Susan Smith, the serial killer who was infamously convicted in 1995 for drowning her two sons, Michael, 3, and Alex, 14 months, in a South Carolina lake, has reportedly been engaging in phone sex with sugar daddies from prison as she anticipates a potential release.

Smith was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years, making her eligible for parole this year. Her sentence hearing is scheduled for 4 November 2024, with the 52-year-old allegedly spending the past few months convinced that she might be released soon.

In preparation for her possible release, Smith has been cultivating relationships with several men who could support her financially once she gets out. According to family sources and recordings of prison calls obtained by the New York Post, Smith has engaged in sexual and romantic conversations with at least a dozen men over the past three years. These men, who have been referred to as sugar daddies, have promised her financial support, which Smith hopes will help her reintegrate into society.

In a recorded call from earlier this year, Smith told one suitor: “It’s time for me to get out. I’ve done my time. I’m ready to go.” During another call in March, she discussed financial plans with a male suitor, who detailed a large sum of money he had waiting for her, composed of the sale of family property, savings, and gifts from admirers.

As reported by the New York Post, Smith’s suitor claimed she could expect more than $220,000, which would allow her to spend $40,000 annually while still earning interest on the undrawn amount. This exchange prompted Smith to express her affection for him before their conversation turned sexual, complete with giggling and heavy breathing.

Smith was just 22 when she locked her sons in a car and allowed it to roll into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina, drowning them. Initially, she fabricated a story about being carjacked by a Black man, which led to a massive manhunt. However, it soon emerged that Smith had been having an affair with a man who didn’t want children, leading her to eventually admit to her crime. She was convicted of murder in 1995 but was spared the death penalty, receiving a life sentence instead.

Smith was just 22 when she locked her sons in a car and allowed it to roll into John D. Long Lake in Union County, South Carolina, drowning them. Initially, she fabricated a story about being carjacked by a Black man, which led to a massive manhunt. However, it soon emerged that Smith had been having an affair with a man who didn’t want children, leading her to eventually admit to her crime. She was convicted of murder in 1995 but was spared the death penalty, receiving a life sentence instead.

Smith’s time in prison has been marked by various infractions, including drug possession, self-mutilation, and sexual encounters with guards. Despite these issues, her family insists she has turned a corner and is preparing for her future. “She’s figuring out her future,” a family member told the New York Post. “She is seeing who she can rely on, and who will be able to help her.”

Smith has also previously claimed that she is not the “monster society thinks I am” and revealed in 2015 that she had intended to kill herself, not her sons, on the night of the tragedy. She has a long history of depression, predating the murders, and attempted suicide in 2012 by smuggling in a razor blade.

Her stepfather, Beverly Russell, admitted during the initial court case that he had molested Smith as a teenager and had consensual sex with her as an adult. He even mortgaged his home to pay for her defence, asserting that the guilt was not hers alone to bear.