Susan Smith, a mother in South Carolina who in 1994 kindled the empathy of a nation when she reported to the police that she had been carjacked by a man who drove away with her sons still in the car. For nine days, she pled on national television for the rescue and return of her boys. Strangers around the nation offered help and support. Eventually, Susan Smith confessed to the murder of her own children. Everyone had fallen for her story of the carjacking, because her real act was so outside the realm of normal predictions.
