Susan Smith was allegedly four months pregnant when she was killed by her lover and FBI agent, Mark Putnam. However, medical examinations showed that she may not have been pregnant as claimed.
Now, it has become debatable whether Smith was truly pregnant or only made it up in order to keep her relationship with Putnam. Also, there are concerns that, probably because her body was found a year after her demise, it may have obstructed the show of pregnancy, if there was any.
Well, whether she was truly pregnant or not, it contributed to her murder on June 8, 1989. This became an infamous murder case in America that has been told in books and movies, including the Above Suspicion book in 2019. It also made history with Putnam becoming the first American FBI agent to be convicted of homicide.
Why it is Believed that Susan Smith was Pregnant For Mark Putnam
The narrative you’d easily find on the internet and in much documentation about Smith is that she was allegedly pregnant. Well, this pregnancy has never been confirmed, but it doesn’t change the narrative anyway.
So, one question that lingers is, “Was Susan Smith actually pregnant?” Well, there are chances that she was. This belief is due to the fact that she was in a sexual relationship with Mark Putnam, with whom she worked as an informant in a case.
The relationship lasted over a year, and the possibility of a pregnancy cannot be ignored.
Along the line, in mid-1989, Smith told Putnam that she was pregnant. This became a major driving force in the investigation of her death. It was ruled by many as the motivation for why Putnam may have killed her.
One other reason that she was believed to be pregnant at death was that Putnam knew about it and had promised that he and his then-wife Kathy Putnam would adopt the child.
Again, Smith’s sister, Shelby Ward, opened up about her sister’s alleged pregnancy. She further claimed about dreaming about Smith and seeing her with her child in heaven.
If Smith was indeed pregnant, it would be her third (as known by the public). She was previously married to Kenneth Smith, with whom she bore two children.
Why Others Believe that Susan Smith May Not Have Been Pregnant at Death
To some, there is no evidence that Susan Daniel Smith was pregnant when she died in 1989 at 28. Examiners ruled out the presence of a fetus when an autopsy was carried out on the mother of 2. This examination was not carried out once, but twice!
Even at that, could it be that the fetus never showed as a result of the autopsy carried out a year following Smith’s death? Probably—or not! There are no facts to support this claim, but there are possibilities.
Again, another reason that there are theories that Smith may not have been pregnant is the belief that she didn’t want her relationship with Putnam to end. He had earlier left Kentucky and wanted to focus more on his career and family.
Then Smith announced to him that she was pregnant. This would lead to an altercation that resulted in her killing. Putnam, who also had two children (Danielle and Mark Jr.) with his wife, Kathy, claimed that the murder was accidental.
Another claim is that Putnam may not have killed Smith only because of his pregnancy but could be hiding something else. Whatever the case, he gave authority to her body in 1989, a year after she died, and he received a 16-year sentence in 1990. He was released in 2000 after 10 years due to “good behavior.”
Let’s Shift our Focus From Susan Smith’s Pregnancy to Her Children
Smith was the mother of two children, Brady and Miranda Lynn. She bore them from her marriage to Kenneth Smith, a local dealer of methamphetamine, PCP, and cocaine.
Susan’s children were about the ages of 8 and 5 when she passed away. In their later years, Joe Sharkey, the author of the Above Suspicion book (about her murder), revealed that her son Brady died several years ago after overdosing on a combination of methadone and Xanax.
Then, her daughter Miranda lives in Phelps with her husband and child.
Her ex-husband, Kenneth, on the other hand, lives a quiet life in Phelps.
