Episode 39: The Murder of Susan Smith
Susan Daniels Smith
Mark Putnam with his wife and daughter.
If life had unfolded for Susan Smith the way it did for most residents of Pikeville, Kentucky, she never would have met FBI agent Mark Putnam. But life is unpredictable and in Susan’s case, a relationship which should have been among the safest in her life turned out to be the deadliest.
Susan vanished on June 8th, 1989. It would be a year before her whereabouts were known. A year of wondering if she left, or perhaps was silenced by her ex-husband, a year of grief for the children and family she left behind. When the truth of what occurred on that fateful summer night was revealed, those who loved both Susan Smith and Mark Putnam were devastated.
Mark Putnam confessed to strangling Susan and dumping her body in an isolated ravine. They’d been having an affair and she insisted she was pregnant. Mark was the first FBI agent ever convicted of murder.
Show Sources
Above Suspicion by Joe Sharkey
Tampa Bay Times (1991): Slaying by FBI Agent Still in Spotlight
Hartford Courant (2000):’ Agent Who Killed Lover Ends Sentences
As I mentioned in the podcast, this case inspired my latest novel, Still Falling. If you want to check out the book, there’s a link below.
Still Falling: A Troubled Spirits Novel.
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