Susan Smith Reports Carjacking (October 25, 1994)

This week (October 23-29) in crime history – Chechen rebels stormed a Moscow theater taking hundreds of hostages (October 23, 2002); Terrorists bomb US Embassy in Beirut (October 23, 1983); Marv Albert was sentenced in sexual assault case (October 24, 1997); Susan Smith reports carjacking to cover-up murders of her children (October 25, 1994); Shoot out at the OK Corral (October 26, 1881); Mafia Boss John Gotti was born (October 27, 1881); Chuck Berry’s morals trial began (October 28, 1961); Crime reporter Dominic Dunne was born (October 29, 1925)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On October 25, 1994 - Susan Smith reports that she was carjacked by a man who also kidnapped her two children in South Carolina. Although law enforcement immediately began searching for three-year-old Michael and one-year-old Alex, they could find no trace of them or of Smith’s car. After nine days of intense national media attention, Smith finally confessed that the carjacking tale was false and that she had driven her Mazda into the John D. Long Lake in order to drown her children.

Both Susan and her husband, David Smith, who had had multiple affairs during their on-and-off relationship, had used their children as pawns in their tempestuous marriage. Apparently, Susan was involved with another man who did not want children, and she thought that killing her children was the only way to continue the relationship.

Ironically, Smith’s murder came to light because she had covered her tracks too well. While believing that the car and children would be discovered in the lake shortly after the search was started, she never anticipated that the authorities might not be able to find the car. After living under the pressure of the media’s scrutiny day after day, Smith buckled. She was convicted on two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In a book David Smith later wrote about the death of his children and expressed a vague wish to see Susan on death row because he would never be able to relax and live a full life with her in prison.

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of eight award winning books that includes the soon to be released California’s Deadly Women: Murder & Mayhem in the Golden State, 1850-1950. Visit his website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His books can be purchased from Amazon and other fine book sellers.

https://www.amazon.com/Californias-Deadly-Women-Murder-1850-1950/dp/0764355309/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1508864018&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Serial Killer H.H. Holmes Executed (May 7, 1896)

This week (May 1-7) in crime history – NBA star Jayson Williams was charged with shooting a limo driver (May 1, 2002); FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover died (May 2, 1972); Exxon executive Sidney Reso was found dead after being kidnapped (May 3, 1992); -year-old Madeleine McCann vanished while on vacation with her parents in Portugal (May 3, 2007); The Haymarket Square Riots (May 4, 1886); Three women were rescued after being imprisoned for year at a Cleveland, Ohio home (May 6, 2013); Serial killer H.H. Holmes was executed (May 7, 1896)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On May 7, 1896, serial killer H. H. Holmes, was hanged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Although his criminal exploits were just as extensive and occurred during the same time period as Jack the Ripper, Holmes’ crimes have not endured in the public’s memory.

Born Herman Mudgett in New Hampshire, Holmes began torturing animals as a child. Still, he was a smart child who later graduated from the University of Michigan with a medical degree. Holmes financed his education with a series of insurance scams whereby he requested coverage for nonexistent people and then presented corpses as the insured.

In 1886, Holmes moved to Chicago to work as a pharmacist. A few months later, he bought the business from the owner’s widow after his death. She then mysteriously disappeared. With a new series of cons, Holmes raised enough money to build a giant, elaborate home across from the store.

The home, which Holmes called “The Castle,” had secret passageways, fake walls, and trapdoors. Some of the rooms were soundproof and connected by pipes to a gas tank in the basement. His bedroom had controls that could fill these rooms with gas. Holmes’ basement also contained a lab with equipment used for dissections.

Young women in the area, along with tourists who had come to see the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and had rented out rooms in Holmes’ castle, suddenly began disappearing. Medical schools purchased many human skeletons from Dr. Holmes during this period but never asked how he obtained the anatomy specimens.

Holmes was finally caught after attempting to use another corpse in an insurance scam. He confessed, saying, “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.” Reportedly, authorities discovered the remains of over 200 victims on his property.

Michael Thomas Barry is the author of seven nonfiction books that includes the award winning In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime. 1950-1980. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:

https://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493656215&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry