WATERCOOLER, Behind the Scenes and Off the Record, the Untold Stories from Broadcasters is a collection of essays from those working in the broadcast media. There is little glamour in a job that requires wadding through filthy flood waters, talking through flying ash, bracing oneself during hurricane winds, and risking life and limb to cover the world’s hotspots. Why do they do it? Most in the business do it to help others: aiding victims during a natural disaster, righting a wrong for the little guy, uncovering untold truths, and bringing viewers with them to dangerous places.
These stories have not been told “on the air”, but rather around the watercooler in newsrooms and in broadcast studios. They reveal the extraordinary human tragedies and emotional triumphs that speak to the heart in all of us.
Elizabeth Sanchez is the host of the national PBS TV show A Place of Our Own. She has worked as a Dallas-based National Correspondent for CBS NewsPath and more recently she was an investigative reporter and anchor in San Diego, California. Having won numerous journalism awards, she is the recipient of multiple Emmys for outstanding investigative reporting. Sanchez is also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and lives in Southern California with her husband and two beautiful daughters.
Susan was staying with her mother and as we approached the house, we could see a number of cars in the driveway. On my walk up to the door, I tried to find the right words to convince her to make a public appeal. But shortly after I knocked on the door, a family spokesperson informed me the young mother was too distraught to talk. I bought it until I learned she was talking to a national correspondent from a tabloid magazine show. I remember saying to my photographer, “If my children were missing, I would want to talk to any news crew that would put me on TV tonight, rather than wait to be on a national news program tomorrow.” I drove home after my 11:00 p.m. report knowing I would be back in Union again, I just didn’t know for how long.
The following day this story went worldwide. Not only did we see reporters from around the country, but international journalists were there too. Finally, seventy-two hours after the boys were kidnapped; the Smith’s made a public plea. A representative from the Adam Walsh Foundation convinced them it was the right thing to do. In front of the hundreds of cameras Susan Smith’s husband, David, looked as though he hadn’t slept for days. Clearly he was worried and begged for his children to be rescued. He said, “I plead to the guy … please return our children to us safely and unharmed … Everywhere I look I see their play toys and pictures... I can’t imagine life without them.” A tearful Susan Smith said, “I just feel hopeless. I can’t do enough.” The couple was estranged and Susan had recently filed for divorce, but they were standing side by side desperate to find their children. I felt despair for these parents. Although I wasn’t a mother at the time, I couldn’t imagine going through such a horrific ordeal.
Day after day, we reported on the abduction, the prayers for the children, and the volunteer searches. On every front door there was a yellow ribbon, symbolizing hope for their safe return. The Smith’s released a home video of Michael David and Alexander Tyler playing. To see them laughing and smiling allowed us a glimpse into their young personalities. A forensic sketch artist provided a drawing of the gunman. We showed the picture on television and people began calling the sheriff’s department with supposed sightings of the man and vehicle. But none of this led to the safety of those two little boys. They were nowhere to be found.
Every day spent in Union meant gaining the trust of those who lived there. A source told me that Susan was having an affair with a wealthy local man who apparently didn’t want children. The doubt that an African American man took the boys grew. As the days went on, friends of the Smith’s revealed more details about Susan’s life. Her step-father had molested her as a child and there were rumors that she continued to have a sexual relationship with him. The sexual abuse would be used as her defense during her trial.
Of course, chatting around the “watercooler”, everyone in the newsroom jumped to conclusions. We suspected David of kidnapping the children, or Susan’s wealthy ex-boyfriend, or Susan’s step-father. I remember one of our television anchors asking me if I suspected Susan. I didn’t want to think that a mother could harm her children just to be with a man. I had seven nieces and nephews, one of them was the same age as little Michael, and the thought was inconceivable to me. Suspicion, however, was piling up against her.
When it comes to polygraph tests, police never report the results to the press, but often the results are leaked. Sources told me David had passed the tests, but Susan’s results were inconclusive. I also learned that the traffic light on Monarch Mills Road, where the alleged carjacking occurred, remained green if no other cars were on the road. Since she told detectives there were no witnesses because there were no other cars around, there was no reason for her to come up to a red light.
My photographer and I drove to Susan’s family home and questioned them about the allegations. Her family protected her from the media by not allowing us to talk with Susan. But friends did make their skepticism known. They said she was more concerned about how she looked on television than her missing children. They also said she kept asking about her ex-boyfriend and wondering if he had any sympathy for her.
For nine days, Susan Smith stuck to her story but she stopped going before the cameras, not wanting to answer our tough questions. Finally, a week and a half after she first told investigators she was carjacked, she agreed to talk. On national television Susan said, “I would like to say to whoever has my children, that they please, I mean please bring 'em home to us where they belong.” There was a look of sadness on her face. Thinking back on it I believe it may have been a look of guilt. David continued to support Susan. I thought surely if she had something to do with the kidnapping, he wouldn’t be standing by her side. I wanted to believe that a mother could not harm her children. But why would she use the word “they” when she said it was a lone gunman who abducted her kids? Clearly, Susan’s story was unraveling.
A few hours after that television plea, we found divers searching in nearby John D. Long Lake. They had looked there before and found nothing. But this time, divers had a specific location they were investigating.
It didn’t take long for them to find the car. It was turned upside down with Michael and Alex dangling from their car seats. As more information was released, we learned that one of the boys died with his small hand pressed against the window.