She Desperately Craved Attention
When Smith was four, her mom remarried, and the family welcomed a new stepdad, Donald R. Hart. This was her mom’s third marriage, and Anna had four half-siblings to share the house with. A crowded upbringing for a little girl in desperate need of attention.
Anna didn’t make things easy for her mom. She hated school and even got into some brutal fights with her classmates. Eventually, her mom decided to send the unruly teenager to live with her aunt in the sleepy town of Mexia, hoping that might calm her down.