'Something is wrong here:' South Carolina sheriff recalls first Susan Smith interview — Transcript

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1. 0:00that shed a bad light on Union it's
2. 0:02something that everybody's going to
3. 0:03always remember I mean I'm sure for
4. 0:05years to come they going to still
5. 0:06remember that but you know it's
6. 0:07something that we have to we have to put
7. 0:09behind us and and move forward as a as a
8. 0:12community and we know it's bad and it
9. 0:14happened but you know we we we have to
10. 0:16forgive don't mean we have to forget it
11. 0:18but we we will forgive is that tough
12. 0:21when these anniversaries come up I
13. 0:22imagine 10 20
14. 0:2525 now now we're at 30 well I I'm it's
15. 0:28it's tough I mean because you know it
16. 0:30gets it's brought up again but I mean
17. 0:32it's it's got to be tougher on David uh
18. 0:34you know cuz he he's had to live with
19. 0:36this all his life now and uh and I'm I'm
20. 0:39sure it's tough on him to have it you
21. 0:40know brought up again and bring back old
22. 0:42memories and stuff but uh you know I I
23. 0:45know he's had to move on but you you're
24. 0:47not going to forget it never will has
25. 0:49Union County moved on from it Union
26. 0:52County has grown you know since that you
27. 0:54know it took a while to get back on path
28. 0:57you know get back to to some type of
29. 0:59normal that we had to have and and once
30. 1:02we got back you know we've grown over
31. 1:03the years and and uh like I said the
32. 1:06people they haven't forgot about it but
33. 1:08they've moved on and and it's uh it for
34. 1:12a while it it held Union back I feel
35. 1:14like but but you know like I said as
36. 1:16time changes and we go on and and put
37. 1:19put it in the past then then it helps us
38. 1:21move forward and and be a better
39. 1:23Community is this a tight-knit community
40. 1:25is this the type of community where like
41. 1:27maybe even before this incident a lot of
42. 1:30of people would have known Susan and
43. 1:31David Smith here in town it is it's like
44. 1:34that I mean it this in Union County just
45. 1:36about everybody knows everybody SP can
46. 1:38to somebody so it's uh you know it's
47. 1:40it's it's a real close Community you
48. 1:42know we're got our population is around
49. 1:4328,000 people and we're a big County but
50. 1:46we're spread out land mass and but you
51. 1:49know as far as the communities go you
52. 1:51know people just you see everybody and
53. 1:53and and you pretty well know just about
54. 1:55everybody and that's why everybody knew
55. 1:57her knew her family and and uh it was
56. 2:00just it was a lot of emotions from
57. 2:02people who knew her and uh so that that
58. 2:05was that was a big thing I guess I
59. 2:07should have asked did you know Susan did
60. 2:08you know David before any of this no I I
61. 2:12I didn't know Susan uh actually David
62. 2:16worked at wind Dixie and at that time I
63. 2:19had a part-time business and we took
64. 2:20care of that area and uh I I knew who he
65. 2:24was when he worked there that was that
66. 2:26was all I knew about him after Susan
67. 2:28Smith there was Andrea creates the you
68. 2:31know there have been other big
69. 2:34cases like how do we impress upon people
70. 2:37that there are resources like you don't
71. 2:39have to go to these links right you know
72. 2:41even today yeah and and there's so many
73. 2:44organizations out there now to help with
74. 2:46mental illness uh whether it be you know
75. 2:49Department of Mental Health or or our
76. 2:51faith-based community our faith-based
77. 2:52community is big in Union and it's all
78. 2:55over too but that those those folks
79. 2:56there are willing to help and work with
80. 2:58those those people who's had having
81. 3:00trouble times and but sometimes you have
82. 3:03all the help in the world but some
83. 3:06people just got the meanus in their
84. 3:07heart you know and they don't and
85. 3:09they'll claim Mental Illness but it's
86. 3:11just they're mean that's just bottom
87. 3:13line you
88. 3:14know whether she had a mental illness I
89. 3:16don't know she seemed pretty normal to
90. 3:18me up until that point so uh I can't
91. 3:22think of anything that would ever made
92. 3:24me take the lives of my children I mean
93. 3:27I just I don't I don't even can't fathom
94. 3:30that I mean I don't I don't understand
95. 3:31how you can do that cuz my kids are
96. 3:34important to me and I'm and all kids are
97. 3:35important to their parents and and so I
98. 3:37don't know how you I don't really think
99. 3:39you can claim a mental situation mental
100. 3:41health situation in her case now I'm
101. 3:43sure there are some out there there's
102. 3:45definitely some out there and I'm sure
103. 3:47they've been diagnosed and and they have
104. 3:49they have had the the testing or
105. 3:51whatever they going to do to to say that
106. 3:54but you know but there's a lot of like I
107. 3:56said there's a lot of organizations that
108. 3:57will help people with mental issues so
109. 4:00is this just cold brutal
110. 4:02murder I I can't say whether it I'm I'm
111. 4:06not a a doctor I can't tell you whether
112. 4:08she had a mental illness or not but I
113. 4:10mean I just I just think it takes a
114. 4:12cold-hearted person to watch that happen
115. 4:15that's just that's my opinion and and I
116. 4:17I just don't see how you could do it CU
117. 4:19I would have even if you if you did
118. 4:22something like that and they went into
119. 4:23that water Your Instinct would be go get
120. 4:25them I would have died trying to get
121. 4:27them that that's the way I look at it I
122. 4:29mean if my kids would have been in that
123. 4:31situation whether I helped it or or as
124. 4:33an accident or whatever I would have
125. 4:35went in I'd have probably died with them
126. 4:36trying to get them we talked a little
127. 4:38bit there were a lot of conspiracy
128. 4:41theories and and stuff like that kind of
129. 4:44when all of this happened um of course
130. 4:47there were searches done there was a
131. 4:49search at the lake they just didn't
132. 4:50think the car had made it that far right
133. 4:52right yeah they they actually searched
134. 4:55it one time before and then I guess it's
135. 4:57just they didn't they didn't account for
136. 4:59the the flotation of the vehicle uh and
137. 5:02taking it further out and so I think
138. 5:05that's why it was missed the first time
139. 5:07they just they didn't locate it so but
140. 5:10you know the technology we have today
141. 5:12with the underwater drones and stuff
142. 5:13like that if we would had that in '94
143. 5:15then it might have been a different K we
144. 5:17might have found them sooner you know
145. 5:19they wouldn't have been alive but we
146. 5:20would have found them sooner but you
147. 5:22know we they they give us every resource
148. 5:24in Union County that that I'm aware of
149. 5:26and I'm sure you know Sheriff Wells
150. 5:28would tell you the same thing he he was
151. 5:30it was made available to the Sheriff's
152. 5:31office at the time for every resource
153. 5:33whether it was military or state or
154. 5:36federal you know assets I'm sure they
155. 5:38were offered yeah um yeah I guess that's
156. 5:42one change that technology and
157. 5:45everything has progressed are there
158. 5:47other changes that you kind of see in
159. 5:48the community since when this happened
160. 5:50that might help in a situation
161. 5:54today no I mean it's just like I said
162. 5:57you know you it's going bring up some
163. 6:00more memories but I think we'll I think
164. 6:02we'll overcome that and I think
165. 6:04everything will be good but
166. 6:06um we we we're gonna move on anyway I'm
167. 6:09sure yeah um you still have evidence
168. 6:14from this
169. 6:15case right here at the Sheriff's Office
170. 6:17yeah we we have to as long as she's
171. 6:19incarcerated we will keep the evidence
172. 6:21we have it we have it
173. 6:22stored y sure do is that do you have to
174. 6:26go back and maybe pull out some of this
175. 6:28evidences
176. 6:30like what happens with this parole
177. 6:31hearing well I mean I I don't think they
178. 6:34would ask for any evidence I mean this
179. 6:36basically she's been convicted and it is
180. 6:38what it is but uh we just have to we
181. 6:41have to keep that evidence just in case
182. 6:43there's some type type of U motion being
183. 6:46made or it goes back to court for some
184. 6:48reason early release or or something
185. 6:50anything that would be pertaining to the
186. 6:52court
187. 6:53situation is we reflect back on this
188. 6:56time what else do you remember from
189. 7:00either that time or you know how how
190. 7:03Union County Union the city might deal
191. 7:06with this is this kind of comes up again
192. 7:09it you I think it'll be interesting to
193. 7:12some people the younger the younger
194. 7:14people that have heard about it but
195. 7:16never really took the time to look into
196. 7:18it I'm sure with with her coming up
197. 7:20parole and and you know interviews like
198. 7:22this one that they're going to watch and
199. 7:24they going to ask more questions and and
200. 7:25then probably look into it and and
201. 7:27they'll probably ask their parents about
202. 7:28it you know cuz this like most of the
203. 7:30people that worked for me here in the
204. 7:31Sheriff's
205. 7:32Office uh they were either small
206. 7:35children at the time or even I was
207. 7:37talking to one girl she was actually
208. 7:40pregnant at the time CU I just asked her
209. 7:42but she was pregnant at the time with
210. 7:43her first child you know when all this
211. 7:45happen so it I mean it left a mark on on
212. 7:47some of the on the people of Union
213. 7:49County and I and I think with all this
214. 7:52coming up and her coming up Paro
215. 7:53there'll be a lot more questions I don't
216. 7:55think it's going to bring up any
217. 7:57anything bad for Union County it'll just
218. 7:59bring up memories and and hopefully
219. 8:01that'll go away with the you know if she
220. 8:03don't make Pro then she's where she
221. 8:04needs to be and I think we'll we'll put
222. 8:06it to rest until she comes up again I
223. 8:08know it created a little division in the
224. 8:11community when all of this happened
225. 8:13because of who she accused of doing it
226. 8:16right she accused a black man that's
227. 8:17correct of carjacking her and that did
228. 8:21kind of create a divide has that changed
229. 8:24or has that divide been yeah it it at
230. 8:28the time it the time that that that
231. 8:30happened uh there was some divide and
232. 8:34and and and divisiveness but as of have
233. 8:38we moved on as a community and as as
234. 8:41Union County we have we've moved on we
235. 8:42don't we don't have that problem here
236. 8:44that's not something that that that we
237. 8:46even even think about around here I mean
238. 8:49that that's it is what it it is she she
239. 8:51made that accusation it was
240. 8:54wrong but I think after time of getting
241. 8:58that settled and and and let's moving on
242. 9:00with it we don't we don't have that
243. 9:02problem the division is not here now we
244. 9:04have a great Community relationship with
245. 9:06the Sheriff's Office and the other
246. 9:07communities uh it no matter what
247. 9:09community it is I mean that's that's
248. 9:11what we do we we work hard in the
249. 9:12community to make Union a safe place to
250. 9:15live that's that's our goal here our our
251. 9:17goal is not to to have uh you know
252. 9:20Division and and to make enemies we
253. 9:23don't we don't want to put people in
254. 9:24jail we want to be in the community and
255. 9:26work with them but some people cause
256. 9:27that for themselves but as far as that
257. 9:30being a problem in Union County I don't
258. 9:32see it at all cuz we're that that is
259. 9:34important that is important that we get
260. 9:36in the community and work together as
261. 9:38one and and and not pull from one side
262. 9:40to the other we don't do that