Killer South Carolina mom begs ex for help after pushing car into lake with two toddlers strapped in

A killer mom who is in jail for the murder of her two young children is begging her ex-husband not to oppose her upcoming parole hearing .

Susan Smith has been locked up at Leath Correctional Institution in Greenwood, South Carolina , since 1994 after she drove both her sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, into a lake while they were strapped into their car seats . After watching the two children slowly drown in John D. Long Lake in Union County, Smith falsely told police that a man had carjacked her and kidnapped the two boys.

This launched a manhunt and she regularly appeared on national news alongside her then-husband David pleading for the boys' safe return. However, nine days later, Smith confessed she had made the story up and that she had drowned her sons in the lake.

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She said her motive was that she was having an affair with a man who didn't want kids. The car was later pulled from the lake with the two little boys still strapped in their seats.

After three decades behind bars, Smith has a parole hearing in November, and has told family members she believes she should be released. She also reached out to her ex, David Smith, asking him not to oppose her bid for freedom later this year, but a family member told the New York Post that the father of the two children will "100 per cent oppose" her release from prison.

The relative said: "He has every right to stand in her way, and that's exactly what he's about to do. She killed his kids, caused him a lifetime of heartbreak. If she thinks he's going to just stand by while she tries to get out of jail, she's even more delusional than we even thought."

The unnamed family member added: "It's just ridiculous that she'd even ask for David's support. So the answer is no. No, no, no. Just no."

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A spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardons said parole-seekers can file a notice that they are seeking early release. The state will then notify the victims' family who can weigh in on the decision.

When Smith was convicted of murder, she was spared the death penalty and was instead given life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years. Her first parole hearing is scheduled for November 4 and the parole board will take her ex-husband's input into consideration when deciding whether she can be freed or not.