South Carolina killer mom Susan Smith told an unknown male over the phone that she “wouldn’t talk” to the media just weeks before she was ultimately disciplined behind bars for doing just that, according to prison calls newly obtained by Fox News Digital.
The 53-year-old was denied parole on Nov. 20 after spending 30 years incarcerated – a decision that was made after she was found guilty of speaking with a documentary filmmaker, which was against prison rules.
Smith was charged with communicating with a victim/and or witness of crime on Aug. 26 and was convicted on Oct. 3, Chrysti Shain, director of communications with the South Carolina Department of Corrections, previously told Fox News Digital.
Less than two weeks before being charged with the incident, Smith told a male prison caller on Aug. 13 that she “got a letter from a woman,” who she said worked for a national media outlet, adding “I’ve already thrown it away, so I can’t even read it to you.”
KILLER MOM SUSAN SMITH DENIED PAROLE 30 YEARS AFTER DROWNING SONS
When asked what the letter was about, Smith responded, “Just wanted to talk with me. The same thing, like most of them… want to give me a platform to tell my story.”
“I wouldn’t talk to them, even if I could,” she told the male caller.
Smith then mentioned another letter she received.
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“I did get a letter from some guy in California, but all he said was, ‘Hi, you don’t know me, and I’ve never done this before. Care to talk?’ That was it – just one line. It was handwritten…it was kind of odd,” she said. “It’s probably going in the trash too.”
In a previous recorded phone conversation, seemingly with the same male caller, Smith discussed the Freedom of Information Act.
WATCH “SUSAN SMITH, THE KILLER MOM: 30 YEARS LATER” ON FOX NATION
The very same month, she was charged after having conversations with a filmmaker – Smith’s first disciplinary action in almost 10 years.
In their conversations, Smith and the filmmaker discussed conducting an interview and even filming for a documentary and ways to get paid for it.
They also spoke about Smith’s crime in depth and the events leading up to and after it, including details like “what was in the trunk of the car when it went into the water and her plans to jump from a bridge while holding the boys, but one woke up,” the incident report says.
KILLER MOM SUSAN SMITH DISCIPLINED BEHIND BARS WEEKS BEFORE PAROLE HEARING
South Carolina Department of Corrections inmates are not allowed to do interviews on the telephone or in person, according to SCDC policy, but they may write letters.
Smith agreed to provide the filmmaker with contact information for friends, family and victims, including her former husband. The filmmaker deposited money into Smith’s account for “Calls and Canteen,” according to the incident report, which redacted the filmmaker’s name.
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Smith lost her telephone, tablet and canteen privileges for 90 days.
“SCDC inmates are issued tablets that are secured for correctional use. The tablets can be used to make monitored telephone calls and to send monitored electronic messages,” Shain previously said. “They are considered a privilege. The department will determine when and if inmate Smith will earn the opportunity to be issued a tablet again.”
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Smith strapped her sons, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander Smith, into the back seat of her car and let it roll down a ramp into John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina, on Oct. 25, 1994.
Smith, 22 at the time, watched as it took six minutes for water to fill the car, drown her boys and sink the car to the bottom of the lake.
She was convicted for the murders of her two children on July 22, 1995, and though prosecutors argued that Smith should receive the death penalty, she was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
KILLER MOM SUSAN SMITH THINKS PAROLE IS NOW UNLIKELY AFTER SHE WAS CAUGHT TRYING TO PROFIT OFF CASE: REPORT
A board unanimously voted to deny Smith’s parole on Nov. 20 after she appeared emotional and crying on a jailhouse court feed during her hearing.
“I know that what I did was horrible…I’m sorry that I put them through that…I wish I could take that back, I really do…I was just scared,” she said during the parole hearing. “I didn’t know how to tell the people that loved them that they would never see them again…I’m sorry, I know that’s not enough…just words, but they come from my heart.”
The reasons for the parole board’s denial were the nature and seriousness of the crime and Smith’s institutional record of offenses.
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