New Leads In Smart Case

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.

Ed Smart in the news again tonight. Get this, they said her birthday is today.? On the information about ES it states her birthday is Nov. 3? What does this mean? They lied then or they are now? Anyway I don't think it matters accept once again I question just what is Ed doing you never get a straight story from him? They also state they are going to California.

What a perversion of my statement 'bad judgement in a post-homocidal depression'. Where do you get I said he was a 'criminal mastermind'out of that?

i was merely trying to understand your feelings concerning Ricci's mental ability. How can he be a moron and clever at the same time? Didn't mean to insult you in any way.

Chief Dinse on more than on occasion stated that he would charge Ricci in a second if he had any evidence, but that he did not have any, so he didn't charge Ricci. these are Dinse's words, not mine

You are leaving out the part where Dinse said there was a "connection" but not "enough" evidence to file charges. He didn't say there was no evidence.

David and Susan Smith did not "have money," yet their case dominated the TeeVee for the whole time their boys were "missing." Sure it didn't go on as long as this has--but then, the case got solved.

Russell Yates--and I know his family's murder wasn't exactly unsolved--but, Russell Yates' mug was all over TV for some time, and he wasn't affluent.

The TV people are out to make money. The riches of those who own and control cable AND network TV dwarfs anything the Smarts could come up with.

Don't forget Chandra Levy. Yes, her father makes a nice living, but believe me, what he has cannot compare to that of the people who make the decisions of what we will watch on our news shows. Those people would NOT be particularly impressed by Dr. Levy's income, I assure you. So how would Dr. and Mrs. Levy have "controlled" the media? NO ONE has gotten TV coverage like Chandra Levy.

You are leaving out the part where Dinse said there was a "connection" but not "enough" evidence to file charges. He didn't say there was no evidence.

That's right--I recall Dinse saying that; he used the word "connectivity."

There is just no way that the lack of indictment proves anything about Ricci's guilt or innocence--especially given the fact of Ricci's unexpected death. (Some might think his death tended to point towards his knowing something--if one considers his death suspicious.)

Ricci is still the prime suspect that we know of. Had he lived, who knows what else might have come out about him.

Her 15th birthday is on Sunday, Nov.3.

Article from SLT:

Smart Family Readies Itself for Elizabeth's 15th Birthday
Wednesday, October 30, 2002

Nearly one year ago, when Elizabeth Smart turned 14, she had "one of the best birthday parties ever," said her father, Ed Smart, on Tuesday.

On Sunday, the missing girl's family will celebrate Elizabeth's 15th birthday with a trip to "her favorite place" -- Disneyland, Smart said at a brief news conference at the family LDS church house.

Smart wept as he spoke of his daughter -- kidnapped by an armed intruder June 5 -- as a "wonderful girl."
He said Elizabeth, "hates to see others who are downtrodden," as he pleaded for Congress to pass a national AMBER alert system.

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, joined the Smart family, calling the system, which would streamline widespread notification of child abductions, a "nonpartisan issue."

-- Kevin Cantera

If you want to see someone who could be a "moron," yet be clever at the same time

no doubt that is a couple of brains there. but notice that basically 1 or 2 little pieces of forensic evidence led to their capture and being charged. and yes, i know, there isn't a body in the smart case, but you'd think police would tell us if at least a fingerprint belonging to Ricci was found at the scene. the cops were talking about Malvo's prints before they even charged them with the murders.

You are leaving out the part where Dinse said there was a "connection" but not "enough" evidence to file charges. He didn't say there was no evidence.

"There is no question there is a connectivity between Mr. Ricci, these charges and the Smart case, but that does not mean that he's the abductor in this case," Dinse said. "There are other people we are looking at."

"If I could charge him, I'd charge him," Dinse said Thursday. "That doesn't mean I don't have anything linking him to the case, but if I could charge him and we could prove it, I'd charge him today."

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/missingutahgirl020712.html

Well, but let's face it, it was the shooters' call to the tipline that actually got the ball rolling. Because having forensic evidence and/or fingerprints is no good unless you've already got at least a speculative suspect to compare them to. The shooters' egos got the better of them--when they bragged about shooting someone in Montgomery, Alabama, that provided a key puzzle piece. Notice the Montgomery, Alabama case was unsolved; their police had long had that fingerprint, but it had done them no good, b/c they didn't have a probable suspect to compare it to.

Well, but let's face it, it was the shooters' call to the tipline that actually got the ball rolling

I agree, which brings a whole new can of worms to the table, the Alabama police had the fingerprint, maybe they didn't have the database access to cross reference the print. but the print was in some database that lead to identifying the suspects.

having forensic evidence and/or fingerprints is no good unless you've already got at least a speculative suspect to compare them to

my point about Ricci's prints is, his prints are in the Utah crime database, over and over. if one of Ricci's prints was found at the crime scene, he would be be linked forensically.

the reason Susan Smith got the press at first is because she is a southern-talking blonde woman.....and her story was horrific....

Yates got press because of its unimaginable dimensions.....

Levy got attention because of the rumored connection with Condit...

I think the Smart's got the press because it was a slow summer, Liz is/was a pretty young girl, and her extended family epitomized the wonderful America that we all know and love..except when the NE story came out..that drew a lot of attention too...

fingerprints can't be dated and they last a long, long time so a fingerprint of Ricci's would mean little if this thing ever got to court...

even in the jeep..anything of Liz's could be argued that it was left there from when her dad owned the jeep.....except perhaps fibers from her red pajamas showed up....

"I agree, which brings a whole new can of worms to the table, the Alabama police had the fingerprint, maybe they didn't have the database access to cross reference the print. but the print was in some database that lead to identifying the suspects.:

sorry to be talking about the snipers here, but I wanted to say that I think Malvo's fingerprint was on file....I think they were taken up in Bellingham when they brought him in on illegal immigrant status then let him go.....but, it sounds like we have no national computer data base readily available for all police to see or, the Alabama cops didn't think to use it...

There is a national computer database, NCIC, on which state cops and FBI can run an individual's name to get data such as criminal records. As for fingerprint databases, I don't know if there is a national one. I am thinking there is, and I think I read that Alabama didn't subscribe to it.

It was the early to mid 80's before most jurisdictions that I know of began putting fingerprint info on computer so people could simply submit a latent fingerprint and get a preliminary comparison of it to the bank of fingerprint data that a particular jurisdiction might have. At that time, all of a sudden prosecutors in some jurisdictions were faced with things like burglaries which had long gone unsolved, and which now had fingerprint data linking the burglaries with individuals' names. It led to the prosecution of a lot of cold cases.

fingerprints can't be dated and they last a long, long time so a fingerprint of Ricci's would mean little if this thing ever got to court...

A fingerprint would place him in the home. police, when requesting fingerprints from nieghbors, stated that there was some foreign DNA in the house that didn't match. Ricci gave blood, spit, urine, hair, and they have his prints[if they didn't they would've then], no match to Ricci was found. however at least 3 of the male nieghbors that police wanted to fingerprint to compare to the foreign DNA, were "out of town at the time" of police's request. hmmmmm

Frankly, I'd hardly call Susan Smith a blonde. Her hair color is hard to describe. As for her accent, it was an excruciating twang that was grating to the ear. It wasn't like the majority of southern accents I've heard. It was too nasal. In no way do I think Susan Smith was attractive or appealing--even when she was pretending to the role of bereaved mother.

She was a confused, abused young loser, married to but separated from, a grocery store worker. Hardly affluent or powerful. Yet she was all over TV. Her story was horrific, yes: that a black man had hijacked her car and driven off with the babies in it. But that story, as she told it, was no more horrific than the story in this case, of a man sneaking in in the middle of the night, and "roughly" compelling a young girl in her pajamas to go down the stairs and out the door.

Adam Walsh's case got a great deal of press. Yet at the time, no one knew what had happened to him--no one yet knew the atrocious truth. All they knew was that he'd vanished, and that his parents were begging the public and everyone to help them. Adam's father was well-heeled, but hardly rich at the time.

Same sort of thing for Polly Klaas. That story was the talk of the whole country.

The Smart case is almost off the radar now. It's only been five months. I am surprised no one has started accusing the Smarts of "hiding," or of "laying low until the furor has died down."

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