WHERE IS RILEY STRAIN: BREAKING

Riley Strain and his fraternity brothers at Delta Chi take a break from studies at the  University of Missouri to attend the fraternity's annual spring formal in Nashville.

Strain and the group arrive in Nashville on Friday, March 8, check into the Tempo Hotel, then head out for a night on the town. Riley Strain does a Facetime call with his mom at 7:30 p.m., then heads out.

Just over two hours later at 9:35 p.m., Riley Strain is escorted out of Luke Bryan's bar on Broadway. Telling his fraternity brothers he will meet them at the hotel, he heads out into the night, alone.

Riley Strain never makes it to the hotel.

BOY, 12, DEAD AFTER JUST 24 HOURS AT WILDERNESS BOOT CAMP, FOUND WITHOUT PANTS

The parents of a 12-year-old boy think Trails Carolina might be just the place to help their son.

Trails Carolina claims to be a Leader in Wilderness Therapy offering an Adventure Wilderness Program for children who have behavioral and or emotional difficulties. The parents say their boy is transported by two men from New York to Trails Carolina Camp at Lake Toxaway, North Carolina.

Their son arrives at the camp in an agitated state. The 12-year-old is loud and disruptive, but he is assigned to a cabin with other children as well as four adults.  In less than 24 hours, the 12-year-old boy from New York is dead. Sheriff Chuck Owenby says an autopsy is being conducted because the death "appeared suspicious" since the boy died at the camp less than 24 hours after he arrived.

A counselor explained to investigators that the boy was required to sleep on the floor inside a sleeping bag. The sleeping bag is inside a small tent called a "BIVY." According to search warrant documents, around midnight the boy started to experience a panic attack.

After the panic attack, a counselor told investigators that the boy was checked on throughout the night starting at 12 a.m., with additional checks on his well-being at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.  At 7:45 a.m., the boy was found dead. 

According to the search warrant, when investigators arrived at the scene, CJH was stiff and "cold to the touch." He was lying on his back, his arms were on his chest, and his "knees bent upwards toward the sky."

Also in the search warrant, investigators noted spots of bleeding under the skin, "possible petechiae" in the boy's lips and eyes. This is considered a sign of asphyxiation. The warrant also notes a CPR mask was covering the boy's face and he was not wearing any pants or underwear. His pants and underwear were lying next to his shoulder

Early in the investigation, detectives with the Transylvania County Sheriff's Office attempted to interview other juveniles at Trails Carolina when the boy died. However, camp staff members refused to allow investigators to interview or even see any of the other juveniles.

Trails Carolina says the search warrant contains "misleading statements" saying they won't discuss some details "out of respect for the family and the investigation." 

In a statement, Trails Carolina says they did not prevent children from speaking to investigators claiming they asked parents for permission for any children involved to speak with law enforcement and state agencies, and "complied with each parent's preference. as we are required to do." Children were moved to the area to protect them from seeing what was happening, not to avoid investigators.

In response to the recent suspicious death of a 12-year-old at Trails Carolina, North Carolina health officials ordered the removal of all children from the nature therapy program.

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER LEADS CLASS TO CRACK SERIAL MURDER CASE

In 2018, Elizabethton High School student teacher Alex Campbell challenged his students to see if they could figure out if the Redhead murders are sometimes called the Bible Belt Murders.

There were 14 unsolved murders with a similar M.O.  Campbell gets help from a former FBI agent teaching the young people about profiling a case. The students of Elizabethton High School start to see a potential pattern emerge in six of the potential murders.

In looking at the background of the murders, they started New Year's Day 1985, the body of a young female with reddish hair was found strangled, wrapped in a blanket, and tossed down an embankment off the southbound side of I-75 near Jellico, Tennessee.  Due to decomposition, authorities believe she was killed about 72 hours before her body was found,  10-12 weeks pregnant when she was murdered.  

The identification of Tina McKenney Farmer of Indiana helped the investigation move forward quickly. The evidence from the crime scene was tested and a match was found. The DNA matched Jerry Johns, convicted in the 1987 attempted murder of a woman he kidnapped, strangled, and then dumped along I-40.

Linda Schacke met Jerry Johns in a club in West Knoxville, Tennesee. The 36-year-old trucker seems like a nice guy until he pulls a gun, and forces her at gunpoint to drive to a wooded area off the interstate where he rips her shirt and uses part of it to strangle her. Johns then tosses the strangled and bound woman on the inside of a storm drain under I-40.

Like Tina Famer and many others, Linda Schacke has red hair, Unlike the others, Linda Schacke survives the attack. When Jerry Johns was convicted of the attack on Schacke, he was considered a suspect in some homicides, but there was never enough evidence. However, even though Tina Marie McKenney Farmer was positively identified by fingerprint identification, there was DNA left behind in the blanket she was wrapped up in after she was killed.  2019,

DNA evidence identified convicted kidnapper Jerry Leon Johns as the man who killed Tina Marie McKenney Farmer in December 1984. Johns died in prison in 2015. On December 18, 2019, a grand jury in Campbell County, Tennessee, ruled that Johns would have been indicted for murder in Farmer's death if he were still alive.

The students of Elizabethton High School continue to investigate and believe they have developed some strong evidence that shows whoever killed McKenney-Farmer, probably killed Lisa Nichols, Michelle Inman, Elizabeth Lamotte, Tracy Walker, and even a still unidentified Jane Doe in Desoto County.

AUDRII, 11, DEAD IN RIVER, MOM SPEAKS OUT: PERP NAKED IN COURT

The man accused of killing Audrii Cunningham, 11, has his first court appearance in the nude. Don Steven McDougal is naked when an officer goes to his cell to take him before the Justice of the Peace. When told to put on clothes McDougal tells the police he doesn't have any.  He's told to cover up with a blanket. As he stands before the judge, McDougal drops the blanket. 

Cassie Matthews, Audrii's mom, joins Nancy Grace today to detail how she learned her daughter was missing, and how she felt learning that the man accused of killing Audrii was charged with sex crimes. 

GIRL, 11, GONE, NAZI-FREAK SEX PERV 'GAVE RIDE TO SCHOOL‘

Thursday afternoon, February 15, Audrii Cunningham doesn't arrive home at her usual time. Family members look for her, assuming she became distracted during the walk home from the bus stop.

Panic sets in, then police are notified at 5:30 p.m. and an AMBER Alert is issued.

Investigators start putting together a timeline of events. Police say Audrii was dropped off at her bus stop by her dad's friend, the man who lives behind their house, Don Steven McDougal. As investigators retrace Audrii's footsteps, they find that  Audrii never made it to school. In fact, she didn't get on the bus.

Investigators ask for security video, from various security cameras in the area and develop of Vehicle of Interest, a dark blue, 2003, Chevrolet Suburban. They also have a person of interest, the last person known to be with Audrii Cunningham, Don Steven McDougal.

McDougal is arrested and placed in the Polk County Jail. Not for the disappearance of Audrii Cunningham, but on an unrelated aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge. The public now finds out that McDougal has a criminal record dating back to 2001.

Authorities say he was convicted on a charge of enticing a child and was sentenced to 2 years. So far, investigators continue to search areas around Lake Livingston where a backpack believed to be Audrii's was found.

Late afternoon, police announced the discovery of a body. 

IS ANYONE SEARCHING FOR MISSING TALLAHASSEE GIRL,12? WHERE IS LORI?

Lori Paige, a student at  Griffin Middle School in Tallahassee, Florida is one of Margaret Summers' favorite students. The paraprofessional says the 12-year-old is attentive and smart, but Lori is missing.

The middle schooler hasn't been seen since June 3, and police are asking the public for help. Lori Paige is 5 feet tall and weighs about 120 pounds with black dreadlocks.

Lori Paige and her father have a routine. He works nights and Lori stays in their home with trusted adults nearby if she needs help. The day Lori went missing, her father went to work, but when he came home, Lori was gone.

Anyone with any information about where Lori Paige might be can call the Tallahassee Police Department at 850-891-4200.

SCHOOL-SHOOTER-MOM GUILTY: IGNORED SON'S FILTHY ROOM, CAVITIES & 9MM

Jennifer Crumbley becomes the first parent in the United States to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for a mass school shooting committed by her son, Ethan. She was convicted of four counts of involuntary manslaughter and faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Jennifer Crumbley knew her son was struggling with mental health issues. They alleged instead of getting him the help he needed, Jennifer and her husband, James Crumbley, bought Ethan the gun he later used in the attack.

The prosecution also showed the Crumbleys were attempting to flee when they realized they were going to be charged with the crime. James Crumbley faces the same charges as his wife, on March 5.

ALEX MURDAUGH JUROR: 'I WAS PRESSURED TO FIND HIM GUILTY!"

There will be no new double murder trial for Alex Murdaugh, despite the fact that one juror says her vote was influenced by comments made by Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill.  According to the Juror Z,   “She made it seem like he was already guilty.”  Hill allegedly made comments such as "watch him closely" and "watch his body language."  During Juror Z's testimony, she was asked by Judge Jean Toal if her verdict based entirely on the testimony,  evidence,  and law presented  in this case. The juror answered yes.  She was also asked if she heard Becky Hill make any comment about this case before your verdict. Again Juror Z answered yes, and that the comments influenced her decision. 

Prosecutor Creighton Waters that in her affidavit the juror had responded that, "I voted guilty because I felt pressure by the other jurors."  After hearing all the testimony, Judge Toal ruled that the defense did not show that Hill's improper comment or question actually influenced the juror's verdict. 

BABY IRIS DEAD AFTER DADDY'S JEALOUS MISTRESS FEEDS HER NAIL POLISH REMOVER, BATTERIES

A 1-year-old child dies after being fed water beads, batteries, and acetone. 

Aleisia Owens, 21, the girlfriend of the baby Iris'  father, has been arrested for intentionally feeding the child harmful items. According to police, the child died of organ failure, a result of acetone poisoning. 

The baby's mother first took the girl to the hospital, after  changing her diaper and finding "water beads." Over the next few days, Iris passes about 20 water beads. She also passes 3 button-shaped batteries and a metal screw. After 4 days, the baby can go home with her mother. 

Pennsylvania Child Youth Services, CYS, inspects both parents' homes and, according to Newsweek, finds no issue at either residence. Iris lives with her mother full-time, but she continues to visit her dad at his house where Bailey Jacoby lives with his girlfriend, Aleisia Lynnae Owens.

During a weekend visitation at her father's house,  Bailey Jacoby goes to the grocery store, leaving Iris with his live-in girlfriend.  As he prepares to check out at the grocery store,  Owens calls Jacoby and tells him that something is wrong with Iris, she isn't acting like herself, and she is unresponsive.

Jacoby tells Owens to call 911. Emergency responders note that Iris is breathing but with a fixed gaze and weak response. She's transported to the hospital and she dies four days later.  

MOM-OF-5 RACHEL MORIN RAPED, MURDERED, LEFT NUDE ON TRAIL, STILL UNSOLVED EVEN W/ DNA

Months after the body of Rachel Morin is found along a trail the Ma & Pa Trail, her killer is still a mystery.  DNA found at the crime scene match to a home invasion in Los Angeles 5 months earlier, but investigators are still not sure who the DNA belongs to. The only evidence made public is a video of the man they believe is the suspect,  leaving the home invasion scene in LA.  But now WMAR 2 reports investigators are following up a lead in Washington DC. Police aren't calling the person a suspect, but the hope is this person can point them in the right direction.

Morin's family is turning to all option in trying to bring this killer to justice. They are working with profiler Pat Brown to provide more information about the possible suspect in Morin's murder. The possible suspect is Hispanic, early to mid 20s, 5 foot 9 and about 160 pounds.   Brown says this person is likely narcissistic, lacks empathy, he is manipulative and a pathological liar.  

The family has also created a flyer using still images from the doorbell camera footage of the suspect sending out 10,000 flyers to homes and schools near the LA crime scene. Morin Family attorney, Randolph Rice, tells CBS News the reason the family is reaching out to schools in Los Angeles is the suspect could have been in high school as early as two years ago. They are hoping a teacher who taught him and saw him every single day during the school year will recognize the suspect.

ALEX MURDAUGH TAKES A HIT, JUDGE BANS 'EGG LADY' JUROR TO CLAIM CLERK POISONED JURY

Alex Murdaugh’s three-day evidentiary hearing takes place later this month.

The hearings will held in open court and court-controlled television cameras will be allowed. They cannot, however, focus on the faces of testifying jurors, who will be referred to by their juror numbers, not their names. The hearing will determine whether Murdaugh will be granted a new murder trial, after his attorneys, alleged jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca “Becky” Hill.

Former S.C. Chief Justice Jean Toal is now the judge hearing the case. She took control of her South Carolina courtroom -, making several rulings affecting Alex Murdaugh’s bid. His attorneys say jury tampering by Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill impacted the original trial’s outcome, and that according to Toal, will be the defense’s burden to prove. The attorneys argued the law only required them to prove improper contact with jurors had occurred.

Toal says she will rule that, “Prejudice must be proved, not presumed.”

Toal says the stand she will take on the specific evidence of ”what was said, when it was said, and how it impacted the jury,” lies with the defense, not an assumption on Becky Hill’s credibility. Toal told the courtroom that she would not allow the upcoming evidentiary hearing to turn into a trial of Becky Hill.

Becky Hill is facing her own ongoing ethics and criminal investigations related to her conduct during and after the Murdaugh trial.  The judge says she intends to limit the witness list to the twelve deliberating jurors and Becky Hill.  

An alternate juror and Juror 785, now known as the “egg lady” due to her insistence that she retrieve a dozen eggs from the jury room before leaving the courthouse, will not be allowed to testify.  Toal says she sees  “no necessity” to hear from anyone other than the (deliberating) jurors.”  

IDAHO STUDENTS SLAY: SICK GHOULS EYE DEMOLISHED HOUSE FOR "SOUVENIRS?"

As Bryan Kohberger’s defense team tries again to get a judge to toss out the indictment against Kohberger, the home where the four murders took place is now gone.

The clapboard house located at 1122 King Road, Moscow has been torn down, with the entire front of the building razed from sight in roughly 15 minutes. According to school officials, demolition was set for during the school's winter break, when fewer students would be in the area. It took just 90 minutes in total, for the home to become a pile of rubble.

The debris, loaded up by two contractors, was taken to a secret area for disposal. The site was combed for not a single item to be left behind for the curious to find and keep as a macabre souvenir. One local who wished to remain anonymous said 'They want nothing left for ghouls to plunder.'

Some, however, are still concerned that the best evidence in this case is now gone.  The home was scanned using 3D imaging to allow the jury to be brought into the home and take a virtual tour where they wouldn't have been able to go.

The families of the four students killed in the house on King Road were not in agreement on the demolition. The Goncalves and Kernodle families issued a statement before the demolition, asking the university to wait to tear the building down until Kohberger's trial is completed.

The Goncalves' family said through their attorney, that the house “has evidentiary and emotional value."

In the statement, Goncalves wrote, "The family has stressed tirelessly to the Prosecution and the University of Idaho the importance (evidentiary and emotionally) that the King Road house carries but nobody seems to care enough."

She adds that the “families' opinion isn't a priority.”

The family of Ethan Chapin, who did not live there, offered its support for the demolition. In their statement, the Chapins said the demolition was needed  "for the good of the University, its students (including our own kids), and the community of Moscow."

DID GEORGE AND CINDY ANTHONY LIE?

June 16, 2008: the last day 2-year-old Caylee Anthony is seen alive.

One month later, her grandmother Cindy Anthony franticly calls 911 to report her granddaughter is missing. Casey Anthony claims that a babysitter kidnapped her daughter. By October, when nothing Casey tells police turns out to be true, she is arrested and charged with Caylee's death, even though Caylee is still missing.

On December 11, Caylee's remains are found in a garbage bag, dumped in a wooded area near the Anthony home. Eight days later, Caylee's death is ruled a homicide. Prosecutors announce they will seek the death penalty against her.

At Casey Anthony's trial, her lawyer first made claims that George Anthony was molesting his daughter and that he staged Caylee's death to look like a drowning to cover up that he may have been abusing his granddaughter as well. 

Those claims, made again after Casey Anthony is acquitted of the death, have haunted the Anthonys for years. 

Now, George and Cindy Anthony agree to take a lie detector test in front of cameras for the A&E network special "Casey Anthony's Parents: The Lie Detector Test."

What happened when he is asked if he had anything to do with Caylee's death?

COPS: DENVER CARDIOLOGIST DRUGS, RAPES WOMEN, 13 VICTIMS COME FORWARD

More women have come forward accusing a Denver cardiologist of rape.

Stephen Matthews, 35, was first charged with drugging and raping a woman he met on the dating app "Hinge." Matthews was later charged again as the nine additional victims revealed similar stories.

Matthews now faces 51 felony counts related to the alleged drugging and sexual assault of thirteen women. Three of the cases allege that Matthews drugged and subsequently raped the “helpless” victim. The remaining  cases allege that Matthews drugged the victims.    

Matthews’s attorney, Douglas Cohen, said his client is innocent, entering a not guilty plea in court.  Matthews' trial is set for next Spring.

BLUE-BLOOD LAWYER 'ACCIDENTALLY' SHOOTS WIFE DEAD, SELLS HER $350,000 WARDROBE, GETS NEW TRIAL

Tex McIver is a prominent Atlanta Lawyer,  Vice Chair of the State Elections Board, and his wife, Diane, is a beautiful, incredibly successful business woman in her own right.    They are married 11 years, but on a September night, Tex McIver shoots his wife in the back, killing her.  Diane McIver is shot inside a Ford Expedition she is riding in with her husband and a close family friend. They are returning home from their ranch in Putnam County late on Sunday night. Diane is in the front passenger seat, Tex is in the back seat.   Dani Jo Carter is driving the SUV back from the Ranch to the Condo in Buckhead when the interstate traffic gets heavy and she takes an exit into Downtown Atlanta.  McIver tells the police it was a bad area and he asked his wife to hand him his gun. He said it was in the center console up front. Diane McIver hands Tex his gun. McIver says soon they were out of danger and he fell asleep. He wakes up when Dani Jo stops the car and somehow the gun fired.    

As friends come to offer condolences on the passing of his wife, most expect to see Tex McIver upset, in shock that he accidentally shot his wife, the love of his life, and caused her death. Instead, they find a man who seems more concerned about money. Within two days of Diane's death, Tex is asking about his wife's Social Security benefits.  Then  Tex McIver seems to be investigating how to liquidate his late wife's assets. Tex McIver organizes many of his wife's possessions to sell at an auction as part of an estate sale. Tex McIver said he was liquidating things to settle his wife's estate.  McIver sold everything he could of his wife's clothing, jewelry, furs, hats, just about everything. The sale lasted several days. It was later revealed that Tex McIver owed his wife nearly $350,000 which she loaned him for a barn he built on the ranch for guests on their estate

The Atlanta Police eventually came to the decision to charge Tex McIver with involuntary Manslaughter and reckless conduct in the shooting death of his wife. The charges seem to suggest that they believe Tex McIver's claim that the shooting was an accident. The day after a judge sends McIver to jail, McIver is indicted on a charge of malice murder along with six other charges including three counts of influencing a witness. 

WEALTHY LADY RANCHER DISAPPEARS FROM CALI RANCH: WHERE'S DIA?

Lydia "Dia" Abrams marries a wealthy La Jolla, California, real estate developer, Clem Abrams.

They have two children. After more than 30 years of marriage, Clem Abrams passes away after a long illness and Dia steps up to run the 116-acre family ranch. 

After years as a widow,  Abrams meets Keith Harper on a dating website. According to the Mercury News, Harper is a retired parole agent for the Utah Department of Corrections.  The two hit it off and six months later, Harper moves in with Dia at the ranch and becomes the ranch manager.   According to Harper, he works to upgrade the Abrams’ property:  building dams, bridges, and fences, and helping care for Abrams' animals.

Harper also claims to be Abrams’ fiance.

Keith Harper is also named as trustee of Abrams' estate, and her beneficiary in the event of her death. On June 6, 2020, Dia Abrams is seen at her ranch in Mountain Center, California. Then she is captured on doorbell-cam footage delivering cinnamon rolls to a neighbor undergoing cancer treatment.

According to Keith Harper, he and Dia have lunch around 2:30 p.m. before he leaves to work around the property.  Abrams reportedly goes to tend to her horses at another property she owns in Garner Valley.

Harper says he mows for five hours before returning to the house around 7:30 p.m.   Abrams’ Ford F-350 pickup is parked outside, but Harper cannot find her.  Harper says he calls her phone and hears it ringing upstairs. It is plugged into a charger next to a nightstand. Abrams’ purse and keys are also there.

A search begins.  Dozens of locals scoured the ranch and surrounding mountain area on foot, horseback, and all-terrain vehicles. Harper is seen riding an ATV around the property. When Riverside County sheriff deputies begin a days-long search, Harper packs up his RV and takes off for Arizona. He says he needs to take care of a tax issue at a property he owns there. 

Where is Dia? 

ROMEO /JULIET? TEEN GIRL TELLS NANCY 'WHY I'M AFRAID TO GO HOME

Teens Jonathan Stockle and Penny Lyles are still on the run.  Today father Ryan Lyles joins Nancy Grace to deny claims that he is abusive to his family and has threatened the Stockle family. Then, hear from Penny Lyles and Jonathan Stockle themselves, as they tell their side of the story. 

The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office says it has not substantiated the allegations of abuse against Ryan Lyles. 

ROMEO AND JULIET? TEEN GIRL, BOY FLEE FAMILIES IN FEAR

Teens Jonathan Stockle and Penny Lyles are dating. When Lyles' family moves back to Oregon, Stockle is invited to join them. 

After a time, Ryan Lyles, Penny's father, reportedly reads concerning private messages on his oldest daughter's phone. Those messages are allegedly about drugs, and sneaking out of the house to use drugs.  Ryan Lyles messages his daughter, Penny, at school and tells her to come straight home after school to talk. They never make it home. 

Ryan Lyles and the police are called to the school after Penny Lyles tells a school counselor about abuse in the home. According to a report on News 12, after police talk to Penny, they tell her to go home with her father.  Ryan Lyles alleges the school counselor tells Penny Lyles if she wants to run, go out the back door. Lyles further claims the counselor opened the door and let her run out. 

The teens have been missing ever since, except for a traffic stop in Nevada. They were found by officials on Friday, but they didn’t stay “found."

News 12 confirmed that the couple was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol in Tonopah. The case was turned over to the Nye County Sheriff’s Office. Officials say Penny Lyles then escaped Division of Child and Family Services custody during a transport by asking to use the restroom She left through a door, and allegedly rejoined Stockle.

The Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office says it has not substantiated the allegations of abuse against Ryan Lyles.  

LONG ISLAND SERIAL KILLER SUSPECT'S WIFE GETS 'MILLION DOLLAR DEAL' FROM PEACOCK

Rex Heuermann has been housed in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility since his July arrest for the deaths of three women. 

Asa Ellerup, his estranged wife, filed for divorce six days later. Since then she has not visited Heuermann, until now. Bob Macedonia, Ellerup’s divorce attorney, confirmed  Asa Ellerup met with Rex Heuermann at the Suffolk County Jail. No word on how the meeting went or what was said.

She has now also attended a court hearing for the accused Long Island Serial Killer. A crew for the Peacock network accompanied her after the family signed a deal worth at least 1 million dollars to take part in an upcoming documentary. 

We've also learned that Heuermann has become a pen pal behind bars, writing to another serial killer, the "Happy Face Killer. In the early 90s Keith Jesperson, a long hall truck driver, killed many women. When someone else took credit for one of his murders, he started sending letters to the media and police with information only the killer would know. He put a "happy face" on each of his letters and was dubbed the Happy Face Killer. 

DailyMail reports that Jesperson wrote a letter to Heuermann encouraging him to confess and offering some advice. Rex Heuermann reportedly writes back, thanking the Happy Face Killer for the advice, and then complains about the food in jail and the exercise yard.   

SUSAN SMITH DROWNS HER BOYS, HAS MULTIPLE LOVERS BEHIND BARS

After high school,  Susan Leigh Vaughan marries David Smith.

They have two sons, but the children don't keep the marriage together.  The Smiths separated several times. During one of these separations, Susan Smith begins dating Tom Findlay, the single son of a wealthy mill owner.  Smith is planning a future with her new beau when she gets a Dear John letter from Findley. He explains that he doesn't want an instant family.

On the night of October 25, Susan Smith knocks on the door of a house near John D Long Lake. She is hysterical when the man answers the door and tells him to call the police. She says an armed black man just carjacked her at a red light. Her two boys, 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alex, are still in the car.  For days Susan Smith tells an ever-changing story of the carjacking.

Then Susan Smith finally admits what she has done. There never was a hijacker. She went out for a drive with her sons buckled into their car seats in the back. Feeling desperate,  alone, and suicidal, she drove to John D. Long Lake and puts the car in neutral. She jumps out and watches the car sink. Scuba divers locate the vehicle with the boys in the back, still buckled into their seats.

Since Susan Smith was convicted and jailed, tabloid news reports claim Smith told prison investigators that she had four sexual encounters with Lieutenant Houston Cagle, a supervisor at South Carolina's Women's Correctional Institution.

Cagle admitted having sex with Smith and another prisoner. He was charged with the offenses in August 2000. The 50-year-old Cagle pleaded guilty and spent 3 months in jail. Captain Alfred Rowe also pleaded guilty to having sex with Smith and was sentenced to five years' probation.   

Now Smith's relationship with men turns to pen pals. Several men have written to Smith over the years, with Smith looking to a life outside prison.   In March of 2022, People magazine gained access to letters Smith wrote to a long-distance boyfriend.  In one letter Smith wrote, "I can't wait to build a life with you, leave the past mistakes behind and start fresh, just you and me." 

The Messenger has reportedly obtained transcripts of dozens of voice and text messages that Susan Smith traded with at least six men while serving her time in Prison. One man has gone so are as to build a fake life for Susan Smith and himself in the game the Sims also has a pet name for the convicted child killer, "Pookie."