Elizabeth Smart found alive nine months after 2002 Utah kidnapping; captor convicted in 2010
On the morning of June 5, 2002, the Smart family of Salt Lake City, Utah, discovered that their 14-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, was missing from the bedroom she shared with her younger sister. The sister told police that an intruder had taken Elizabeth at knifepoint during the night. The case drew intense national media attention, and a massive search was launched.
For nine months, the investigation stalled. Police and the FBI pursued a sighting of a white van, which proved unrelated. A former handyman for the Smart family, Richard Ricci, was arrested on an unrelated parole violation and became a suspect, but was later cleared after his death from a brain aneurysm, according to the case record.
The break came in March 2003. Two witnesses in San Diego County, California, recognized a couple from a television broadcast of *America’s Most Wanted* and called police. The couple was stopped on the street with Elizabeth, who was disguised in a wig and veil. She was identified by police and reunited with her family. The couple were Brian David Mitchell, a self-styled itinerant preacher with a history of mental illness and prior arrests, and his wife, Wanda Barzee.
Mitchell was charged federally with kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines. He was initially found incompetent to stand trial and spent years in a federal psychiatric facility. After being declared competent, his trial began in November 2010. Mitchell refused to cooperate and was removed from the courtroom. The jury heard testimony from Elizabeth Smart, who identified him and described being taken at knifepoint and held captive in a makeshift camp in the Utah mountains, where she was repeatedly assaulted. Prosecutors also introduced Mitchell’s own statements and writings, including a manifesto, to show his intent.
In December 2010, Mitchell was convicted on both counts. In May 2011, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball sentenced him to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole. His conviction was upheld on appeal. Barzee pleaded guilty to federal charges of aiding and abetting the kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She was released in September 2018 after serving her full sentence, a decision that drew public criticism.
Brian David Mitchell is now serving a life sentence at a federal prison in Arizona. He has not been granted parole and is not eligible. Elizabeth Smart has become a public speaker, child-safety advocate, and founder of the Elizabeth Smart Foundation. She has written a memoir and works with law enforcement on abduction prevention. In 2022, the Utah legislature passed a law named for Elizabeth Smart that requires courts to consider a child’s safety in custody disputes.
What remains unknown is the full extent of Mitchell’s plans and whether any other individuals were involved in the abduction; the source material does not address these questions. The case stands as a stark example of how a missing child case can pivot on a single tip from the public.
Advertisement
You may also like
Amanda Knox acquitted by Italy's highest court after a years-long legal battle over Meredith Kercher's murder
On November 2, 2007, police in Perugia, Italy, were called to a cottage shared by four exchange students. A mobile phone belonging to Meredith…
Van der Sloot admits killing Natalee Holloway in 2023 plea, is serving time in Peru
In a U.S. federal courtroom in Alabama in 2023, Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty to extortion and wire fraud charges. As part of…
Jury convicts Scott Peterson of first-degree murder in deaths of wife Laci and unborn son
On November 12, 2004, a jury in Redwood City, California, delivered a verdict that would close one chapter in a case that had gripped…
FBI says Laundrie's notebook admits killing Gabby Petito; case closed
On September 11, 2021, Gabby Petito's mother filed a missing person report. The 22-year-old from Long Island, New York, had not returned from a…
Arrest at Dahmer's apartment follows escape; 15 murder charges filed
On the night of July 22, 1991, a man flagged down two police officers on a Milwaukee street. He was handcuffed, disoriented, and told…
John Wayne Gacy convicted of 33 murders after jury deliberates less than two hours
CHICAGO — The verdict came fast. After a trial that began in February 1980, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting…