On June 8, 1989, Susan Daniels Smith was killed in the Pikeville area. This is insane! No ifs or buts about it. In addition to the old 1994 movie about the case, there is also another movie that is in the works. Two years prior, Putnams wife Kathy died of organ failure likely from heavy drinking at age 38. The story is a tragic tale of how one mans ambition and another womans wild infatuation collided with deadly consequences. She was poor and uneducated but for Gods sake, she could have gotten help and tried to change. Hes doing OK, considering.. While Mark Putnam and Susan Smith were working together, she started hanging around the courthouse looking for him. r/TrueCrimeDiscussion - Murder of Susan Daniels Smith at the hands of But he received a light sentence because the authorities had no case. Claims self defense, but who doesnt. Afterfailing, he confessed to Smith's murder on June 4, 1990, and told police where to find her body. After Mark Putnam was able to gain Susan Smith's trust, they started meeting two to three times every week. Films based on a true story often take far too many liberties with the truth. They get a conviction and her family got her body to bury. Two points to touch on. Police file/Family photo The story of slain FBI informant Susan. After some false leads, they focused in on Carl Edward Cat Eyes Lockhart, a local eccentric and repeat offender who had a pesky habit of wildly spending his loot. Theres no integrity anymore, and all morals are lost. Putnam appeared tense during his 20-minute appearance in Pike County Circuit Court. In an effort to get transferred, Mark also claimed that he and his family had received bomb threats. Ep67: the Killing or FBI - Southern Fried True Crime - Facebook It might have made Susan less sympathetic to some. What does that count for anything? Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty To Slaying Kentucky Woman Susan Daniels Smith Susan met Kenneth Smith in 1977 when she was just 15 and he was 22. Wild Bill Hickok: Fortune Leaves Him in the Lurch, https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/white-people-s-war-on-western-civ/, Helene Knabe: Pioneering Doctor and Murder Victim, George Joseph Smith: Bridegroom Makes for Unusual Serial Killer, Annie Le: Insider Murder Ends a Promising Life, Frank Howard: Strange and Sensational Murder for Hire, Tony Baekeland: Odd Son, Troubled Mother, and Murder, Eric Witte: Mother Manipulates Boy to Commit Startling Murder, Lethal Lovers: Sensational Case of Love and Murder. Once an informant was approved, FBI agents were allotted $5,000 "to be distributed at the agent's discretion." Putnam was the first FBI agent to be charged in a homicide.[4]. Grow up. I started choking her and telling her to shut up. Putnam said he tried in vain to revive her. Seriously he suggested taking away her child to be raised by his wealthy privileged wife that already had children by him. Mark Putnam was born on Independence Day in 1959 and studied criminology at the University of Tampa. Susan Daniels Smith was born in Matewan, West Virginia, in 1961, but soon after her birth, her family moved to Freeburn, Kentucky. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I remember when the story broke, being in the next town over, at the age of 12. News Chant reports that Putnam put Smith's body in the trunk of his car. 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. Mark Putnams wife, Kathy, has moved to Minnesota to be near her husband. The next evening, he dumped her off an old coal mine road about nine miles north of Pikeville. 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? For Christmas, she bought Putnam expensive running shoes and a Nike shirt a big no-no for an FBI informant. As a black person, I cheered for OJs acquittal for every Emmet Til who was lynched for looking at a white woman wrong, & for every black man wrongfully convicted, & for every Rodney King. It would have remained there if not for Putnam, wracked with guilt, confessing to the crime and leading investigators to the corpse a year later. Mark Putnams guilty plea on June 12, 1990, was unlike any an American courtroom had seen before. Offers may be subject to change without notice. The Killing of FBI Informant Susan Daniels Smith Southern Fried True He still did quite a bit of time considering Compared to many cops for instance..who never serve time at all for murder! To satisfy your wondering question he could be Green it doesnt matter. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. By all accounts, Susan Smith fell head over heels for the FBI agent. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? 67: The Killing of FBI Informant Susan Daniels Smith from Southern He soon met a girl from the nearby holler who worked as an informant. Whatever justice was served, whether it was enough or not, will be served later by God and he has to live with himself. An affair that eventually ended when Putnam strangled Smith. 67: The Killing of FBI Informant Susan Daniels Smith - Spreaker In early 1989, he requested and received a transfer to Miami, Florida (Kathy had hated Pikeville anyway). Erin, it would do you good to read this article by Black Author Lipton Matthews: White Peoples War on Western Civilization https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/white-people-s-war-on-western-civ/. 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. Sometimes you get the good people who believe in real justice, and sometimes you do get them racist tyrants. Susan Daniels Smith, aka Sue Smith, the Pikeville, Kentucky, informant who was killed by her married lover, FBI Agent Mark Putnam, will have her story discussed again for the first time in many years on Betrayed, the new Investigation Discovery crime series. Then, on the other, I think she saw him and her as Bonnie and Clyde.. What type of person marries a man who admits to a murder? He said he knew some things on Mark Putnam that was awful . Its a woman who lost her life. Roadside Attractions/Courtesy . It tells a mighty sad tale. In "Above Suspicion," Jack Huston plays real-life FBI Agent Mark Putnam and Emilia Clarke plays Susan Smith, the woman he murdered. Putnam left Kentucky and returned to his family in Florida. The pay, however, for an FBI . Susan Daniels Smithwas born in the West Virginia town of Matewan in 1961. 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. He lives in Georgia, is remarried, and works as a personal trainer. I wouldnt take what they say as truth or without right wing , white supremacy bias. A black person would have been given life to death sentence in the 1980s /90s. I thought he was some white dude trying to scare me with a pistol. The race thing is a bunch of BS. "He said he knew some things on Mark Putnam that was awful furnishing informants with guns and drugs," Ward said. The family rarely talks about the case publicly, Tim Putnam said. Susan grew up and attended school there until the 7th grade, when she was forced to drop out due to her family's financial insecurity, according to The Cinemaholic. Smith was a local dealer in methamphetamine, PCP, and cocaine, hardly a model citizen. He was a model prisoner inside. (Susan's mother was a McCoy; her father's family descended from the Hatfields.) His attorney, Pat Molloy of Lexington, said she and the children visit him regularly at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn. But, still, most people at the theater Wednesday said they are committing to giving the film a shot. 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. The pay, however, for an FBI . Meanwhile, Mark relocated to Georgia after being released from prison. 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.. An affair that eventually ended when Putnam strangled Smith. PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - The Riverfill 10 Cinema re-opened its doors Wednesday for the first time in more than one year, resurrecting the screens with- among other options- a movie about a local murder. Susan Daniels Smith went missing in 1989 at the age of 28. Due to good behavior, Mark Putnam was released from prison in 2000 after serving 10 years out of his 16-year sentence. Murder of Susan Daniels Smith at the hands of FBI agent Mark Putnam Another book written about the case, Above Suspicion (also released in 1992) was written by Joe Sharkey. 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. The information provided by Smith ended up leading to the FBI's apprehension of Carl Edwards "Cat Eyes" Lockhart by the end of 1987 after she told Putnam that the target had ski masks and sawed-off shotguns at her home, The New York Post writes. Continuing their street shit inside. But I had pleaded guilty to murder in 2001 of a Chicago police man and got out 2012 for good model. Good read, Irving! Susan Daniels Smith lived a life of poverty, violence and misery. Putnam said he and his wife would adopt the child but Ms. Smith refused, and began slapping Putnam. And according to "The FBI Encyclopedia," she hated their new location and "soon began demanding that he seek a transfer." To hell with that. And then she met Mark Putnam and became obsessed. Three days later, Smith was reported missing by her sister, Shelby Ward. And in August 1982, Putnam got one step closer to his goal when he became a clerk at the FBI's Connecticut headquarters office. Mark married Kathy Ponticelli, who was the "daughter of a wealthy real estate developer." She was a poor drug-addicted mother of two, and he was an educated, decorated FBI agent. But now he can be found at the movies- or in one. He subsequently confessed, pleaded guilty to strangling Smith,[4] and told authorities where to find her body. Susans sister, Shelby Ward, reported her missing three days later. After local townsfolk threatened his family in connection with ongoing cases, Putnam was transferred to Miami, much to his relief. memorial page for Susan Daniels Smith (1961-8 Jun 1989), Find a Grave Memorial ID 224916506; Burial Details Unknown; . I think its much more credible to say that this was a case of poor meets authority rather than white vs. black. Plus I believe his conscience was eating at him. Unfortunately shes correct. The number one thing in this whole sad, sick story was Susans children and Marks children, they deserved better. Sentenced to 16 years in prison, he served 10. Written, hosted, produced by Erica KelleyResearched by Erica KelleyEdited by Chaes GrayOriginal GraphicArt by Coley HornerOriginal Music by Rob Harrison-Gamma Radio, Major Source: Above Suspicion by Joe Sharkey, https://www.amazon.com/Above-Suspicion-Joe-Sharkey-ebook/dp/B01N49MWZH/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TSQXJQASEJND&keywords=above+suspicion+book&qid=1567612166&s=gateway&sprefix=Above+Suspicion%2Caps%2C252&sr=8-1, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pikeville,_Kentucky, https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-09-29-0009292462-story.html, https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/c1tys4/1989_murder_of_susan_daniels_smith_by_fbi_agent/, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-07-mn-2951-story.html, https://tvcrimesky.com/2019/04/19/susan-daniels-smith-mark-putnam-fbi-killer-above-suspicion-pikeville-update-today/1514, https://joesharkey.com/2016/07/21/__trashed-2/, https://www.apnews.com/782fcc8b1c55b5c5a9b9eff10b35096f, https://www.journalinquirer.com/archives/former-fbi-agent-from-coventry-due-for-release-from-prison/article_22d7dc50-bb6c-5b1a-ac9c-b22905d2b879.html, https://bestofswla.com/2014/12/05/meet-smiths/, The Killing of FBI Informant Susan Daniels Smith. Once an informant was approved, FBI agents were allotted $5,000 "to be distributed at the agent's discretion." However, the couple started to have a conflicted relationship, highly compromised by drug abuse. Should he have know better yes, but Susan had a role in it as well. In a signed confession, Mark Putnam said he choked Susan Daniels Smith, 27, on June 8, 1989, in an act of extreme rage while the couple arued over support of her expected child. In the initial investigation of Susan Smith's disappearance, police focused on Kenneth Smith and his acquaintances. 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. The case, which caught the attention of local and national news outlets, was the first reported instance of an FBI agent committing homicide. Connecticut native Putnam was 27 years old and just out of the FBI Academy when he found himself stationed in Pikeville, Kentucky, a small Appalachian town three hours from Lexington with a practically unsupervised two-agent outpost. Investigation Discoverys Betrayed is produced by Trigger Street Productions, All3Media America, and Giant Pirates Entertainment, according to Broadway World. He rented a car when he could have used an FBI vehicle. I used my instincts and shot first. Huggins was hired as a technical advisor for Above Suspicion, the feature film based on the non-fiction book of the same name that depicts the tragic saga of Mark Putnam . Poole, who was transferred to Lexington, Ky., shortly before Putnams conviction, declined to comment on the case. He disposed of the body after the killing . I was raised in a terrible situation and you can choose to raise above it at some point. It happens all the time. Although the marriage produced two children, its hardly surprising that there were problems. In this one they had nothing besides him failing the polygraph which is not admissible in court! However, the history is too long of black men being wrongfully treated by the justice system. Her body was exhumed but it was too dehydrated to get an answer. Not one scintilla or shred of evidence to bring a charge or convict this man., In the 28 years that I have been a prosecutor, this is the first experience that I have had where a lawyer called me on a telephone and said, I have a man who wants to confess to murder, or homicide, and wants to go to the penitentiary, and we had absolutely no evidence.. 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