Smart Case, July 31, 2002

07/31/02 | Jolly Green

[Jolly Green]

Time Line
04/01/01	Sunday	Ricci burglarizes a Smart neighbor's home taking various items.
06/05/01	Tuesday	Ricci steals items from the Smart home while he is employed there as a handyman. Ricci is charged in July of 2002 of 1 count of theft related to the Smart incident.
05/30/02	Thursday	~ Ricci returns to pick up his Jeep at the auto repair shop before the shop has a chance to fully fix it He tells the repairman that it needed for an emergency.
06/04/02	Tuesday	~ Ricci is at work from about 9am to 5:30pm ~ Ricci claims he spends the evening with friends
06/05/02	Wednesday	~ 1:05am - 2 cars are spotted on the SLC Shriner's Hospital Parking Lot by a hospital security guard, two blocks from the Smart residence ~ 1:30am (approx) - Elizabeth is kidnapped from her home ~ 1:30am - Ricci claims to be in bed asleep with his with wife. ~ Ricci is scheduled to be off work all day today. ~ 7:21am - Rachel/Amber alert is issued and national media is involved. ~ 8:30am - Ricci and his neighbor talk about the kidnapping of Elizabeth, Ricci seems to know too much information about it. ~ Sometime during this day Ricci is visited by police in regards to Elizabeth's kidnapping as reported by Angela Ricci (Richard A. Ricci's Wife which is an ex-convict herself) ~ Ricci is seen by his neighbor digging a hole by his (Ricci's) trailer early in the morning. (heard the neighbor say this on TV)
06/06/02	Thursday	~ Ricci is scheduled to work from 9am to 5:30pm today, but instead works from 10:30am to 7:00pm ~ Police talk to Ricci this day about the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping. (The media is reporting this, so it could be wrong)
06/08/02	Saturday	~ Ricci returns the Jeep to the repair shop to get it fixed. The Jeep is muddy and the repair shop owner sees Ricci remove seat covers from the back of the jeep and place them into a plastic garbage bag that already contains other stuff in it. Also the repair shop owner said a muddy post hole digger was in the back of the Jeep, Ricci removes this also. Ricci has a man waiting across the street to give him a ride. Ricci takes the plastic bag and contents along with the post hole digger with him. Also there is 500 to 1000 extra miles on the Jeep since Ricci picked it up on May 30th, 2002.
06/14/02	Friday	~ Ricci is taken into custody for a parole violation, this being drinking while on parole and association with other ex-cons.
07/11/02	Thursday	Formal charges are filed against Ricci (2 counts of theft & 1 count of burglary) on the theft & burglary of the Smart neighbors home which occurred in April 2001, and 1 more count of theft for stealing from the Smart home on June 6th, 2001.
Special thanks to Brigette for starting this timeline.

[Neenah]

LOL Bella ! I swear, I HAVE to be a sleuth to figure out your answers !!!

[cookiedough]

That's funny ... I said the exact same thing when I saw Ricci's picture from today! Kinda scarey looking, isn't he?

[Neenah]

Well, Cookie, that would be adding something to it...we can't "suppose", cause Mrs. Smart only said (according to the report) that she recognised the voice of the abductor.

[varina davis]

Why would she tell her young 14 yr. old ABDUCTED daugher to stay true?

Beyond weird. Unless... she has an idea where Elizabeth is and who she is with.

[varina davis]

Just an hour ago, THE ABRAMS REPORT (MSNBC) covered the fact that Lois Smart has said that Mary Katherine identified the voice of the abductor.

And it apparently was not that of Ricci.

[L84AD8]

Actually, I hold nothing against the Smart family. I've been following the case since day 1 and reading and researching a lot about the case. That includes Ricci and his cohorts, the Smart family and their life style as well as Utah, Mormons, ex-Mormons and the Olympics held in Utah in 2002.

From all the information, the articles, the live reports and seeing the Smart family on TV, I came to the conclusion that the family, be it Ed or Tom or another, is involved. In fact, I have read a post by a Mormon that stated that those in SLC share that belief. Lots of reasons why. Look at their reactions to questions. Lois's direct remarks to 'someone' and to Elizabeth. She is aware that Lizzie is somewhere that she may be listening to the news.

Another theory out of SLC is that Lizzie ran away and the Smart's knew that they would get no help with a runaway and therefore reported her as having been kidnapped. That is not one of my theories, but it is possible. We won't know until the case is solved. If it is.

Things do not add up in that case. I'm not the first or only person to notice that fact either.

[varina davis]

Another theory out of SLC is that Lizzie ran away and the Smart's knew that they would get no help with a runaway and therefore reported her as having been kidnapped.

That seems to be a pretty prevalent theory all across the country.

[cookiedough]

I wish they would hire an excellent pediatric hypnotherapist with great credentials and lots of experience, and hypnotize the girl -- videotaping the entire thing from start to finish ... so they could find out if she knows, but has suppressed, identifying information about who took Elizabeth.

The videotape would be proof that the hypnotherapist did or did not suggest any of the answers to MK.

If this had happened in my family, I'd make sure my child talked to a therapist, Boylan (may have name wrong) the artist, and arrange for hypnosis if necessary. (Of course, I would do all this only if it were not harmful to my child.)

I would move heaven and earth to find my missing child. I would hire a PI. I would try not to compromise the investigation and the gathering of evidence against the perp, but I would put finding my child first.

[Neenah]

I heard this very thing talked about on Court t.v.

I was not glued to the set, but I believe they said that NOTHING like that is allowed in testemony in our court system.

I believe they said that such a person having a child under hypnosis, could use suggested behaviour given to the child,and that is why it is not permitted.

Any attorneys out there can correct me...LOL, and probably will, but I believe that is what they said.

[cookiedough]

Not Ricci's voice? I am starting to think I am giving LE a big benefit of the doubt when considering Ricci as a suspect, because there has been no connection between the kidnapping and Ricci made public by LE -- the only question in my mind is about the Jeep's whereabouts.

If LE ever finds the perp, I have a feeling most people are going to be shocked by the true story of what happened, who did it, etc. I doubt it will be her parents, Ricci & Company, polygamists, a Mormon or business-related conspiracy, or a runaway situation.

Probably will turn out to be a simple pedophile grabs/kills girl case -- and the identity of the perp will be the shocker.

Today, my bet is on someone LE has not mentioned to the media. LE has said they have several suspects, not just Ricci -- and I wonder who those others are. No flames, please -- I know LE has no duty to tell us.

I have a feeling something major is going on that we are not privy to -- too many vague answers and unasked follow-up questions. Even the media seems to be handling this with kid gloves.

None of this is meaningful, of course -- just my suppositions and thoughts today.

[Sherlock]

>Beyond weird. Unless... she has an idea where Elizabeth is and who she is with.

Please, Bella, if she has any idea where Elizabeth is and who she is with don't you think the FBI would have tracked her down. I'm sure all the technology in our country is available to LE for this case.

[Neenah]

. The family doesn't ask her questions. They don't want others to ask questions, either.

Not having a transcript here, I presume Klaas is speaking this? How does he know??

Now...let's just get down to "common common sense "....If any of you are parents...ask yourself this...

Your 14 yr. old daughter has been kidnapped at gun point (ahem), the abductor, was seen by your 9 year old daughter who was IN THE BED with your 14 yr. old.

I am NOT speaking of WHAT THE SMARTS did...I am asking YOU...to picture this as YOUR family. YOUR daughter is kidnapped at gun point, your other daughter is with her when it happens...ok ?

You mean to tell me it would be NORMAL for you to NOT ask your 9 yr old ANY questions? And NOT WANT ANYONE (including police????)to ask her questions either?????

That would be one of the first things my husband and I would do. We can lovingly and gently hold our 9 yr. old and talk with her.

I get so mad at these crappy (sorry) stories about this family. It is just wierd, I tell you.

[Bella]

This case has been bungled from day one.

[FR_addict]

If Smith didn't tell Ricci not to talk to the police, then Smith is not doing his job.

Smith allowed Angela to say more than she should have. Smith is not a criminal attorney. He may not be the best attorney for Ricci. After listening to Smith today, I don't know whether the police have tried to talk to Ricci lately. I think they are checking out other leads that may be more promising. They know Ricci isn't going anywhere.

A criminal attorney would never have allowed Ricci to come to court looking the way he did. He would have made sure the man was shaved and had a suit on.

[Bella]

Did you figure it out?

[Iwo Jima]

I would turn her inside out to wring every single snippet of information that she had. The shephard focuses on the one lamb that is lost to the exclusion of the rest. The "trauma" that MK might experience in being the subject of a vigorous examination is nothing compared to a lifetime of trauma which comes from knowing that you had the ability to help the police find your missing sister but it just didn't happen because you were thought to be too fragile.

[Bella]

agree!

[FR_addict]

I've said the same thing. Imagine later what MK would feel like if she knew something that might have helped and wasn't given the chance to try and help.