New Leads In Smart Case

Last nights Greta show featured two segments on Elizabeth Smart. The first one had Uncle David speaking for the family. Not much in that interview but there was one statistic that he mentioned that gave the family hope that Elizabeth was still alive. The second segment was an interview with the lead FBI agent and a Capitan on the SLPD. I was very encouraged by the statements made by LE. This is far from being a cold case. There are 4 FBI agents and 4 SLPD detectives working this case full time. There are 3 or 4 persons of interest that they are currently looking at. They are considering this a "crime in progress" which is an indication that they believe Elizabeth may indeed still be alive somewhere. I will try to find a transcript or create one from the tape I made of the program.

# 107 Aren't you the wily one? Posting as if I said, "You are a disgusting, immature, insensitive, ignorant fool": You just proved me right. When you can't win, feel threatened, you resort to name-calling. The most laughable part of your revealing post is that you prefer to believe the cops...holes, contradictions, mistakes... Comparing the Smart case 911 with the snipers You'll notice the snipers were caught!

Is there some reason that you didn't address even a single issue or question I raised, but instead resorted to yet another attack. That has been your M.O. from your very first post on these threads. I absolutely, positively "prefer to believe the cops" instead of posters from the logic-free zone.

I just got home from my parents house. My mom saw something on the TV, apparently some remains have been found, and the remains are going to be tested to see if they belong to Elizabeth Smart. She didn't see the whole news report though. I'll try to post tomorrow if I find out anything additional (it may be Monday before the results are known though.)

Deseret News, Sunday, November 03, 2002

Elizabeth's birthday — without Elizabeth

Nearly 5 months after Smart abduction, still many questions and few answers

By Derek Jensen, Angie Welling and Pat Reavy
Deseret News staff writers

Capt. Cory Lyman was at a family gathering when he received the call on his cell phone the night of Aug. 27.

Richard Ricci, the top potential suspect in the mysterious kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, had suffered a brain hemorrhage and wasn't expected to live.

Lyman, who heads up the Elizabeth Smart Task Force, hung up in utter disbelief. Investigators had planned for a lot of contingencies in this bizarre case, but Ricci's sudden death wasn't one of them.

"I just thought, 'What else can go wrong?' " Lyman recalled. "This case has been fraught with unusual occurrences."

It's been almost five months since Elizabeth was taken at gunpoint from the bedroom of her family's Federal Heights house. After a trip to Disneyland earlier this week, Elizabeth's family marked her 15th birthday today in private, away from the glare of the media spotlight that has turned the blue-eyed, blond-haired teenager's kidnapping into a household tragedy for the whole country.

Despite some 16,000 pursuable leads in the case, police have not yet found Elizabeth or her kidnapper. Meanwhile, family and friends of Elizabeth have done their best to maintain hope, despite the grim statistics that would seem to indicate Elizabeth may never return.

Case didn't die

Investigators have a list of possible suspects that fluctuates between three and five different people, Lyman said. Other than Ricci, police still refuse to say who else is on their short list.

Some law enforcement sources have privately speculated that Ricci's death effectively ended their investigation, but Lyman insists detectives are still moving forward.

"No, the case did not die with Ricci," Lyman said. "It certainly set back some of the theories of the case. Mr. Ricci had information, either culpable or exculpable that only he knew."

Theories of how and why the girl was taken are still varied among the members of the Elizabeth Smart Task Force, made up of three full-time detectives from Salt Lake police and two full-time investigators from the FBI.

"There's a lot of opinions within the investigation, which is good," Lyman said. "We've got people there that believe strongly different things, and from my perspective, that's extremely healthy."

To date, however, investigators still give the most credence to three theories: Elizabeth was kidnapped for ransom, she was abducted after interrupting a burglary or she was taken by a sexual predator.

"The reason those three are still open, we haven't found information to disprove any of them," Lyman said.

Ed and Lois Smart say they believe those three scenarios are all possibilities. They're also certain the kidnapper knew the layout of their house. But ultimately, the Smarts are still haunted by one central question in this puzzling case.

"We still don't know the 'why' issue," Ed Smart said. "Why would anyone take her? What for?"

While Lyman admitted investigators have not received any legitimate ransom requests, investigators still believe it may have been the original intent of the kidnapper. "Realize that a kidnapping for ransom can be bungled," Lyman said. "That could have been the intent. We don't know."

While Ricci denied any involvement in Elizabeth's kidnapping, court documents show he did admit to stealing jewelry, a perfume bottle and wine glass filled with sea shells from the Smart house.

And in a case investigators say is eerily similar to the Smart kidnapping, court documents show Ricci also admitted to breaking into another house in the Smart neighborhood last April and stealing jewelry and $100 cash. Ricci had also worked in that house doing some remodeling work. The burglary occurred in the early morning hours, similar to the time Elizabeth was kidnapped. Ricci crept into a bedroom where a house guest was sleeping, court documents show.

The woman awoke as Ricci was in her bedroom, but believing the darkened profile belonged to a member of the family, she told him he could turn the light on. The intruder responded with only a cough, and the woman rolled back over and went to sleep, court documents state.

When the charges were first filed, Salt Lake Police Chief Rick Dinse said investigators were interested in how the thefts showed a "pattern of conduct" that "considerably raised our interest."

Lois Smart called the similarities between Ricci's previous crimes and Elizabeth's kidnapping "highly suspicious."

"If we knew who it was, that would be wonderful, but we don't know who it was," Ed Smart said. "But Richard is the closest thing to knowing."

Despite his confessions to both burglaries, police remain skeptical of the 48-year-old ex-con's claims of innocence regarding the kidnapping. Investigators still doubt Ricci's alibi — that he was home in bed with his wife, Angela Ricci — the night Elizabeth disappeared.

Police, however, refuse to elaborate what evidence they have to discredit that alibi.

"Our conclusion is, no, he wasn't home in bed with her that night," Lyman said.

Through a spokeswoman, Ricci's wife this week maintained her husband's innocence and denied he died without divulging any kidnapping clues to police.

"She hopes that Elizabeth is found alive and well," Ricci spokeswoman Nancy Pomeroy said. "She doesn't believe that Richard took anything to the grave with him, and she believes in his innocence."

Still waiting

Lois Smart admits her stomach still leaps each time her telephone rings.

"Every time the phone rings you really hope it could be in regards to Elizabeth being found and that they're bringing her home," she said.

Such a phone call has never come. Instead the Smarts are left to raise their remaining five children while still keeping their hope Elizabeth is found alive.

A trip this past week to Disneyland helped in part of that process. The trip was meant in part to "celebrate her life," Lois Smart said.

"That was a favorite place of Elizabeth's," her mother said. "We want to remember the happy, good times that we had with her."

On Tuesday a tearful Ed Smart told a group of reporters how he and his wife had been looking through pictures and home videos of Elizabeth's past birthdays.

This time last year, Elizabeth and 23 of her girlfriends gathered in the recently completed rec room at the Smart house for her 14th birthday party. The group of teenage girls watched videos, ate, played games, talked and, as most girls that age do when they're together, laughed.

"We heard them a lot," Lois said. "This was probably the biggest party that she'd had."

Friends and family who spent time with Elizabeth saw her warm, playful side that often remained hidden under a shy, quiet exterior.

"She would kind of be a little shy at first, but when she softens up, she's the cutest, brightest little girl you'll ever meet," Elizabeth's 16-year-old friend and fellow harpist Kate Langeland said.

Anna Boyer, 15, recalled a time when the group went out for dessert and Elizabeth started a food fight.

"She was actually really funny," Boyer said. "She was hilarious."

Though Elizabeth was shy, 13-year-old Natalie Richards is even more so and said Elizabeth always went out of her way to talk to her.

"She always told me how great I played, even when I didn't," said Richards, remembering a competition where the two played the same song and Elizabeth had "a much better day than I did."

The conversation was the last time Natalie talked to Elizabeth, who was abducted about a week later.

This time last year found Elizabeth preparing for an annual concert in the Capitol rotunda organized by her harp teacher, ShruDeLi Ownbey.

Instead of participating, Elizabeth is now the focus of this year's concert.

Her harp is on the invitations for the Nov. 16 event, her picture inside the program and ribbons in Elizabeth's favorite shade of blue will adorn the more than 100 harps that will gather to honor the lost teen.

"Whenever I have something with the harp, I always have Elizabeth in the back of my mind," Kate Langeland, 16, said at a recent weekend rehearsal for the concert. "It kind of gives me the extra 'oomph' to do better."

Others still arrive at competitions and rehearsals expecting to see Elizabeth visiting quietly with her friends.

"I find myself looking for her sometimes," Boyer said.

Tips galore

While there may be a shortage of strong leads in the investigation, there has been no shortage of theories. Salt Lake City Police Capt. Scott Atkinson estimated his office has traveled approximately 10,000 miles through multiple states following various leads. As of Oct. 28, Atkinson estimated his officers had spent more than 4,250 man hours investigating the kidnapping.

Some of the theories focus on Richard Ricci and whether he acted alone, with somebody else or was even involved at all.

Some theories police have heard seem too far-fetched to be true, including one that Elizabeth was being held by a polygamist cult in Canada.

In September, a Las Vegas television station created a buzz when reporters heard a theory that Elizabeth was pregnant and living in southern Arizona.

Some observers have even speculated the Smart family was involved in the kidnapping.

While refusing to exclude anyone as a potential suspect, Lyman did say that "none of the family members sit there prominently" among investigators' list of three to five potential suspects.

"We looked at the family extremely hard early on," Lyman added, "and so while we do continue to look, there's been nothing that's changed our focus recently."

Family members have cooperated with police throughout the investigation, Lyman said.

"From day one they have fully cooperated with every request law enforcement has made," Smart family spokesman Chris Thomas said. "They continue to do that and are willing to do anything that is asked of them in this investigation. In many other high-profile cases people haven't been as forthcoming. They have nothing to hide and their primary concern is getting Elizabeth back."

Trying for balance

Life at the Smart home these days remains a difficult balance between keeping up the search for their missing daughter and making sure their remaining five children aren't neglected. Ed Smart has also invested time and energy into pushing for a national Amber Alert system. He's passionate about getting the bill passed and protecting other children, yet doesn't want Elizabeth's kidnapping to consume the rest of his family's lives.

"I want so much for my children not to be scarred by this event," Smart said. "I want them to have normal lives and enjoy it. I don't want them to be seeing psychologists and having issues."

But with Elizabeth still missing, it's hard to truly move on.

"I want to find closure in the worst possible way, but I don't want to cripple my children for life," he said. "It's hard to get a balance of life again."

E-mail: djensen@desnews.com

© 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company

This partial transcript is from Fox News’ On the Record with Greta Van Susteren. The program was aired on 1 Nov 2002.

Greta: More on the search for Elizabeth Smart. Joining us are FBI Supervisory Special Agent overseeing the Smart investigation Grant Mendenhall and Salt Lake City Police Capitan Corey Lyman. Welcome both of you, Special Agent Mendenhall first to you, is this a cold case or is this an active investigation for Elizabeth Smart?

Agent Mendenhall: No Greta, this is by no means a cold case. It’s still an active investigation. We’re still working the case in a partnership with the Salt Lake City Police Department, it’s an ongoing case for us.

Greta: Give me some idea of how many agents are working on it full time and how does the investigation manpower differ for instance this month compared to four months ago.

Agent Mendenhall: It doesn’t really differ too much at all Greta. Right now we have three full time agents, the police department has three full time detectives plus Capitan Lyman and myself.

Greta: Capt Lyman are you optimistic or maybe realistic or pessimistic?

Capt Lyman: I believe we’ve been realistic.

Greta: Meaning?

Capt Lyman: Meaning that we still consider this, for lack of a better terminology, a crime in progress, because we have not yet found Elizabeth and we are working very hard to that end.

Greta: When you say crime in progress do you have any hope that she is still alive?

Capt Lyman: Well certainly we don’t have any evidence at this point that she’s not alive and so we continue to act on that basis.

Greta: Capitan was there physical evidence left at the scene, I won’t ask you specifics, so as not to jeopardize the investigation, but was there specific physical evidence left at the scene of the abduction that gives you clues and gives you sort of a sense that this case will be solved?

Capt Lyman: (hesitates) Well there certainly is physical evidence and that’s about the extent to which I can comment on it. Until we find Elizabeth we don’t know all the other side of the evidence and so it would be hard for me to speculate on the value of some of it.

Greta: Special Agent Mendenhall let me ask you maybe a little bit differently, DNA evidence for instance can identify someone who was there. Is there any DNA evidence whether it’s reflected in hair, or blood, or anything left at the scene that has you thinking that you have the DNA identification of the person who took her?

Agent Mendenhall: Greta as you know this is an ongoing investigation and myself nor Captain Lyman can really talk about specifics regarding evidence or specific information we may have about different individuals.

Greta: But DNA doesn’t give away anything, it’s not like a note at the scene you don’t want to reveal the contents because you don’t want the killer to know the contents or others to know the contents, but something like DNA that just says yes we have information at the scene which we believe will lead to the killer, do you have that?

Agent Mendenhall: Well again I can’t comment specifically on what we have found at the crime scene and DNA evidence could possibly identify someone and again we are just not in a position to discuss specific things that may or may not have been found at the crime scene.

Greta: Richard Ricci, Special Agent Mendenhall of course is dead. Your thoughts in terms of whether or not he was involved in the abduction.

Agent Mendenhall: The status of Mr. Ricci as it relates to this investigation really hasn’t changed. He’s still a person of interest as he was before he passed away.

Greta: What does a person of interest mean?

Agent Mendenhall: That’s someone that we’re looking at that we think may have some involvement or may have information about the case.

Greta: Capitan Lyman are there other persons of interest you currently have active sort of on your roster?

Capt Lyman: There are currently some other persons of interest.

Greta: Can you give us an idea how many?

Capt Lyman: (hesitates) I would say that we are actively interested in right now probably three or four. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a number of others that simply haven’t been removed. It’s just that we’re not as actively pursuing them right now.

Greta: Capitan is there anyone you’re pursuing right now?

Capt Lyman: I just said that. Three or four.

Greta: But you can’t narrow it down beyond the three or four?

Capt Lyman: I’m not going to comment on their specific identities.

Greta: Are clues still coming in Capitan, is the community still giving you information, are you getting tips from people?

Capt Lyman: Yes we’re continuing to receive calls and encourage the public to continue to give us information whether it regards Mr. Ricci or other people who might have involvement in this. We have got a tremendous amount, literally we’ve spoken with thousands of people, we have thousands and thousands of documents in terms of reporting and so forth. But we don’t know what we don’t know so we continue to encourage people to call us if they have anything at all.

Greta: Thank you both, I know that you guys are both working very hard on a very difficult case. I appreciate you joining us.

fyi.....I can't post but cybersleuths had a blip this morning about a prosecutor getting a paid leave because he plea bargained a sexual offender who just happened apparently to be in the slc area during the time in question....the cops do not say he is a suspect but then again, why would they investigate the man?

This story, Cherry, is what you are referring to, I think.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/ap_story.html/National/AP.V4818.AP-Missing-Girl-Pr.html

The suspect's name is James Witbaard and he is 51 yrs. old. From L.A., I gather. SLC police think he may have been in Utah around the time Elizabeth disappeared.

The prosecutor who was suspended is named Payne, and he works in Orange County.

A possible suspect?
Suspension Over Elizabeth Smart Case

Nov 3, 6:41 PM (ET)

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) - A deputy district attorney was suspended after his handling of a sexual battery case came under scrutiny by Utah detectives investigating the disappearance of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart.

Randy Payne, a veteran sex-crimes prosecutor in Orange County, was placed on paid administrative leave Oct. 4, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

Payne was suspended after questions were raised about a plea bargain in the case of a man who is being investigated by Utah authorities for a possible connection to Smart, who disappeared from her Salt Lake City bedroom June 5.

James Witbaard, 51, was arrested in California in January on suspicion of fondling two girls who lived in his neighborhood. He spent 23 days in jail before posting bail.

Salt Lake City police became interested in Witbaard after learning he visited Utah during the summer while out on bail, said Salt Lake City Police Capt. Cory Lyman, commander of a task force investigating Smart's disappearance.

In July, a month after Smart's disappearance, Witbaard pleaded guilty in California to felony sexual battery involving the two neighbor girls and was sentenced to time served plus five years' probation and counseling.

He was later arrested again after authorities received a tip that he was leaving California without permission from his parole officer.

During a search of Witbaard's car, probation officers found a kitchen knife, an ax and photographs of women and girls in bathing suits and underwear, according to a probation report. Investigators vacuumed the car for potential evidence, such as hair or clothing fibers, and Utah authorities sent the evidence to a crime lab, where it is being evaluated, Lyman said.

Lyman stressed that Witbaard is one of several people investigators are examining and that they have no direct evidence linking him to Smart's abduction.

Deputy Public Defender Doug Lobato said he believed Witbaard, who is now being held without bail, had nothing to do with Smart's abduction and predicted detectives would soon turn their attention to other suspects.

Deseret News, Sunday, November 03, 2002

Elizabeth Smart saga timeline

Wednesday, June 5

• Elizabeth Smart, 14, kidnapped about 2 a.m. from Federal Heights home. Kidnapper threatens to hurt Elizabeth if sister Mary Katherine, 9, tells; she waits two hours before alerting her parents, who call 911 at 4:01 a.m.

• Utah's new Rachael Alert messaging system is activated in morning through radio and television broadcasts.

• Family asks search be extended to southeast Idaho and Wyoming.

Thursday, June 6

• Smarts offer $250,000 reward; Salt Lake police offer $10,000 more.

• Army of 700 volunteers joins search; 25 police and FBI detectives

on case.

• Family/police appear on "Larry King Live," "Today Show" and "Good Morning America"; fliers about Elizabeth are distributed throughout Utah and neighboring states.

• Elizabeth's father, Edward Smart, collapses from exhaustion, is hospitalized within hours.

Friday, June 7

• Elizabeth's brother accepts her certificate at Bryant Elementary commencement exercises after moment of silence for sister; chain link fence outside adorned with powder blue, heart-shaped ribbons with her name.

• Milkman reports seeing suspicious, roaming car in Smart neighborhood two days before kidnapping, notes Utah license plate number.

Saturday, June 8

• Police Chief Rick Dinse publicly frustrated by lack of solid leads; 25 search pilots take to air; Ed Smart returns home from hospital; "America's Most Wanted" airs story on Elizabeth.

Sunday, June 9

• Ed Smart takes polygraph test, police say routine, other family members also tested; police later admit polygraph tests resulted from tips.

Wednesday, June 12

• Police work 6,000 tips.

Thursday, June 13

• Bret Michael Edmunds identified as man spotted by milkman. Police deny Edmunds as suspect but want him for questioning.

Friday, June 14

• Man matching Edmunds' description spotted in Hereford, Texas, five days after Salt Lake police say Edmunds sped away after attempted capture at candlelight vigil. He is later arrested in West Virginia but is determined not to be a suspect.

• Number of volunteer searchers drops from 1,200 to 785.

• Reports say sister didn't get a good look at abductor's face.

Saturday, June 15

• Elizabeth's uncle Tom Smart insists he's innocent amid some media suspicion cast upon him; daughters defend him on national TV.

• Police announce suspect wore tan golf cap.

Sunday, June 16

• Elizabeth's father confirms powered garage door was left open the night before daughter's disappearance; speculates intruder could have hidden in basement undetected.

July

• Former Smart handyman Richard Albert Ricci becomes top suspect after he takes Jeep from repair shop May 30, then returns it after kidnapping with 1,000 extra miles logged. Prosecutors later charge Ricci with burglary and theft for items stolen earlier from Smart home and another Federal Heights dwelling.

• Cheyenne, Wyo., woman claims sighting of Ricci digging fence holes in rural area two days after kidnapping; lead quickly turns soft.

August

• Ricci dies in hospital after suffering brain hemorrhage in prison where he was held on theft and burglary charges.

• Elizabeth's younger sister and three brothers head back to school after secluded summer.

• Police announce investigation of similar attempted break-in at Elizabeth's cousin's home July 24; police determine likely prank.

• Ed Smart reports to MSNBC that Mary Katherine recognized abductor's voice.

September

• Smart family news briefings become increasingly infrequent; police return to investigating early clues.

• Police admit waiting nearly three hours to seal Smart home, allowing potential contamination of crime scene in critical hours after abduction.

October

• Smart continues lobbying for national Amber Alert System days before Elizabeth's 15th birthday. President Bush announces federal push for a national rapid-response alert system.

• Renowned forensic expert Henry Lee travels to Smart home to assess crime scene.

November

• Family members mark Elizabeth Smart's 15th birthday on Nov. 3.

© 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company

thanks DA

Transcript of LKL is here:

http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0211/03/lklw.00.html

Did anyone watch the parents on Lary King, I think it was last night, they seemed resigned to the situation, said they had moved on, but they said it in a very light hearted manner, it made me think they know something we don't....... just wondering out loud.

I read the transcript and did find some of their remarks to be rather odd. For instance, neither Ed nor Lois jump anymore at the sound of the phone or the doorbell. I have friends whose daughter has been missing since January 10, and they say their hearts still go up in their throats every time the phone rings, hoping it will be their beloved daughter, or someone with some news of her.

And Lois had a surreal moment -- she said something like "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth--it can't always be about Elizabeth". A bit cold, if you ask me.

I wish I had watched the interview, because so much more is garnered from watching the body language.

I wish I had watched the interview, because so much more is garnered from watching the body language.

The interview said it all, but the body language enforced the feeling you got.
I don't for a minute think they are non caring people, I just get this feeling they know she is alive and well, strange ..... this is a feeling I have had all along.

I pray and hope your friends find their daughter.

Thank you, Great Dane. It doesn't look good for them. She is a 19 year old college student who disappeared without a trace while jogging in her own neighborhood. There have been numerous searches. She was featured on John Walsh and
Unsolved Mysteries. Her parents attended the Washington, DC meeting on Missing Children. This couple is one of the finest and bravest I've ever met. Deeply religious, also. I pray their girl will be restored to them soon.

I pray the same thing for the Smarts.

I would certainly like to see a picture of this Mr. James Witbaard and know if he has ever made he acquaintace of Richard Ricci.

UR welcome, Cherry. And below my clickable link is the whole article, right there for us to look at whenever we want to.

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