Kathy's mother Carol claimed that what happened to Susan was simply "a crime of passion." According to Jones, "going from a clerical position to being a special agent is rare, but Putnam was determined to beat the odds.". If he were a person of color, he wouldnt be out of prison in 10 years or at all for killing someone. "He said he knew some things on Mark Putnam that was awful furnishing informants with guns and drugs," Ward said. Eastern Kentucky is about as far from the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas and Hollywood as you can get. The two physically fought, and Putnam strangled Smith. This isnt a black/white issue? Putnam, now 41, has completed a 10-year prison sentence for killing Susan Daniels Smith, his informant and lover while he was stationed in Kentucky. To date, he is the only FBI agent convicted of homicide. According to Monsters & Critics, Putnam later claimed that "he snapped because Susan was threatening to tell his wife about the affair.". Murder of Susan Daniels Smith at the hands of FBI agent Mark Putnam This story was one of the very first true crime stories that I followed and is in part the reason I am obsessed with true crime in general. Listen to this episode from Southern Fried True Crime on Spotify. At least one book and a television movie about the case are in the works. Why does the race card have to be thrown into every situation? There are various accounts as to whether he approached her first or she approached him first. And although he was still on probation for robbing a bank, Putnam believed that Lockhart immediately went back to his old profession upon being released from prison. Your email address will not be published. His decision to confess likely wasn't just remorse; he appears to have realized that he'd finally been caught. Once an informant was approved, FBI agents were allotted $5,000 "to be distributed at the agent's discretion." After college, he attended the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. But according to Sharkey, while Putnam was away, Susan began fabricating a more involved two-year relationship between them and shouting about it from the rooftops. The story of slain FBI informant Susan Smith of Pikeville will be featured on an episode of the new series The Perfect Suspect, which airs at 9 p.m. Thursday on Investigation Discovery. Three days later, Smith was reported missing by her sister, Shelby Ward. Huh???? According to The NewYork Post, Putnam was so wracked with guilt that he felt compelled to confess. Besides the nonstop phone calls, Susan cut her hair short to look like Kathys. Meanwhile, the guy who robbed the bank gets nearly 60years. News Chant reports that Putnam put Smith's body in the trunk of his car. Continuing their street shit inside. On June 8, 1989, Susan Daniels Smith was killed in the Pikeville area. Every time something like this occurs, the color card is played. Police file/Family photo The story of slain FBI informant Susan. things that my sister told me.. Putnams confession was attached to an indictment returned Tuesday by the Pike County grand jury. He chose to kill her period. He didnt even confess until after a year, after being a suspect and after a failed polygraph test. Meet the Smiths by Best of SWLA Susan Daniels Smith: 'Betrayed' Mark Putnam, FBI Killer Of Pregnant Informant Found Dead In Pikeville, Kentucky, Subject Of New Crime Series On ID by Inquisitr Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty To Slaying Kentucky Woman by AP News Former FBI agent from Coventry due for release from prison by Journal Inquirer "It's part of our culture now. Idk what black friend told you that but it sounds like bs to me. But Mark, far from being deterred, instead put all of his energy into his new position, convinced that the best way to get a promotion was to "compile an impressive arrest record.". furnishing informants with guns and drugs--Susan, too, she said. During his time in college, Putnam mentioned to his soccer coach that he dreamed of being an FBI agent. [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". Putnam had returned to Pikeville for several days to work a car theft case he had investigated. Your email address will not be published. And according to " Above Suspicion ," there was a lot of money to be given out to informants. That film was finally released during the pandemic. Youre correct Jolene. I wonder if he would have done more time if he killed a man. This story has been shared 402,023 times. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. They jumped up whooping and dancing around as if everyone of them had won the lottery. In 1987, an ambitious rookie FBI agent came to Pikeville, Kentucky for his first posting out of the academy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0DZ0UtgTu0. Irving, I just read the article you linked to and wow was it enlightening. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? On June 16, Smith's sister Shelby Ward filed a missing person report after failing to find Smith. Do the research. Her father came from the Hatfield while her mother was a descendant of the McCoys. 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. Im sorry but theres something terribly wrong with that picture. 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. His attorney, Pat Molloy of Lexington, said she and the children visit him regularly at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn. They were not concerned about Justice being served; they only wanted the Black man to be found not guilty. 1994 . But Katheryn Sizemore, Kenneth Smiths landlady and a neighbor, said it is obvious they miss their mother. 8 to 30 years for a Class B felony. If they admit to having an affair with the first wife, Id cross him off. Its an old case that happened in 1989. It;ss an age old ruse women use to try to keep hanging on to their boyfriends who are either breaking up with them, have moved on, etc. Jim Huggins says that Above Suspicion, Wall Street Journal reporter Joe Sharkey's book on the Mark Putnam murder case, is an accurate account of the events that resulted in the murder of Susan Smith, Putnam's pregnant informant. 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. In 1987, an ambitious rookie FBI agent came to Pikeville, Kentucky for his first posting out of the academy. Stop with trying to appear like youre helping a race or ANY underprivileged community and actually DO Something about it! I would like to read something written about that. That is what every vocal or keyboard social-justice-warriors can do that actually helps the world instead trying to look pious. Might not have even been a manslaughter. He did not know how to control himself and he paid the price. He claims he told her he would get a paternity test once the baby was born, and that he and Kathy would adopt the child. Despite no longer being married, they still lived together. Release Date. She said the child was his and threatened to expose him. Later, the medical examiner found that Kathy died due to a combination of pancreatitis and hepatic steatosis, according to the Journal Inquirer. Have you got friend together to paint or repair a him? According to the Associated Press, what made the case novel was that it was "apparently the first case in FBI history in which an agent had been charged with a homicide." All that was left of Susan was skeletal remains. Grow up. Putnam was sentenced to 16 years in prison, but was released after 10 years, early in 2000, on good behavior. By all accounts, Susan Smith fell head over heels for the FBI agent. When Putnam arrived in 1987, Lockhart was being released from prison after serving seven years out of his 18-year sentence. While there, Putnam was reportedly the same type of person he'd been throughout his youth, exhibiting "aggression in sports and in class but extreme caution about divulging information about his private affairs," Jones writes. He soon met a girl from the nearby holler who worked as an informant. When he reached Kentucky, Smith contacted him about her pregnancy and told him the baby was his. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Truly sick and sad on so many levels.. to excuse this behavior for any reason is exactly why this world is crashing so hard and fast now. Ten years is pathetic and a slap to the victims family. memorial page for Susan Daniels Smith (1961-8 Jun 1989), Find a Grave Memorial ID 224916506; Burial Details Unknown; . Now Putnam had a dead body on his hands. The affair with Susan Smith ruined his marriage. Its part of our culture now. We dont want to make a secret about it, but we prefer not to bring it out, he said. [Photo by Ed Reinke/AP File]Trouble Comes Back To Town. Nevertheless, the two married sometime in the late 1970s. The OJ case seems to always get under some folks skin. It should be a felony to falsely claim that you are pregnant. Jolene thats an interesting point. Theres no integrity anymore, and all morals are lost. And then she met Mark Putnam and became obsessed. She dropped out of school in 7th grade because of financial problems within her family. 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 . Ms. Smith kept telling me the baby was mine and that she was going to hang me over this. . Immediately after the hearing, Putnam was handcuffed and taken into custody by Kentucky State Police officers. Geez. He subsequently confessed, pleaded guilty to strangling Smith,[4] and told authorities where to find her body. Putnam underwent a polygraph exam, which he failed. . 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. For her assistance in the case, Susan received $5,000 (nearly $12,000 in 2021 dollars). Prosecutor John Paul Runyon, the Pike County commonwealths attorney, said that without Putnams June 4 confession, we had absolutely no evidence. But after getting a divorce, Susan and Kenneth continued living together. Im not white and I have to roll my eyes to that foolish question! It tells a mighty sad tale. In the early 1990s, writer Joe Sharkey penned Above Suspicion, a book about the case, which he recently revised and updated. And in August 1982, Putnam got one step closer to his goal when he became a clerk at the FBI's Connecticut headquarters office. Absolutely no consequences for that action. He murdered a woman in cold blood with his bare hands and he only had to serve 10 years. Her body went limp, and the agent realized she was dead. Meanwhile, "The FBI Encyclopedia" writes that Mark continued establishing himself as a productive agent for the Bureau. There is a wikipedia entry named "Murder of Susan Smith" about her case. Copyright 2023 The Inquisitr. PIKEVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ A former FBI agent who solved a year-old homicide by confessing to the crime pleaded guilty Tuesday to strangling a pregnant informant with whom hed been having an affair. She wasnt pregnant. According to Sharkeys book, a concerned Kathy warned her husband: Dont you ever get involved with this woman . He placed Susan in the trunk of his rental car. Hes doing OK, considering.. They used her and they killed her and they dumped her out like a bag of garbage.. Good read, Irving! After failing a polygraph examination, Putnam confessed and led authorities to where hed dumped Susans body. But Kenneth proved unreliable, so Putnam picked Susan to be an informant instead. This story has been shared 178,122 times. Erin is right. Susan Daniels Smith Susan met Kenneth Smith in 1977 when she was just 15 and he was 22. His mother and daddy were not married; he had no strong father figure to teach him any better. I feel like Kathy and Susan were both victimized by Putnam, I saw an interview of him at the end of the movie and found it unsettling and down right creepy how he smiled when talking about Susan.