UNION, SOUTH CAROLINA (WLOS) – The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardons has set a parole hearing date for notorious murderer Susan Smith. The hearing is scheduled as this week marks the 30th anniversary of the horrific crime.

Smith was convicted in 1995 of two counts of murdering her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander. She was sentenced to life imprisonment. What the jury couldn’t say back then was a life sentence that still made a person eligible for parole in South Carolina after 30 years.

Smith falsely reported that the boys were attacked by a black man on October 25, 1994, after she was stopped at a Union intersection after allegedly holding a gun to her side and telling her to “Shut up.” and drive”. Smith also claimed he eventually made her get out of the car while he drove away with her boys. The incident sparked a nationwide search for the man, the car and the boys.

Smith later confessed that she pushed the car into John D. Long Lake. The boys were found strapped into their car seats, too young and with no way to escape. Their bodies were recovered from the lake nine days later after Susan wrote a handwritten confession.

Smith’s parole hearing will take place on November 20, 2024.

The South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon has noted an escalation in media and public attention surrounding Smith’s eligibility for parole. Smith is eligible for parole starting November 4th. A press conference will be held immediately following the parole hearing in Columbia, South Carolina.

On August 26, in advance of her upcoming parole hearing, Smith was charged with communicating with a victim and/or witness.

Susan Smith loses privilege to chat with filmmaker before parole hearing

According to the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), the charges involved telephone conversations with a documentary filmmaker about her crimes. Smith had agreed to provide the filmmaker with contact information for friends, family and victims, including her former husband David Smith. According to SCDC, the documentary filmmaker deposited money into Smith’s inmate account.