Murder of Susan Smith

Susan Smith (née Daniels 1961[3] – June 8, 1989) was an American FBI informant. She was strangled by her handler and lover, Agent Mark Putnam.

Susan Smith
Born
Susan Daniels

1961
Matewan, West Virginia[1]
Died8 June 1989(1989-06-08) (aged 27–28)
Kentucky, U.S
Cause of deathStrangulation
Spouse(s)Kenneth Smith
ChildrenBrady and Miranda Smith
Mark Putnam
Born
Mark Steven Putnam

(1959-07-04) July 4, 1959
Coventry, Connecticut
EducationUniversity of Tampa
Known forfirst FBI agent to be convicted for murder[2]
Spouse(s)
Kathy Putnam
​
(
m. 1986; died 1998)
Children2

Daniels is the first known murder victim of an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Early life

Susan Daniels Smith was born in 1961 in Matewan, West Virginia, to Sidney "Sid" Daniels, an unemployed and former coal miner, and Tracy Daniels,[1] a housekeeper. Susan was the fifth of nine children (including her sister Shelby Ward). Her parents moved to Freeburn, Kentucky, when Susan was an infant.[1] She studied at Freeburn grade school, but dropped out in 7th grade, because of financial problems within her family.

Events

Background

In 1977, Susan met Kenneth Smith, a local methamphetamine, PCP, and cocaine dealer, who was 22 at the time she was 15.[1] They married in the late 1970s, and soon after, because of drug problems, Kenneth went to jail for a brief time, after being arrested on November 27, 1979. By the mid-1980s, Susan had given birth to two children. However, the couple started to have a conflicted relationship, highly compromised by drug abuse, and Susan and Kenneth eventually divorced, although they kept sharing their home with each other and their children.[3]

Daniels' early contact

In 1987, a FBI agent named Mark Putnam began his first investigation in Pikeville, Kentucky.[3] His aim was to arrest a famous 32-year-old ex-convict and bank robber, Carl Edward "Cat eyes" Lockhart. A local sheriff's deputy, Albert "Bert" Hartfield, recommended Susan Smith, his longtime friend, to visit Mark to earn extra income and to help him with the case.[3] Susan and Mark met in the spring of 1987, and they began a constant contact about information of the upcoming Lockhart's criminal plans. Lockhart was apprehended in December 1987. In January 1988, Lockhart was sentenced to 57 years in federal prison for charges of robbery,[1][4] and Susan received $5,000 (equivalent to over $11,000 as of 2020) for her contribution to the case.[5]

Affair and Murder

According to Putnam, their contact began to decline as the Lockhart's case was closed. However, Susan insisted on continuing a relationship, and by mid-1988, they had gotten into an active sexual relationship. In December 1988, she allegedly stopped using contraceptives to intentionally get pregnant. Mark, however, was aware the affair could damage his career and his family, and in early 1989, he signed a petition to be transferred from Kentucky to Florida, to focus on other cases. Still, in mid-1989 he had to return to complete an unrelated investigation. When he reached Kentucky, Susan contacted him about her pregnancy and claimed the baby was his.[6]

On June 8, 1989, Putnam took Daniels in his rental car to a clearing zone, and after a brief discussion and threats by both sides, they began to fight. At that time, Putnam strangled and killed Daniels and placed the body in the trunk of the car.[6] The next day, he dumped the body along an old coal mining road. Putnam left Kentucky and returned to his family in Florida. Three days later, Daniels was reported missing by her sister, Shelby Ward.

In 1990, the investigation into Daniels' death became a FBI matter, as Putnam was under suspicion for her disappearance. Putnam underwent a polygraph exam, which he failed. He subsequently confessed, pleaded guilty to strangling Daniels,[6] and told authorities where to find the body.[3] That same year, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison.[7]

Murderer

Mark Steven Putnam (born July 4, 1959) is a criminologist and former FBI agent (1987-1990).[4] He is the first FBI agent convicted of murder.[2] He studied at the University of Tampa, where he received a major in criminology. In October 1986, Putnam graduated from the FBI Academy and shortly after, married Kathy Putnam, the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer.[4]

Despite being sentenced to 16 years in prison, Putnam served only 10 years due to good behavior, and was described as a "model inmate".[7]

In 1998, his wife Kathy died from organ failure due to alcoholism.[2]

Putnam was released from prison in 2000, at age 41.[6][7] He moved to Georgia, remarried, and was working as a personal trainer in 2016.[8][9]

The case was the subject of The FBI Killer (1992), a book by American investigator Aphrodite Jones. The case also apppears on Season 1 Episode 1 of the Investigation Discovery series Betrayed. Another book written about the case, Above Suspicion (also released in 1992) was written by writer Joe Sharkey. A film adaptation of this book, Above Suspicion, was released on June 20, 2019, starring Emilia Clarke as Susan Daniels, and Jack Huston as Mark Putnam.[10][11]

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References
  1. Jones, Aphrodite (May 1, 1999). "FBI Killer/The". Pinnacle Books – via Google Books.
  2. https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-09-29-0009292462-story.html
  3. Sharkey, Joe (July 11, 2017). "Fatal Deceptions: Three True Crime Tales of Passion, Murder, and Deceit". Open Road Media – via Google Books.
  4. Newton, Michael (June 8, 2015). "The FBI Encyclopedia". McFarland – via Google Books.
  5. "$5,000 in 1987 → 2017 | Inflation Calculator". www.in2013dollars.com.
  6. "Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty To Slaying Kentucky Woman". AP NEWS. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  7. "Victim's Sister Haunted by Slaying a Year After FBI Agent Confessed : Crime: Susan Smith's family, believing her death was motivated by more than an unwanted pregnancy, is pursuing further investigation". Los Angeles Times. 7 July 1991. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  8. Estep, Bill (June 1, 2016). "Former Kentucky FBI agent relives notorious case as movie consultant". herald-leader.com. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  9. Curry-Reyes, Traciy (2019-04-19). "Susan Daniels Smith, Mark Putnam: FBI, 'Above Suspicion' Pikeville Killer Today". TV Crime Sky. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  10. Sharkey, Joe. "Above Suspicion|Book Review". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-01-15.
  11. Jones, Aphrodite (1999). FBI Killer/The. Pinnacle Books. ISBN 978-0-7860-3736-0. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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