And people in this area deserve dignity and definitely the dead deserve dignity.. Putnam reportedly confessed because he got overwhelmed with the guilt. Sad, but true. Putnam, 30, of Sunrise, Fla., entered a guilty plea to one count of felony manslaughter in Ms. Smiths death. things that my sister told me.. Huh???? They met frequently to exchange information about Lockharts activities and plans. Bringing race into this is like saying 6% of the population (black males) are responsible for 48% of all violent crimes: Source: Department of Justice Statistics year in year out. . But after getting a divorce, Susan and Kenneth continued living together. The movie theater announces its showtimes on itsFacebook page. Meanwhile, Mark relocated to Georgia after being released from prison. He did not know how to control himself and he paid the price. Putnam was the first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide. I read a number of comments that he got off light and probably so. In addition to the old 1994 movie about the case, there is also another movie that is in the works. What about our esteemed OJ Simpson. And there are plenty of people of all colors who get out of jail early for good behavior. Update: The movie about the case was released in 2020 and is available on demand. People may remember it especially since a movie was made about it in the 1990s titled Betrayed By Love. They were in love, she said, and she was pregnant with his child. lol right. This story was originally published January 2, 2018, 8:38 PM. An affair that eventually ended when Putnam strangled Smith. Claims self defense, but who doesnt. Then, on the other, I think she saw him and her as Bonnie and Clyde.. The OJ case seems to always get under some folks skin. After college, he attended the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. [5], Despite being sentenced to 16 years in prison, Putnam served only 10 years due to good behavior, and was described as a "model inmate". Spoiler alert: FBI agent Mark Putnam, who had been having an affair with Smith, led authorities to a ravine in Pike County where her body was found. Susan Daniels Smith lived a life of poverty, violence and misery. Copyright 2023 The Inquisitr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0DZ0UtgTu0. We finally showed white America how it feels when the justice system gets it wrong. It's one of the poorest places in the U.S. In the early 1990s, writer Joe Sharkey penned Above Suspicion, a book about the case, which he recently revised and updated. We dont need more division, we need people building bridges. In the initial investigation of Susan Smith's disappearance, police focused on Kenneth Smith and his acquaintances. Nevertheless, the two married sometime in the late 1970s. The New York Post reports that Putnam instead stated that after getting a paternity test, he and his wife would adopt the child. Listen to "67: The Killing of FBI Informant Susan Daniels Smith" on Spreaker. 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? Once an informant was approved, FBI agents were allotted $5,000 "to be distributed at the agent's discretion." The new episode of "The Perfect Suspect," which airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on Investigation Discovery, focuses on the 1989 death of FBI informant Susan Daniels Smith in Pike County. It might have made Susan less sympathetic to some. Susans collaboration with Putnam was successful. Putnam, who resigned Friday, worked in Pikeville for about two years until his transfer to Miami in May 1989. 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. According to the Tampa Bay Times, Ward claimed that FBI Agent Ron Poole, Putnam's superior, not only knew about Smith's pregnancy but also disclosed to Smith information about Putnam's "alleged illicit activities." Susan Daniels Smith Murder, The Genre. While visiting Pikeville to wrap up a case, Putnam took Smith on a drive to Peter Creek Mountain one night. His decision to confess likely wasn't just remorse; he appears to have realized that he'd finally been caught. She said the child was his and threatened to expose him. In mid-1986, Mark learned that he'd been accepted into the FBI Academy, and on October 6, 1986, he graduated and was finally rewarded with the gold FBI badge he'd long dreamed of obtaining. As far as O.J. She was strangled by her handler and lover, FBI agent Mark Putnam. The old feud was part of Susan, as she was a descendant of both clans. I mean if he was latino maybe he would be a landscaper? The girl is kind of forlorn sometimes, she said. 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 . It took Putnam a year to admit that he was responsible for Smith's murder, and even then, it occurred after he failed a polygraph test. Dont miss out! Prosecutor John Paul Runyon was flabbergasted. Mark Putnams wife, Kathy, has moved to Minnesota to be near her husband. People dont say this out of white guilt, they say it because they either believe black people or they have witnessed it first hand like I have. 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. Although the marriage produced two children, its hardly surprising that there were problems. This is about an FBI agent who murdered his informate? The people who are obsessed with it, theyre the racist. Its part of our culture now. However, "The FBI Encyclopedia" notes that Smith remained on the FBI payroll even after Lockhart's trial. Isnt it a shame it wasnt of one of your own he kindly murdered, whom you unseemly waited for the return of their body! Do you think thatd fly if the same situation involved a WHITE president of Nike? A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Mark married Kathy Ponticelli, who was the "daughter of a wealthy real estate developer." A film adaptation of this book, Above Suspicion, was released on June 20, 2019, starring Emilia Clarke as Susan Smith, and Jack Huston as Mark Putnam.[10][11]. Erin is right. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Putnam was a young FBI agent and the first to ever be convicted of homicide. I think its much more credible to say that this was a case of poor meets authority rather than white vs. black. In 1987, an ambitious rookie FBI agent came to Pikeville, Kentucky for his first posting out of the academy. . Theres no integrity anymore, and all morals are lost. My father was a deputy in Pikeville during this time. . He just chose the wrong man and got what he deserved. According to Jones, "going from a clerical position to being a special agent is rare, but Putnam was determined to beat the odds.". They had no evidence at all and a failed polygraph test. [7], Mark Steven Putnam (born July 4, 1959) is a criminologist and former FBI agent (1987-1990). If, as he claimed, Putnam tried to reviver her, his efforts were unsuccessful. I was raised in a terrible situation and you can choose to raise above it at some point. Good read, Irving! It appears there was ample evidence to proffer First Degree Murder Premeditation and Deliberation which might have been deliberately or inadvertently destroyed. I dont care if they have a record or not. He soon met a girl from the nearby holler who worked as an informant. Ten years is pathetic and a slap to the victims family. ", According to the Los Angeles Times, medical examiners claimed that they were unable to find "any trace of a fetus" duringan autopsy on Smith, who was reportedly four months pregnant. One day, Smith went looking for Putnam at the courthouse and flashed her breasts at the security guards, seemingly to make him jealous. It will forever be a win in my book. It should be a felony to falsely claim that you are pregnant. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? 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. He killed someone and hes allowed to be free, remarry and have a wonderful life?!!! What a weird thing to say in this situation. In this case, the murderer wasnt a poor white man, and he was kind of an elite government employee. She was strangled by her handler and lover, FBI agent Mark Putnam. Because of Shelby Ward's persistence--and the wrongful-death suit the family has filed against Putnam--Susan Daniels Smith's body was exhumed in May and the autopsy on her resumed, two years. I think the reason he doesnt call me, I think hes embarrassed, said Tim, 30. Books and television programs were created using the story and that shock continues to cause ripples in different forms of media today. But according to "Fatal Deceptions" by Joe Sharkey, Smith claimed that their affair lasted two years and wasn't limited to simply getting busy in the back seat. Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand. But Mark consistently put in extra time and set his sights on becoming an FBI agent. Susan Daniels Smith lived a life of poverty, violence and misery. On June 8, 1989, Susan Daniels Smith was killed in the Pikeville area. While Mark Putnam always wanted to be an FBI agent, Carl Edwards "Cats Eyes" Lockhart said that he wanted to be a bank robber ever since he was a child, Joe Sharkey writes in "Above Suspicion." All this talk about his skin color determining the amount of time he had to serve is absurd! I loved Game of Thrones, you know. Still, in mid-1989 he had to return to complete an unrelated investigation. 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. Susan Daniels Smith (1961-1989) Susan Smith was raised in Lonesome Hollow where the feud occurred. There is a wikipedia entry named "Murder of Susan Smith" about her case. To date, he is the only FBI agent convicted of homicide. Your email address will not be published. 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.. How nice for him. [3] His aim was to arrest a famous 32-year-old ex-convict and bank robber, Carl Edward "Cat Eyes" Lockhart. Although Mark Putnam claimed that he murdered Susan Smith because she threatened to tell his wife about their affair and her pregnancy, Smith's sister Shelby Ward remains convinced that this wasn't the only reason she was murdered. There was motive to kill given that she was claiming to expose their relationship and pregnancy placing his career and family on the line. That is what every vocal or keyboard social-justice-warriors can do that actually helps the world instead trying to look pious. He murdered a woman in cold blood with his bare hands and he only had to serve 10 years. If anything he got off easy because she was poor & on drugs? I would like to read something written about that. This story has been shared 402,023 times. Putnam was released in 2000 after serving 10 years in prison. Putnam would pay her thousands of dollars for tips, while she became increasingly enamored with her handler. Some of the money will be put into a trust fund for Smiths children--Meranda Lynn, 8, and Brady, 5--she said. Putnam had become cool in his attitude toward her, something that worried Susan greatly as she desperately tried to hold onto him. He laughed about it on TV in an interview even. His inappropriate affect seemed the dead give away of a sociopath..perhaps even a psychopath. I think many times white people try to be social justice warriors and speak out for people whom they dont see as equals, thinking they are doing them a favor when its just down putting, as they ARE, of course EQUALS. All rights reserved. He chose to kill her period. He killed two and stole a mother from four kids in all. Ive thought about it and I feel sort of bad collecting money off it, but I went through a lot of hell for it, she said. Working as a telephone switchboard operator during night shifts and weekends, Jones writes in "The FBI Killer" that Mark rarely talked to his superiors and exchanged only polite and casual greetings if he did. He was trained to deal with high stresses being an FBI agent and should be held to an even higher standard than anyone else because of this fact. She will get pregnant, and she will ruin you.. Harris said she remembers the events unfolding and her husband, a former Kentucky State Police Post 9 dispatcher, shared some of his experiences with her. It was apparently the first case in FBI history in which an agent had been charged with a homicide, said Terry OConnor, the FBIs top agent in Kentucky. Mark Putnam was the first FBI agent to be convicted of murder. Ms. Smith kept telling me the baby was mine and that she was going to hang me over this. What would you do if someones trying to snatch your weapon away from you? It is unlikely it will die down soon. Sometime in mid-1988, they began a sexual relationship. We have enough social justice warriors in the world. Locals believe keeping the story alive is important, but some are suspicious of how the story will come across through the Hollywood gaze. As an informant, Susan, who was 25 at the time, relayed the shotgun she'd seen with Lockhart that hinted at the possibility of another grand bank . The couple divorced in the mid-1980s. What does that count for anything? I agree with you Its becoming so ridiculous to keep throwing the race card in. I didnt believe it was possible until I watched it happen regularly with my own eyes. Mark Putnam was born on Independence Day in 1959 and studied criminology at the University of Tampa. Smith and Putnam's verbal argument turned physical, and he ended up strangling her. For her assistance in the case, Susan received $5,000 (nearly $12,000 in 2021 dollars). According to Lexington Herald-Leader, he is possibly working in the Georgia area as a personal trainer. The Inquisitr is a registered trademark. Her father came from the Hatfield while her mother was a descendant of the McCoys. He disposed of the body after the killing . His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, U.S. says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses Knesset amid fraught U.S.-Israel ties, First Republic: Cheap, interest-only jumbo mortgages to Silicon Valleys elite fueled the banks failure, SpaceX used wildlife preserve as dumping ground for space waste, lawsuit alleges, Judge blocks Missouri rule that would limit transgender care. An affair that eventually ended when Putnam strangled Smith. And according to "The FBI Encyclopedia," she hated their new location and "soon began demanding that he seek a transfer." During his time in college, Putnam mentioned to his soccer coach that he dreamed of being an FBI agent. Three days later, Smith was reported missing by her sister, Shelby Ward. Putnam was given a polygraph test, which is also known as a lie detector test. After being paroled, Lockhart and his girlfriend Sherri Justice rented a room from Kenneth and Susan Smith a divorced couple who maintained the same residence with their two children. Is Susan had not threatened him or lied about the baby perhaps the story would have turned out differently. Shelby Ward told investigators that when she last spoke to her sister, Smith was waiting for Putnam to drive her home, The Mountain Eaglereports. Unfortunately shes correct. Susan began calling Putnams home constantly, and his wife Kathy would pick up the phone and play the role of therapist for hours on end. Since her sisters death, Ward has been taking sedatives and seeing an analyst once a month. 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. "It's part of our culture now. The couple was driving on a rural eastern Kentucky highway at the time and pulled off the road at Peter Creek Mountain. In "The FBI Encyclopedia," Michael Newton writes that Putnam graduated from the University of Tampa as a B-average student majoring in criminology. Aint America wonderful! Smith was a local dealer in methamphetamine, PCP, and cocaine, hardly a model citizen. Have you paid for someone elses groceries when its obvious they are struggling? If he was black with good behavior, they would do the same thing also. Its sad that you rob a bank Cat Eyes and you get nearly 60 years thanks to Susan Daniels Smith, But you murder a PREGNANT informant and you only do 10 years? . furnishing informants with guns and drugs--Susan, too, she said. Grow up. The two physically fought, and Putnam strangled Smith. Susan met Kenneth Smith in 1977 when she was just 15 and he was 22. Her parents moved to Freeburn, Kentucky when Susan was an infant. Her father came from the Hatfield while her mother was a descendant of the McCoys. Your out of touch. In his later confession, Putnam claimed they only had quickies in his car. . I dont think this has anything to do with race? But now he can be found at the movies- or in one. With the way our society has allowed punishment for crimes to be diminished to a slap on the wrist the answer to your question would be a simple yes. When her body was finally found, Mark Putnam confessed to killing her, reported the LA Times. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. But the sister of Susan Daniels Smith--the woman Putnam strangled, the woman whose body he hid for 12 months while her family agonized over her disappearance--is not. The story is a tragic tale of how one mans ambition and another womans wild infatuation collided with deadly consequences. And once that $5,000 was used, there wasn't really any upper limit. Investigation Discoverys Betrayed is produced by Trigger Street Productions, All3Media America, and Giant Pirates Entertainment, according to Broadway World. The affair with Susan Smith ruined his marriage. I dont care what color he is. In what he called an act of extreme rage, he began choking her. I felt sorry everyones children. During this time, Mark continued working at his clerical position at the FBI, and at the beginning of 1986, he took the entrance exam for the FBI Academy. In 1990, the investigation into Smith's death became an FBI matter, as Putnam was under suspicion for her disappearance. When Putnam arrived in 1987, Lockhart was being released from prison after serving seven years out of his 18-year sentence. First Degree Manslaughter? Racism equals hate. According to The NewYork Post, Putnam was so wracked with guilt that he felt compelled to confess. I actually was a correctional officer where Putnam was held. Eastern Kentucky is about as far from the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas and Hollywood as you can get. A year later, apparently racked by guilt, he offered to lead authorities to her body. I thought he was some white dude trying to scare me with a pistol. In such descriptive wording, upstanding citizen, a dirty FBI agent is upstanding, are they not? And afterward, Kathy Putnam gave birth to the pair's first child, Danielle. Mark walked the yard and caused 0 problems. Website Intellectual takeout, receives funding from right wing groups, and the Koch brothers. I used my instincts and shot first. The case, which caught the attention of local and national news outlets, was the first reported instance of an FBI agent committing homicide. Cat Eyes chief virtues were gregariousness, loquaciousness and generosity, wrote Joe Sharkey in his book Above Suspicion. Qualities admirable in law-abiding citizens, but problematic in bank robbers.. Today, Putnam is remarried and lives in Georgia. Release Date. ", Mark Putnam: The First FBI Agent Convicted Of Murder, daughter of a wealthy real estate developer.
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