Susan Smith Husband: David Smith, Their Marriage, And The Aftermath
If you’ve ever searched “Susan Smith husband,” what you’re really looking for is David Smith – the man who married Susan as a young woman, fathered their two sons, and then had his entire life destroyed when she murdered those boys in 1994. His story is often overshadowed by the horror of the crime, but it’s impossible to understand the case without him.
Who Susan Smith Is, In Brief
Susan Smith became a grim household name in October 1994, when she claimed that a Black man had carjacked her in Union, South Carolina, driven off with her car, and kidnapped her two young sons, Michael and Alexander. For nine days she cried on national television, begging for their safe return, standing side by side with David as the country watched.
In reality, there was no carjacker. Susan eventually confessed that she had strapped the boys into their car seats and allowed her car to roll into John D. Long Lake, drowning both children. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
But long before the cameras and the courtroom, Susan and David were just a small-town couple trying, and failing, to hold their lives together.
David And Susan: A Young, Struggling Marriage
David Smith grew up in the same small South Carolina community as Susan Vaughan. They married young, with all the usual promises of a simple, steady life. Like a lot of young couples, they faced money problems, long hours at work and the strain of early parenthood. Their first son, Michael, was born in 1991; their second, Alexander, followed in 1993.
From the outside, they looked like any other local family: two working parents, two little boys, a church-going extended family. On the inside, things were much messier. Reports and later court testimony described a marriage marked by separations, affairs and emotional instability. Susan struggled with depression and carried her own history of trauma. David, for his part, was a young man trying to hold down a job and keep the relationship from falling apart, while not really equipped to deal with the depth of her problems.
By 1994, they had already spent time separated. Susan had also become emotionally involved with a local businessman, Tom Findlay, who made it clear he did not want children. That rejection, combined with the collapse of her marriage and her own mental health struggles, created a volatile and tragic mix.
The Night Everything Broke
On October 25, 1994, Susan told police that a Black man had carjacked her at a traffic light, driven away in her Mazda with the boys still inside, and vanished into the night. The story fit a racist true-crime template that the media and much of the country accepted almost instantly. For more than a week, cameras captured Susan and David standing together, crying, holding hands, and pleading for the safe return of Michael and Alex.
David’s anguish in those days was real. He believed his sons were missing, believed his wife was a victim, and believed the entire town was hunting for the same thing he was: two little boys who needed to come home.
But investigators grew suspicious. The details in Susan’s story shifted. Her behavior didn’t always match her words. After nine days of relentless questioning, she confessed. There had been no stranger. She had driven to the edge of the lake, put the car in neutral, and let it roll into the dark water with her children still buckled into their seats.
For David, the revelation was a second, even deeper shattering. In a single moment he learned that his sons were dead and that the woman he’d married had killed them.
David Smith After The Confession
In interviews given years later, David described the moment Susan told him what she had done as a kind of emotional blackout, something so horrific his mind could barely process it. At first he wanted the harshest possible punishment and said he wished she had received the death penalty. His marriage to Susan effectively ended the day of the confession; the legal dissolution followed in the wake of her conviction.
Over time, his stance has become more complicated. David has spoken about his Christian faith and how, on some level, he believes he must forgive Susan to survive his own grief. But that spiritual idea of forgiveness has never translated into support for her release. When her case comes up, he is clear: he does not want her free, and he believes she has never shown the depth of remorse the crime demands.
David eventually tried to build a life beyond the tragedy—working, forming new relationships, and trying to be known as more than “Susan Smith’s husband.” Yet whenever parole, anniversaries or documentaries arise, he’s drawn back into the public eye to speak for two boys who no longer can.
Where Susan Smith Is Now
Susan Smith is serving her sentence at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, South Carolina. She became eligible for parole after 30 years; her first major bid came in 2024 and was denied, with the board citing both the severity of her crimes and her troubled prison record, which includes infractions related to drugs and inappropriate relationships with guards.
She will have another chance at parole in the future, but there is strong public opposition, led loudly and consistently by David Smith and other family members, who attend hearings or submit statements whenever they can.
Despite occasional rumors and prison romances mentioned in tabloids, Susan is not remarried. There is no new “Susan Smith husband.” Legally and emotionally, that role belongs only to David, and he has long since moved on from being her partner, even if he can never move on from what she did.
Featured Image Source: today.com
