Elizabeth Smart case, August 16, 2002

[cookiedough]

Utah criminal law regarding crimes against persons here:

http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/TITLE76/76_05.htm

76-5-301.1. Child kidnapping.
(1) An actor commits child kidnapping if the actor intentionally or knowingly, without authority of
law, and by any means
and in any manner, seizes, confines, detains, or transports a child under the age of 14 without the
consent of the victim's parent
or guardian, or the consent of a person acting in loco parentis.
(2) Violation of Section 76-5-303 is not a violation of this section.
(3) Child kidnapping is a first degree felony punishable by imprisonment for an indeterminate term
of not less than 6, 10, or
15 years and which may be for life. Imprisonment is mandatory in accordance with Section
76-3-406.

[cookiedough]

Screw it. I got mixed up -- Liz is not "under 14"!

This law applies:

76-5-301. Kidnapping.
(1) An actor commits kidnapping if the actor intentionally or knowingly, without authority of law,
and against the will of the victim:
(a) detains or restrains the victim for any substantial period of time;
(b) detains or restrains the victim in circumstances exposing the victim to risk of bodily injury;
(c) holds the victim in involuntary servitude;
(d) detains or restrains a minor without the consent of the minor's parent or legal guardian or the consent of a person acting in loco parentis, if the minor is 14 years of age or older but younger than 18 years of age; or
(e) moves the victim any substantial distance or across a state line.
(2) As used in this section, acting "against the will of the victim" includes acting without the consent of the legal guardian or custodian of a victim who is a mentally incompetent person.
(3) Kidnapping is a second degree felony.

[cookiedough]

76-5-302. Aggravated kidnapping.
(1) An actor commits aggravated kidnapping if the actor, in the course of committing unlawful detention or kidnapping:
(a) possesses, uses, or threatens to use a dangerous weapon as defined in Section 76-1-601; or
(b) acts with intent:
(i) to hold the victim for ransom or reward, or as a shield or hostage, or to compel a third person to engage in particular conduct or to forbear from engaging in particular conduct;
(ii) to facilitate the commission, attempted commission, or flight after commission or attempted
commission of a felony;
(iii) to hinder or delay the discovery of or reporting of a felony;
(iv) to inflict bodily injury on or to terrorize the victim or another;
(v) to interfere with the performance of any governmental or political function; or
(vi) to commit a sexual offense as described in Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 4, Sexual Offenses.
(2) As used in this section, "in the course of committing unlawful detention or kidnapping" means in
the course of committing,
attempting to commit, or in the immediate flight after the attempt or commission of a violation of:
(a) Section 76-5-301, kidnapping; or
(b) Section 76-5-304, unlawful detention.
(3) Aggravated kidnapping is a first degree felony punishable by imprisonment for an indeterminate
term of not less than 6,10, or 15 years and which may be for life. Imprisonment is mandatory in accordance with Section
76-3-406.

[varina davis]

She was an accomplished harpist, and was involved in acting and sports.

Note the "acting." Haven't heard anything discussed about her interest and involvment in acting. One of the films of her regularly shown on TV, shows her in a play or skit of some sort. It might be interesting to know who she met or associated with while in plays, etc.

[cookiedough]

The prosecutor has to prove each element of the crime, as outlined in the statutes the defendant is charged under, beyond a reasonable doubt.

One element left unproven beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defendant cannot be convicted because the crime consists of the totality of the elements in the statute.

[cookiedough]

76-5-202. Aggravated murder.
(1) Criminal homicide constitutes aggravated murder if the actor intentionally or knowingly causes the death of another under
any of the following circumstances:
(a) the homicide was committed by a person who is confined in a jail or other correctional institution;
(b) the homicide was committed incident to one act, scheme, course of conduct, or criminal episode during which two or
more persons were killed, or during which the actor attempted to kill one or more persons in addition to the victim who was
killed;
(c) the actor knowingly created a great risk of death to a person other than the victim and the actor;
(d) the homicide was committed while the actor was engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after
committing or attempting to commit, aggravated robbery, robbery, rape, rape of a child, object rape, object rape of a child,
forcible sodomy, sodomy upon a child, forcible sexual abuse, sexual abuse of a child, aggravated sexual abuse of a child, child
abuse as defined in Subsection 76-5-109(2)(a), or aggravated sexual assault, aggravated arson, arson, aggravated burglary,
burglary, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping, or child kidnapping;
(e) the homicide was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing an arrest of the defendant or another by a peace
officer acting under color of legal authority or for the purpose of effecting the defendant's or another's escape from lawful
custody;
(f) the homicide was committed for pecuniary or other personal gain;
(g) the defendant committed, or engaged or employed another person to commit the homicide pursuant to an agreement or
contract for remuneration or the promise of remuneration for commission of the homicide;
(h) the actor was previously convicted of:
(i) aggravated murder, Section 76-5-202;
(ii) murder, Section 76-5-203;
(iii) aggravated assault, Subsection 76-5-103(2);
(iv) mayhem, Section 76-5-105;
(v) attempted murder, Section 76-5-203;
(vi) kidnapping, Section 76-5-301;
(vii) child kidnapping, Section 76-5-301.1;
(viii) aggravated kidnapping, Section 76-5-302;
(ix) rape, Section 76-5-402;
(x) rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.1;
(xi) object rape, Section 76-5-402.2;
(xii) object rape of a child, Section 76-5-402.3;
(xiii) forcible sodomy, Section 76-5-403;
(xiv) sodomy on a child, Section 76-5-403.1;
(xv) aggravated sexual abuse of a child, Section 76-5-404.1;
(xvi) aggravated sexual assault, Section 76-5-405;
(xvii) aggravated arson, Section 76-6-103;
(xviii) aggravated burglary, Section 76-6-203;
(xix) aggravated robbery, Section 76-6-302; or
(xx) an offense committed in another jurisdiction which if committed in this state would be a violation of a crime listed in this
Subsection (1)(h);


(i) the homicide was committed for the purpose of:
(i) preventing a witness from testifying;
(ii) preventing a person from providing evidence or participating in any legal proceedings or official investigation;
(iii) retaliating against a person for testifying, providing evidence, or participating in any legal proceedings or official
investigation; or
(iv) disrupting or hindering any lawful governmental function or enforcement of laws;
(j) the victim is or has been a local, state, or federal public official, or a candidate for public office, and the homicide is based
on, is caused by, or is related to that official position, act, capacity, or candidacy;
(k) the victim is or has been a peace officer, law enforcement officer, executive officer, prosecuting officer, jailer, prison
official, firefighter, judge or other court official, juror, probation officer, or parole officer, and the victim is either on duty or the
homicide is based on, is caused by, or is related to that official position, and the actor knew, or reasonably should have known,
that the victim holds or has held that official position;
(l) the homicide was committed:
(i) by means of a destructive device, bomb, explosive, incendiary device, or similar device which was planted, hidden, or
concealed in any place, area, dwelling, building, or structure, or was mailed or delivered; or
(ii) by means of any weapon of mass destruction as defined in Section 76-10-401;
(m) the homicide was committed during the act of unlawfully assuming control of any aircraft, train, or other public
conveyance by use of threats or force with intent to obtain any valuable consideration for the release of the public conveyance
or any passenger, crew member, or any other person aboard, or to direct the route or movement of the public conveyance or
otherwise exert control over the public conveyance;
(n) the homicide was committed by means of the administration of a poison or of any lethal substance or of any substance
administered in a lethal amount, dosage, or quantity;
(o) the victim was a person held or otherwise detained as a shield, hostage, or for ransom; or
(p) the homicide was committed in an especially heinous, atrocious, cruel, or exceptionally depraved manner, any of which
must be demonstrated by physical torture, serious physical abuse, or serious bodily injury of the victim before death.
(2) Aggravated murder is a capital felony.
(3) (a) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of aggravated murder or attempted aggravated murder that the defendant
caused the death of another or attempted to cause the death of another:
(i) under the influence of extreme emotional distress for which there is a reasonable explanation or excuse; or
(ii) under a reasonable belief that the circumstances provided a legal justification or excuse for his conduct although the
conduct was not legally justifiable or excusable under the existing circumstances.
(b) Under Subsection (3)(a)(i), emotional distress does not include:
(i) a condition resulting from mental illness as defined in Section 76-2-305; or
(ii) distress that is substantially caused by the defendant's own conduct.
(c) The reasonableness of an explanation or excuse under Subsection (3)(a)(i) or the

reasonable belief of the actor under Subsection (3)(a)(ii) shall be determined from the viewpoint of a reasonable person under
the then existing circumstances.
(d) This affirmative defense reduces charges only as follows:
(i) aggravated murder to murder; and
(ii) attempted aggravated murder to attempted murder.

[Sherlock]

Wow! No wonder Jolly Green wants to go back to vigilante justice. I hope something breaks in the case. Do you have any theory on motive for Elizabeth's kidnapping?

[cookiedough]

I don't have any interesting theories. Just the common abduct/rape/kill scenario.

My husband thinks she's been sold to a prostitution and/or pornography ring in L.A.

I think he was just trying to get me to shut up about this case by theorizing outlandishly! :-)

[Sherlock]

I would agree with that but I think there was an accomplice and I don't see where he fits in that case. Just another dirty old man interested in the same thing?

[cookiedough]

Sure an accomplice could be interested in the same thing.

Gang rape is a crime in which there are multiple perps and one victim.

BTW, if Ricci had an accomplice and the accomplice killed Liz, and Ricci didn't intend for that to happen, Ricci hangs anyway.

I think the case is stalled until they find either Liz or her body, unless Ricci or someone else confesses. I'm not convinced Ricci did it, based on what we know.

Until we get more information, I will stay with my plain vanilla theory -- when I speculate about all the possibilities, I come up with some good plots for a novel, but I think most criminals are not that creative.

A friend of mine has had some real humdinger cases -- but those are extremely rare -- the vast majority of the cases he handles are boring -- same old song, time after time.

[cookiedough]

When I say I am not convinced Ricci did it, that does not mean I think he is innocent. I just don't think there is enough information to make that determination.

[Sherlock]

Yes, it's usually not that complicated. I think old Ricci's in it up to his hairline. The plan where the Jeep came out of the shop but wasn't parked at his trailer, the Jun 8 trip Ricci won't admit to that left the Jeep muddy & strewn with pine needles, the blanket in the Jeep, the post hole digger, Ricci himself covered with mud wearing a machette at his waist, all this evidence that Ricci won't give to police and the man that picked him up across the street that he won't identify. If Ricci did this for sexual exploitation he would have no alternative but to get rid of her because she would identify him.

[Sherlock]

If Ricci met the kidnapper at Shriner's Hospital parking lot just before the kidnapping I think the FBI has his car type from the still photographs made from the video. Not a license number though. The security guard said they got the first car and he thought they got a clear shot of the 2nd car when it made a U turn to go back towards Federal Heights. From the silhouette & measurements between points on the car they can determine the model. If the police know his car type was in that parking lot they would consider that more than coincidence.

[IamHD]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/734685/posts?page=4

Please see #5 of tomorrow's thread. Night, all!