Town Unleashes Rage Over Murder of 2 Boys : Crime: South Carolina crowd jeers mother, who is being held without bail. Reported confession leaves former supporters feeling bewildered, betrayed.

“Baby killer!” they shouted. “Murderer!”

Susan Smith ducked down in her seat as she was driven to and from the Union County Courthouse on Friday, hiding her face from the town she is accused of deceiving.

The community had poured out its sympathy and concern since Oct. 25, when Smith claimed that her two young sons had been taken from her at gunpoint along with her car. But on Friday, the day after authorities said Smith confessed to killing 3-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, neighbors, co-workers and former classmates reacted with anger, hurt and a deep sense of betrayal.

Many stood for hours in front of the courthouse to jeer, to try to come to grips with their emotions, or just to be a part of the biggest spectacle anyone ever remembers occurring in these parts.

But amid the flowing tears, angry shouts and plentiful calls for Smith’s execution, no one could offer an explanation for why she might have taken her children’s lives.

“We have no answers as to what happened,” said Margaret Gregory, one of Smith’s relatives. “We do not understand why it happened, and I don’t know that we ever will.”

Susan Smith’s estranged husband, David--who had reunited with her during the nine-day ordeal--was said to be devastated and in seclusion, refusing even to speak to his father.

Declining to reveal the contents of Susan Smith’s confession, Union County Sheriff Howard Wells indicated that he believed she acted alone. “At this time, I think this case is probably not going to lead to any other arrests,” he said.

“I can’t elaborate on any of the investigative techniques that were used or any of the reasons we believe what we believe,” he added, indicating that he didn’t want to prejudice the jury that eventually will try the case.

An autopsy performed Friday morning revealed that Michael and Alexander were still alive when Smith’s car rolled into John D. Long Lake on the night Smith reported them missing.

Wells refused to comment on a letter from Smith’s former boyfriend that authorities reportedly found in her home that said he was breaking off the relationship in part because of her children.

A lawyer went before reporters to read a statement from Tom Findlay that acknowledged he had broken off the relationship last month in part because he was “not ready to assume the important responsibilities of being a father.”

The statement went on to say, however, that this was not the primary reason for the breakup. “At no time did I suggest to Miss Smith that her children were the obstacle to any potential relationship with her,” it read.

Authorities had been set to reveal part of their case at a bail hearing that was to be held Friday. After meeting with her attorneys at the courthouse, however, Smith waived a bail hearing at this time. She was transferred to a state prison near Columbia, S.C., where a spokeswoman said she would be kept in isolation for her safety.

While Wells would not confirm reports that Smith had received death threats, security was unusually tight. About 45 officers were posted in the courtroom and around the courthouse for her appearance--instead of the usual eight or 10. Wells said the precautions were taken because of the high emotions raised by the case.

What made it all so difficult to believe and comprehend, said person after person, was that Smith was such a good mother.

“In my observation of her, it seems that she was a very good mother,” said the Rev. Mark Long, pastor of the Buffalo United Methodist Church, the church Smith sporadically attended. “She loved those children.”

“She took good care of them,” said April Vincent, a former classmate of Smith’s who also worked with her for a time at the local Winn-Dixie Supermarket. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

Smith, a secretary at a textile mill, and David Smith filed for divorce last month. Friends said the relationship had been stormy, punctuated by breakups and reconciliations and accusations of adultery on both sides.

“Everybody knew they had problems,” said Vincent, who still works at Winn-Dixie, where David Smith is an assistant manager. She said Susan Smith would often come into the store to confront her husband over her suspicions that he was having an affair with another store clerk.

“She’d come in and say, ‘I know you’re going behind my back,’ ” Vincent said. She would always have the two children with her.

Vincent said Susan Smith has always been subject to bouts of depression and has in the past attempted suicide. Smith is reportedly being held under a suicide watch in prison.

Long said he knows nothing of suicide attempts, but he did say that her father committed suicide when Smith was a child. Some who know her speculate that the trauma of the suicide might have had long-term effects.

In their confusion and disbelief, townspeople reached everywhere for explanations. “I still kind of think that maybe she just snapped for a little while and now she really believes the story she made up,” said Hazel Ford, whose niece went to high school with Smith. She marveled that Smith could convince so many people of her story.

President Clinton on Friday called Wells to praise him for his handling of the case and to praise the town for remaining racially united throughout the search for the nonexistent gunman. Smith had claimed that a black man had hijacked her car and kidnaped her children.

“I don’t think the racial problem raised its head until the case had been solved,” Wells said during an impromptu news conference in his office.

Since Smith’s story has been revealed to be a hoax, black residents of the community have expressed anger at the racial undertones of the allegation. “I think it’s a shame that some of them are voicing their opinion so loudly,” Wells said. “I think it might give the community a bad name.”

The sheriff, who is a godfather to the children of Smith’s brother, knows the family and said that the case has been emotionally difficult for him. He said, however, that he has treated the case no differently because of his intimacy with the family and said race was never a factor in how he handled the investigation.

The sense of betrayal in the county of 35,000 residents is profound. Despite rising suspicions about Smith’s story, the news that she had been arrested and that the children had been killed left many here devastated. The disillusionment, anger and sadness poured forth Friday.

“I really believed her,” said Ford, who had come into town with her husband, Danny, to film what they described as a “historic” occasion.

The Fords said that they had never met Smith, had never heard of her. But during the nine days that much of the nation was riveted by the drama--when hundreds of locals scoured the countryside for signs of the boys, when prayer vigils were held, tears were shed and yellow ribbons sprouted like daffodils throughout the county--the entire community bonded together to help bear Smith’s pain.

“It was just like a member of the family,” Ford said. Now, she said, she feels taken in, betrayed.

“In some ways it’s almost as if she just sucked everybody in,” Long said. But the bitterness many here express does not represent the sentiments of the entire community, he stressed.

“There still are people who are willing to pray for her and to care for her. We’re not going to count her out.”

The town had been festooned with yellow ribbons during the time the boys were missing. Many of the ribbons still were evident Friday, but here and there they were being replaced with blue and white ribbons.

“The white ribbon is for purity, them being in heaven, and the blue is for the boys,” said Eleanor Scott, who works at a downtown insurance office that had the ribbons on its door. Referring to the case during a campaign appearance in Duluth, Minn., Clinton also tried to console area residents who had become so caught up in the ordeal and who now feel manipulated.

“It is very important that they not feel in any way that their efforts are diminished,” he said.

“I just don’t want them to believe that what the mother did in any way diminished what they did, their character, their quality, their courage,” Clinton said.

Times researcher Edith Stanley in Atlanta contributed to this story.