the boys disappeared, Susan confessed to investigators at a local church that she had drowned her sons in the lake. Her confession ended the nationwide search for the children and led to her arrest on two counts of murder, and was eventually sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole not coming until she served at least 30 years.
After being denied release in 2024, Smith is expected to make her second appearance before a parole board next week. But her troubling behavior, including reports of attempted suicide, could keep her locked up.
Susan Smith Slashed Her Wrists in Prison
Smith allegedly killed her kids because a man she was having an affair with didn't want children.
In 2012, Smith was found in a pool of blood after slashing her wrists with a razor behind prison walls. Former fellow prisoner Stephanie Hulsey told Radar at the time, "Susan says she cuts herself because it releases all her pain."
Hulsey says she has had nightmares about Smith's bloody brushes with death, revealing she has "terrible raised scars on her wrists, maybe 15 of them, some three inches long."
The former inmate, who was released the same year, said one attempt came after Smith had been caught with some prescription pills and was locked in a room, waiting to be sent to solitary confinement.
Susan Smith's Suicide Attempts Were Nearly Successful
Smith cut her arms repeatedly while behind bars.
Husley shared she and another prisoner "were worried she might harm herself because she was so depressed. We decided to check on her.
"The room was locked, but we could see her inside – sitting on the floor and slashing deeply at her wrists with a razor she snuck in with her. There was blood spurting everywhere and she was weeping, but she wasn’t crying out in pain."
The two witnesses grabbed a guard, and Smith was rushed to a nearby hospital.
"They saved her life and then sent her to solitary for 60 days," Husley recalled. "The cutting incident almost killed her."
Susan Smith Insists She's 'Not a Monster'
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Fellow inmates worried she was suicidal.
During Smith's first parole hearing in November 2024 she begged for forgiveness for her actions, telling the parole board, "I want to say how very sorry I am. I know that what I did was horrible, and I would give anything if I could go back and change it."
In a 2015 letter to The State, Susan defended herself and said she is "not the monster society thinks (she is)."
"I had planned to kill myself first and leave a note behind telling what had happened," Smith confessed about her plans following the shocking murders. "I didn't believe I could face my family when the truth was revealed."
Susan added, "Something went very wrong that night. I was not myself. I was a good mother, and I loved my boys."
