Posted on 10/26/2002 5:29:22 PM PDT by Palladin
Expert Offers 'Some New Leads' in Smart Case
Saturday, October 26, 2002
BY KEVIN CANTERA and MICHAEL VIGH
As police investigating Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping became stymied by a dearth of solid leads over the months, the case has grown conspicuously cold.
That could change following a recent visit from renowned forensics expert Henry Lee, who was recruited to examine evidence in the mysterious kidnapping. Lee, who has worked on such high-profile cases as the O.J. Simpson trial and the disappearance of congressional intern Chandra Levy, told The Salt Lake Tribune this week he gave investigators "some new leads to follow" in Elizabeth's June 5 abduction.
Citing a confidentiality agreement with police he signed before gaining access to forensic evidence in the case, Lee wouldn't discuss his findings specifically.
Chris Thomas, speaking on behalf of Elizabeth's father Ed Smart, confirmed Friday that Lee gave law enforcement "many recommendations" on how to proceed. "The police said they would pursue those leads. . . . From our understanding, investigators have been very busy, since [Lee] left," Thomas said. "It has given the family a lot of hope that things are progressing in a positive way."
The 14-year-old girl was snatched from her bedroom in the early morning hours by a gun-wielding intruder -- a crime witnessed only by her younger sister.
Lee's examination of a kitchen window screen led him to back an early police theory that the screen was cut from inside the home, possibly as a diversionary tactic by the abductor, multiple law enforcement sources tell The Tribune.
Police have been unable to determine if the kitchen window was the actual point of entry into the Federal Heights home. Investigators' skepticism is grounded in the lack of scuff marks around the kitchen window and the belief that anyone squeezing through the small window would have awakened family members.
"I went through the house and did look at a lot of evidence . . .I examined the screen and the window," said Lee, refusing to say what he determined from the analysis.
Thomas said Lee did not discuss his findings with Ed Smart or other family members because of the confidentiality agreement.
While Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse welcomed Lee's input, he said: "I don't think there was anything that [Lee] found that will change much." Dinse said he expects Lee, who was originally recruited into the investigation by Ed Smart, to provide police with a written report.
Though Dinse has not publicly ruled anyone out, the chief has called the late Richard Ricci, who worked in the Smart home as a handyman last year, the No. 1 potential suspect. Ricci, who was being held at the Utah State Prison on alleged parole violations, died in August from a massive brain hemorrhage.
He was also charged with robbing the Smart home of jewelry and other items and an earlier night-time burglary of a home nearby while he worked in the neighborhood.
What do you think of this psychic stuff?
Somehow, though, I'm going to stick with my Arab - I just don't believe Elizabeth is dead. This case is too strange, too many contradictions on the part of everybody involved.
bedtime, 'nite.
We humans are endowed with a sixth sense to one degree or another, instinct or whatever. Such as not having spoken to someone in ages and you're suddenly thinking of them, then next thing you know, they've telephoned.
I have heard some psychics say that accepting money for their efforts would remove their power.
wish I could search with you....it is very frustating following a story and not knowing how to help from so far away...
I hope I am prepared if this ever happens nearer to me....
I feel that there are many unexplained phenomenom in our world....
we believe in a lot of those phenomenom because we see the results...eg....electricity....photagraphy...radio waves....sound waves ...light waves...microwaves...
has anyone really seen any of these waves...?????
if we can expect that you can get a little picture from around the world coming into your living room and into a tv set...even thought we can not actually see what is happening from the sky....why is it so out of the question that there may be some sort of brain waves that exist that can be picked up by some very intuned people...????
afterall, the human body does exist with the help of electrical impulses....
maybe all of us could be psychic readers if we learned what to listen for....
OTOH...I do think there are a lot of quacks out there .....don't know anything about psitech.......
A 13 year old girl from Arkansas was abducted from her own home in Greenbriar. She had been corresponding with a 47 year-old California man named David L. Fuller. It is believed she thought she was corresponding with a much younger man.
Police stormed a mini storage unit, where he had parked his rented silver Dodge Caravan. Kacie Rene Woods, "bound body was found in the back of the van, in a space where a seat had been removed. She was shot once in the head.
Fuller's body was in the storage unit, slumped over in the seat that had been removed from the van".
Kacie's father is a Police Officer. Now, the article appears on the front page of today's Arkansas Democrat Gazette, and the picture of Rick Woody, bears a remarkable likness to Ricci.
From the article "The FBI is looking at simiiar crimes across the nation to see if any unsolved murders might be linked to Fuller. One law enforcement Officer hinted at a possible match in Utah in the case of a murdered 13-year old girl."
They highly suspect this isn't the first time he has done this. If you all want to read the whole article, you have to go on-line www.ardemgaz.com.
Just my 2 cents. Carry on.
sw
that is too, too strange....to have him be from both SLC and San Diego, the cities of notorious abductions this year....
the father of the man states emphatically that his son would never do such a thing....wonder how the little girl bond herself and then killed herself....
I never did see his pic.....
too bad the creep took the coward way out and killed himself...if he was related to other crimes and especially Liz's abduction , then we will never learn the truth...
anybody who knows anything on this guy Fuller who is originally from Salt Lake, please chime in....you know...where he lived, went to church, school , etc...thx
Fuller also has been known to go by the name of David Fagan.
I think he was going to drop the body off at the mini-storage and blow town, but they followed him there and it is "assumed" he took his own life.
You all can read it on CNN, but only a part of the story. Reuters should have it also.
Sorry I can't be of more help. But if they do a follow-up in the paper tomorrow, I'll get back with you all with more info.
regards, sw
sw
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