Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. In 1977, Susan Smith met Kenneth Smith, a local dealer of methamphetamine, PCP, and cocaine. Watching the movie it does seem like manslaughter, and if that was correct then 16 years is an appropriate sentence. Mark Putnam reads, exercises, works in the prison hospice and chapel, and is talkative during calls to his family. By all accounts, Susan Smith fell head over heels for the FBI agent. Erin, it would do you good to read this article by Black Author Lipton Matthews: White Peoples War on Western Civilization https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/white-people-s-war-on-western-civ/. Because of Shelby Wards persistence--and the wrongful-death suit the family has filed against Putnam--Susan Daniels Smiths body was exhumed in May and the autopsy on her resumed, two years after she was killed. Her parents moved to Freeburn, Kentucky, when Susan was an infant. For her assistance in the case, Susan received $5,000 (nearly $12,000 in 2021 dollars). Thank you Irving, good read. The next evening, he dumped her off an old coal mine road about nine miles north of Pikeville. Not saying its a fair trade off for taking a life, but he did serve above the norms. According to The Mountain Eagle, Mark's involvement in the raid of McRoberts' junkyard was well known to the residents of Letcher County. In 1987, an ambitious rookie FBI agent came to Pikeville, Kentucky for his first posting out of the academy. Mark Putnam had met Susan Smith while she was a police informant regarding some of the drug and bank robbing activities going on in Kentucky. He soon met a girl from the nearby holler who worked as an informant. Susan Smith's parents had first moved to Freeburn, Kentucky when she was an infant, where she continued her education till the 7th grade and dropped out consequently due to financial problems. Sentenced to 16 years in prison, he served 10. Sometimes you get the good people who believe in real justice, and sometimes you do get them racist tyrants. Being an informant was a fairly common phenomenon in the area during this time although the pay was low and the risk was high. Putnam would later claim that they only had sex five times over a two-week period and only in his car. I mean if he was latino maybe he would be a landscaper? But this narrative of being stricken with guilt ultimately plays into the idea that Putnam is a noble man who "snapped" because a woman pushed him too far and was so remorseful that he felt compelled to confess. What is the point of stating this? Recommended: Is Horror Movie 'Annabelle: Creation' (2017) Based On A True Story Or Not? To satisfy your wondering question he could be Green it doesnt matter. They jumped up whooping and dancing around as if everyone of them had won the lottery. When he was declared not guilty, you wouldve thought Obama had been elected. They used her and they killed her and they dumped her out like a bag of garbage.. After Mark Putnam was able to gain Susan Smith's trust, they started meeting two to three times every week. The movie also didnt show that Susan Smiths body was decomposing for a year before Putnam decided to tell where her bones could be found. I remember Diane Downs, 1980s, the mother of three children who shot them because her new boyfriend wouldnt get serious with her because he didnt want to be involved with someone with kids. In his written confession, Putnam said he strangled Smith in a fit of rage because she was threatening to tell his wife and superiors that she was carrying his child. Its a woman who lost her life. I couldnt find any information related to this. As far as Michael Brown, that gentle giant, the only way his DNA and blood splatter couldve gotten on the inside of the police cruiser was he was sticking his hand in there trying to get the officers weapon. ", By the time Mark and Kathy moved to Pikeville, she was pregnant with their second child. Not one scintilla or shred of evidence to bring a charge or convict this man." The following year saw him sentenced to 57 years in federal prison for robbery. He was a model prisoner inside. Dirt poor, divorced, the mother of two young children, Susan Daniels Smith, 27, prayed for a handsome Prince Charming who would take her away from the squalor of her rural Kentucky community to live in romance and luxury. Meanwhile, Mark relocated to Georgia after being released from prison. The network says the episode includes interviews with Bert Hartsfield, a sheriffs deputy in Pike County; retired FBI supervisor Jim Huggins, and Joe Sharkey, who wrote a book about the crime called Above Suspicion.. We have enough social justice warriors in the world. I used my instincts and shot first. May 10, 2021 7:20pm. Youre correct Jolene. She was the fifth of nine children (including her sister Shelby Ward). on one of Susans bones? The icing on the cake was when president Obama declared Treyvon Martin was the son he never had. The reason George Z. was found innocent by a racially diverse jury was because he was simply protecting his life from having his head bashed into the concrete sidewalk. Jolene thats an interesting point. memorial page for Susan Daniels Smith (1961-8 Jun 1989), Find a Grave Memorial ID 224916506; Burial Details Unknown; . Not one scintilla or shred of evidence to bring a charge or convict this man., In the 28 years that I have been a prosecutor, this is the first experience that I have had where a lawyer called me on a telephone and said, I have a man who wants to confess to murder, or homicide, and wants to go to the penitentiary, and we had absolutely no evidence.. "It's part of our culture now. Investigation Discovery says The Perfect Suspect is a psychological thriller, dissecting every deep, dark secret and looking into each suspect until they ultimately find a killer.. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Its likel that their father, Kenneth Smith, raised them but I dont know for sure. If you take someones life not to ruin your career and marriage, you deserve to rot in hell regardless. Although the marriage produced two children, its hardly surprising that there were problems. According to the Associated Press, what made the case novel was that it was "apparently the first case in FBI history in which an agent had been charged with a homicide." Your email address will not be published. The case received nationwide attention. Putnam appeared tense during his 20-minute appearance in Pike County Circuit Court. Ive read two other true crime stories where the female murder victims were killed by boyfriends they told they were pregnant. Smith was a local dealer in methamphetamine, PCP, and cocaine, hardly a model citizen. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. The story of slain FBI informant Susan Smith of Pikeville will be featured on an episode of the new series The Perfect Suspect, which airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on Investigation Discovery. I loved Game of Thrones, you know. Her worried sister, Shelby, with whom she had a close relationship knew that the last person her sister was going to see was FBI agent Mark Putnam. [Photo by Ed Reinke/AP File]Trouble Comes Back To Town. If he was black with good behavior, they would do the same thing also. In 1987, an ambitious rookie FBI agent came to Pikeville, Kentucky for his first posting out of the academy. Due to good behavior, Mark Putnam was released from prison in 2000 after serving 10 years out of his 16-year sentence. When a key FBI informant disappears, her sister becomes convinced that the married agent who paid the woman for information -- and had an illicit affair with her -- also was her killer. Susan Daniels Smith grew up poor in an area on the border of Kentucky and West Virginia, the fifth of nine children. They were not concerned about Justice being served; they only wanted the Black man to be found not guilty. The move was based on the suggestion of Bert Hatfield the part-time cop who initially suggested Kenneth as an informant. We dont want to make a secret about it, but we prefer not to bring it out, he said. Susan Daniels Smith lived a life of poverty, violence and misery. Racism equals hate. He soon met a girl from the nearby holler who worked as an informant. A year later, apparently racked by guilt, he offered to lead authorities to her body. What type of person marries a man who admits to a murder? Ward said she would be paid $50,000 for helping with the movie. To date, he is the only FBI agent convicted of homicide. Her body was exhumed but it was too dehydrated to get an answer. But what was the relationship between Smith and Putnam, and how did it get to a point where he felt compelled to choke her to death? He plead guilty to felony manslaughter typically a 10-20 year term in KY sentenced to 16 and released in 10 on good behavior. The girl is kind of forlorn sometimes, she said. He soon met a girl from the nearby holler who worked as an informant. She wasnt exactly a model citizen but she didnt deserve to die although she was blackmailing him pretty much. Susan objected and began slapping him. Putnam and Susan met in the spring of 1987. And now to, you know, see her in a movie, you know, about my hometown-even though it was a dark part of our towns history, said local man and Riverfill 10 employee Jonathan Collins. Karla Ward: 859-231-3314, @HLpublicsafety. Theres a long history of killers with higher socioeconomic status than their victims getting softer sentences than what their crime alone deserved. In such descriptive wording, upstanding citizen, a dirty FBI agent is upstanding, are they not? He said he placed the body in the trunk of his rented car and dumped it the following evening off an old coal mine road about nine miles north of Pikeville. The pair would meet two to three times every week, and Smith quickly told Putnam she believed Lockhart was planning another heist because she discovered a duffel bag with two sawed-off shotguns and ski masks in their home, Sharkey writes. Wild Bill Hickok: Fortune Leaves Him in the Lurch, https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/white-people-s-war-on-western-civ/, Helene Knabe: Pioneering Doctor and Murder Victim, George Joseph Smith: Bridegroom Makes for Unusual Serial Killer, Annie Le: Insider Murder Ends a Promising Life, Frank Howard: Strange and Sensational Murder for Hire, Tony Baekeland: Odd Son, Troubled Mother, and Murder, Eric Witte: Mother Manipulates Boy to Commit Startling Murder, Lethal Lovers: Sensational Case of Love and Murder. Even in the movie they mentioned 6 is the usual for manslaughter with most serving 2 with good behavior. Based primarily on Huggins' ability to elicit a confession, Putnam pled guilty and was convicted of strangling is his pregnant informant, Susan Daniels Smith, in a fit of rage. In addition to solving another bank robbery, Mark was responsible for closing down a stolen car shop. Shelby Ward told investigators that when she last spoke to her sister, Smith was waiting for Putnam to drive her home, The Mountain Eaglereports. The case received nationwide attention. Putnams first wife, Kathy stood by him while he was in prison. On June 13, 1990, Mark Putnam pled guilty to choking Susan Smith to death and told investigators where they could find her body almost exactly one year after her murder. This story was originally published January 2, 2018, 8:38 PM. lame prosecution The blood shrank the glove. Police file/Family photo The story of slain FBI informant Susan. Furthermore, this has nothing to do with OJ getting under anyones skin or the color of ones skin. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Meanwhile, the guy who robbed the bank gets nearly 60years. Now Putnam had a dead body on his hands. Yes, he killed her, but he was also a model inmate and had not once received any disciplinary incidents. Mark married Kathy Ponticelli, who was the "daughter of a wealthy real estate developer." All that was left of Susan was skeletal remains. Nevertheless, the two married sometime in the late 1970s. He was 22 at the time, she was 15. This threw Smith into a violent rage. Continuing their street shit inside. Immediately after the hearing, Putnam was handcuffed and taken into custody by Kentucky State Police officers. I just wish it would all die down. I dont care what color he is. There are hundreds of stories like these. Sign up for the newsletter today. Regardless, the two of them got together at some point, and Putnam took them for a drive. But Katheryn Sizemore, Kenneth Smiths landlady and a neighbor, said it is obvious they miss their mother. Susan Daniels Smithwas born in the West Virginia town of Matewan in 1961. Susan Daniels Smith lived a life of poverty, violence and misery. 7.8K views 9 months ago In 1987, an ambitious rookie FBI agent came to Pikeville, Kentucky for his first posting out of the academy. While there, Putnam was reportedly the same type of person he'd been throughout his youth, exhibiting "aggression in sports and in class but extreme caution about divulging information about his private affairs," Jones writes. Eventually, Susan Daniels Smith became pregnant and Mark Putnam wanted to distance himself from Smith before the affair could ruin his marriage. Her father said she told him, I sure wish my mommy had lived. . He subsequently confessed, pleaded guilty to strangling Smith,[4] and told authorities where to find her body. Sheriffs deputy Bert Hatfield suggested to his friend, Susan, that she could earn extra money by becoming an informant. This case leaves a lot to be desired! When he reached Kentucky, Smith contacted him about her pregnancy and told him the baby was his. Runyon, the Pike County commonwealth's attorney at the time, added that in his almost 30 years as a prosecutor, this was the first time that they encountered someone who wanted to confess to a homicide while the prosecution had absolutely no evidence. Susan Smith (ne Daniels 1961 [3] - June 8, 1989) was an American FBI informant. This was also apparently the first time that an FBI agent was actually convicted of murder. Listen to this episode from Southern Fried True Crime on Spotify. This was truly a sad story, FBI agent Mark Putnam was taught better. Locals believe keeping the story alive is important, but some are suspicious of how the story will come across through the Hollywood gaze. The case, which caught the attention of local and national news outlets, was the first reported instance of an FBI agent committing homicide. Even the polygraph test wasn't admissible in court. Smith, a mother of two from Freeburn, had been working with the FBI as an informant with an agent named Mark Putnam. This story has been shared 402,023 times. Ive read all of the court paperwork. News Chant reports that Putnam put Smith's body in the trunk of his car. https://twitter.com/LyndaKelly/status/708741300259037184. Major Source: Above Suspicion by . Susan Daniels Smith lived a life of poverty, violence and misery. Susan Smith 's former cellmates and a prison guard who had sex with her are speaking out about the infamous woman's checkered time behind bars .

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