Smart Case, July 31, 2002

Wild-Eyed Speculation, Half-baked Theories and Myths
Theory(?)	Facts
Richard Ricci has been identified as the prime suspect in the case, though several of his "theme park" pals are under suspicion.	- Ricci is a 5-time loser, having been convicted of burglarizing a food bank and shooting a police officer. He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including theft at the Smart residence and burglary of a Smart neighbor. Additionally, he has been recently indicted on three federal charges related to two bank robberies. - Ricci worked for the Smarts last year for several months and was paid with a white Jeep in lieu of cash. He had full access to the house and may very well have had a key to the Smart residence. Ricci and two others were fired when some items were stolen from the home. Ricci later approached Ed Smart and said he wasn't involved and wanted his job back. Ed Smart declined to rehire him. - Ricci lives in a trailer park in West Jordan that is now referred to as a "theme park" because of the large number of Ricci convicted felon friends living there. - Ricci has no credible alibi for the period during and shortly after the abduction. He is believed to have put an additional 1000 miles on the Jeep during a period when he claimed the Jeep was in Moul's shop. Moul also reported that Ricci removed several trash bags, the seat covers and a post hole digger and carried them across the street. - Ricci had both opportunity and motive.
Ed Smart and Richard Ricci were gay lovers. This is based upon Ed Smart's pleading before the media for Ricci to come clean, where he used phrases like "Help me, Richard".	This theory was eloquently refuted by Jengaio and it hasn't reared its ugly head recently.
Elizabeth Smart had a nose ring, must have been rebellious and ran away. Later, proponents shifted emphasis to "piercings".	Numerous photographs of Elizabeth Smart show no indication of a nose ring and the existence of a nose ring has never been reported by any credible news source.
Moul, the mechanic, lied to the grand jury and in TV interviews. Some of the scenarios: He knows more than he is telling; his eyesight is bad; he made it up; he is in cahoots with Ricci; he used Ricci's Jeep without Ricci's permission.	Moul has no criminal record and no motive. What's more his vehicle logs corroborate his testimony. If Moul had "borrowed" the Jeep, he certainly would have washed it to remove the bugs, mud and pine needles.
Elizabeth Smart's aunt, in a televised interview said the police "are working with us". Implications: This surely must mean that the Smarts and their influential friends and church must be controlling/thwarting the 100-man SLCPD/FBI task force	We will ask Jengaio to analyze the phrazing.

Motive	Possible Suspect	Details
Kidnapping	All	- The SLCPD has said there has not been any credible ransom demands. This may be due to the massive search and media blitz within 5 hours of the abduction i.e. the perps may have realized that their chances of getting caught were very high and they decided to get rid of the evidence.
	Ricci & cronies	- Ricci and his colleagues have recently been indicted for several Utah bank robberies, each producing only a modest amount of cash i.e. $1800 split 3 ways. It is likely that they were looking for a bigger "score".
	Unknown	N/A
Burglary	Ricci	- Ricci has five previous convictions for theft, burglary, and assault (shooting a police officer). He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including burglary of a Smart neigbor while they were sleeping (a M.O. similar to the Smart kidnapping) and theft of the Smart home. He has also been indicted on three federal charges including two bank robberies. - The Smarts, like most people, wouldn't keep large amounts of cash around. It seems likely that a simple burglary would not produce much in the way of cash or jewelery. - The SLCPD has said some things were taken but haven't identified those items.
Burglary	Unknown	N/A
Burglary Gone Wrong	Ricci	- The Smart perpetrator may have been surprised by Elizabeth Smart and decided to remove the only witness.
Burglary Gone Wrong	Unknown	Same as above
Sexual Predator	Ricci	- Fox News reported Ricci had attempted an "inappropriate relationship" with one of his old girlfriends 16 yr old daughters.
Sexual Predator	Unknown	N/A
Revenge	Ricci	- Ed Smart wouldn't rehire Ricci even though Ricci claimed he had no involvement in the theft of the Smart house.
Revenge	Unknown	N/A
Runaway	Elizabeth Smart	Unknown possible motive
Runaway	Unknown	N/A

Significant Links
Date	Title	Comments
06/05/02	Police search for missing girl after alleged kidnapping	The man is described as white, with dark hair and wearing a tan denim-type jacket, a white baseball cap. He is about 5 foot 8 inches tall and was very soft-spoken, the sister told police.
06/06/02	Rachael Alert's initial test	The "Rachael Alert" notification went into effect at 7:21 a.m. Wednesday, about 3 1/2 hours after police were notified that Elizabeth Smart, 14, was apparently kidnapped at gunpoint from her home in an affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood around 2 a.m.
06/09/02	Still no key leads; vigil held	The younger girl has not been able to clearly describe the man, telling police only that the kidnapper carried a small black gun and was about 5-foot-8, white, with dark hair, and dressed in a tan denim-type jacket and white baseball cap.
06/09/02	Girl's family clings to hope Mom says, 'We won't stop until you're home'	Elizabeth's father said he still can't believe he slept through it all. "I can't understand how I didn't hear something," Edward Smart said. "When my kids get up at night I usually hear them." Some family members say Elizabeth's parents were too exhausted to be able to hear anything that night. They'd just buried Lois' father on Monday after a monthlong death watch. Elizabeth had played the harp at her grandfather's funeral.
06/16/02	Sister reported the abduction relatively quickly Wait was quite short for child, an expert says	Certified forensic psychologist Gerald P. Koocher said it is remarkable the child notified the parents as soon as she did. Koocher, dean of Health Studies at Boston's Simmon's College and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, pointed out that in other scenarios such as sexual abuse, a child will refrain from telling on or speaking about the incident for years if there is a threat to hurt other members of the victim's family.
06/19/02	Salt Lake police come under fire in kidnapping investigation	"We aren't telling you everything we know about the investigation, and we aren't going to until we're further along," Dinse said. Louis said there is no composite sketch of the abductor because the 9-year-old was unable to sufficiently describe his facial features.
06/26/02	S.L. police say convicted felon is at top of their list	Elizabeth's father, Edward Smart, said during his daily briefing with the media Tuesday he hired Ricci after he was referred to him by another contractor. But he was unaware of Ricci's criminal history. "I had absolutely no knowledge of his background whatsoever. I would never hired him had I known that. I would never have exposed my family to that, " Smart said. Ricci was at times "undependable," but "never in my wildest dreams would have imagined his background," he said. Smart also said that Ricci "seemed nice and could be very personable at times." Ricci left on good terms with the family, according to Smart. But he declined to comment on reports that Ricci had stolen jewelry from the Smart home. Police said Ricci was fired after the Smarts reported some items had been stolen from their home but he was later hired back because there was no evidence to link him to the theft. Smart also said he could not think of any reason why Ricci might want revenge on him.
-6/27/02	Angela Ricci Goes On the Record	VAN SUSTEREN: Why do you think as early as the 5th of June, which would probably be about 12 to 18 hours after Elizabeth disappeared -- why was your mobile home searched? RICCI: Because Richard is on parole. He did work for Mr. Smart, and he had also boughten (ph) a vehicle from him.
06/28/02	Items confiscated from Ricci's kin Tan cap, knife taken by police; relatives back him	At 5:30 p.m. June 8, Ricci took his car to Net Moul for minor repairs. Moul describes Ricci as an easy-going person who is normally pleasant to talk to. But not on that day. "He didn't even look me straight in the face. He was not in a good mood," he said. "He seemed more frustrated. I figured he must have had a problem. Something was up." The Cherokee was caked in mud as if it had been four-wheeling, Moul said. Newspapers lined the floor of the vehicle as if someone were taking precautions to keep it clean. But when he tried to joke about it with Ricci, he got no reply. Moul saw two seat covers lying behind the Jeep's back seat. Ricci put the seat covers in a plastic bag, grabbed a post-hole digger that was in the Jeep, and walked to the sidewalk in front of the auto shop near 3500 South and 4500 West, Moul said. Ricci waved to a man who was at the gas station across the street. Ricci told Moul the man was waiting to give him a ride home. The man was Caucasian, had dark hair and was about 5-foot-8, Moul said. Ricci went back to his Jeep and grabbed a second bag out of the vehicle and took it with him. The bag was full, but Moul said he couldn't tell what was in it. What also caught Moul's attention that day was the odometer. Ricci had picked up his Jeep May 30 after having a fuel line fixed. Between May 30 and June 8, Moul estimated between 500 to 1,000 miles had been put on the car.
06/28/02	Hair samples collected in missing girl case	Moul said Ricci was a regular customer who typically joked around, but seemed to be in a bad mood that day. "I was trying to play a joke with him -- I saw his car and said, 'What, you just come back from the mountain and play in some weeds?' but he did not respond," said Moul. "He didn't even look me straight in the face." Before returning the car, Moul said Ricci parked it across the street from the shop and removed covers from the rear seats. Ricci threw the covers into a large plastic bag, removed a post-hole digger from the Cherokee's hatchback and apparently disposed of the items, Moul said.
06/30/02	Handyman denies taking Jeep before girl abducted	The handyman being investigated in the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, 14, has denied removing his Jeep from a repair shop days before she was kidnapped, a senior law enforcement official said.
07/04/02	Police Plan to Interview Another Ex-con	Police indicated yesterday that they also planned to talk to 44-year-old John Russell Remington, who with Ricci and Young did repair work last year on a house about two blocks from the Smarts' residence. Remington has been in jail on aggravated robbery and bank robbery charges since November third. Remington's lawyer, Steve Killpack, said his client was in jail the night of the abduction, and had never worked in the Smarts' home.
07/05/02	Abduction Investigators Question Sex Offender	In all police are now questioning four ex-convicts in the case and a fifth man who may have been with Ricci when he returned the SUV to the repair shop.
07/08/02	Kidnap Cops Interviewing Repairmen	The men are: Richard Ricci - who has already denied involvement and has been under heavy media scrutiny; Douglas Rex Young, called "an associate" of Ricci's, who is being held on a parole violation and was interviewed on Tuesday; and John Russell Remington, who has been in jail since November on bank robbery charges.
07/11/02	Richard Ricci Formally Charged	While police chief Rick Dinse says these theft charges show a "connectivity" to the Elizabeth Smart case, Ricci has not been charged with her kidnapping. "If I could’ve charged him I’d charge him. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything linking him to the case, I’m not saying that. If I could charge him and prove it today we’d file on it today," said Dinse.
07/12/02	Father: 'I can't help but feel that he's involved'	Smart said he had gone "the extra mile" when he sold Ricci the vehicle, allowing him to pay it off while Ricci worked for Smart at $8 per hour over seven or eight weeks. But Smart ended the relationship a year ago when he discovered that money, jewelry and other items had been taken from the family's home. After the theft, "Richard came to me, face to face. He said, 'Ed, I want you to know that I did not take it,' " Smart said. "I said, 'Richard, I appreciate that, but I want you to know that I can't have anyone in my home right now, that with this violation and not knowing who took the items, I just can't have you back in my home."
07/15/02	Police at stalemate with adamant Ricci	Police, however, say Ricci, 48, has not provided a suitable explanation for why the Jeep Cherokee he was given in exchange for his work at the Smart home had an extra 500 to 1,000 miles between the time the vehicle was picked up from a repair shop May 30 and returned June 8. The shop's owner, Neth Moul, has told police and the Deseret News that Ricci picked the Jeep up May 30, but Ricci denies doing so. "He's saying he didn't, the shop owner says he did. Ricci just denies any knowledge of that. He doesn't know what we're talking about," Salt Lake Police Capt. Scott Atkinson said Monday. Investigators have called Moul a credible witness, noting he doesn't have any reason to lie.
07/19/02	Another twist in Smart story Police say Kearns woman's story is losing credibility	Ricci remains the key figure in the search for Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped more than six weeks ago. Police say there are holes in his alibi. But Ricci has maintained he had nothing to do with the girl's abduction. The biggest question for investigators is the whereabouts of Ricci's white 1990 Jeep Cherokee between May 30 and June 8. During that time, Ricci allegedly put between 500 to 1,000 miles on the Jeep's odometer.
07/20/02	Police Doubt Ricci Was Spotted in Wyoming	Police have said Ricci, 48, is on the "top of the list" of potential suspects in the 14-year-old's June 5 disappearance. Police say they cannot verify his alibi for that night -- that he was home with his wife -- and they are not sure where he was between May 31 and June 8. Ricci maintains his innocence in the abduction.
07/24/02	Katie Couric Boylan Interview on NBC	Complements of Neenah. See post #74

Ping

Reviewing the above timeline: Nothing prejudiced against
Ricci is there? Covers all the angles, as long as the subject is Ricci.

Reviewing the above timeline: Nothing prejudiced against Ricci is there? Covers all the angles, as long as the subject is Ricci.

Doesn't it make you wonder if it (Ricci) is the Smoking Gun?
Perhaps, the disappearance of Liz has nothing to do with Ricci at all. I just happen to believe Moul saying that Ricci picked the Jeep up at shop. Ricci points the finger at himself by denying this.

One of the things I had thought about regarding Ricci. If he were an aquaintance of the Smart's and was not guilty of any wrong doing...and trying to get his life straight, et cetera. Wouldn't he have contacted the Smart's and offered to go search for Liz with the rest of Utah?
Thanks had to get that off my chest.
stash

I believe Moul, too, and agree that Ricci keeps himself under suspicion by denying he took the Jeep.

Ricci didn't offer to help with the search, probably, because he knew the cops would question him on this and he wanted to avoid them as long as possible. So he continued to act "normally" in the context of whatever he had planned for the day.

It's possible that Ricci has told all to the cops, but the cops haven't told the media that, so as not to compromise their investigation.

It's also possible that the trail is cold, the cops haven't learned much more than we know.

Except for the Jeep scenario, there isn't any commonly known evidence that Ricci is involved in this kidnapping, not even circumstantial. The fact that he committed some crimes doesn't mean that he committed this one.

So I'm with you -- Ricci could be a red herring.

Happy Birthday, Brigette !

Some people come into our lives accidentally.

They appear...and make an impact.

There is just something about them, that touches us.

Maybe it is their smile, or their kind words..maybe it is just the way they are an example.

Some people we meet, and cannot see.

But we meet the person deep inside by their words.

You can almost see the person, by what comes out of their heart on a screen.

Brigette is one of those people !

Brigette...we here, thank you for your hard work. Your humor, your sweet nature.

May the year ahead be blessed with hugs and sunshine.

May you enjoy every sunrise...and stop to smell a fresh rain.

May you meet new friends..and share laughter with them.

Most of all..may God bless you this day real good..and grow you for tomorrow.

ping

Do you ever think about the circumstances of your life -- and how they could be twisted by the media and the public if, God forbid, someone took your child?

Innocent, ordinary things can be blown out of proportion and made out to be motives or neglect of the child. For instance, having a large student loan debt could be construed as having sold the child to get out of debt. If the mother works, she can be blamed for not having supervised the child properly. If the family is Mormon, the crime can be linked to polygamy, simply because that is what many non-Mormons know about that religion's history. If the family is Catholic, perhaps a gang of sex-starved priests took the child. If the yard man is a convicted felon, perhaps he took the child.

I got to thinking about it, because my life is ordinary. I take care of my house and family, I homeschool, I live in the suburbs, and so forth. But nearly everything about this ordinary life of mine could be twisted into something sinister if one of my children were kidnapped.

I read through the late night posts from yesterday. The polygamist stories were interesting and Utah's Girl's responses to clear up what is happening in Utah were equally interesting.

I didn't realize that the polygamist sect was so large. Three families lived around her sister. If there were more Utah Girl's shedding light on this subject, perhaps something could be done about it. It sounds like slavery to me. I was wondering if this sect call themselves Mormons? Or do they make it clear that they are not part of the Mormom Church?

I have a question for Utah Girl. Her company offered to try and retrieve the email that Ed said was deleted. Did the Smarts or someone connected with the Smarts ever get back to your company?

Sorry, I meant to send my post above to Utah Girl.

I think the cops released Ricci initially because they didn't have anything to hold him on. Once they came up with the parole violations, they grabbed him.

Perhaps another woman associated with the group called the repair shop.

Polygraph test results are not admissible in court because they are unreliable, meaning they are not uninfallible evidence. The results can send up a "red flag" and are very useful in investigations.

Angela may very well not have anything to do with this. I can see where Ricci would have protected his wife from knowing about his nefarious actions. Angela is no angel, but I bet she would have hit the roof if she found out her new husband did anything to send himself back to prison.

The Jeep still needed repairs, I guess, and Ricci needed the Jeep. I believe Moul. He knew Ricci, and he identified Ricci as having taken and returned the Jeep.

I don't know what the security guard looks like.

Ricci is being arraigned today on unrelated charges. FOX just had interviewed a retired detective for his opinion on this case. They said Boylan is the best, has talked to the police, the family, and MK, a sketch should have gone out within hours of being taken. Ricci, Remington, & Young aren't capable of this crime. He felt the entire case was messed up at the beginning and lies within the family that the cops keep reinterviewing and always go back to family and the extended family.

Forgot this--said the confusion from the beginning was on the description of the perp.

The guard was on tv a few times. I can't remember what he looked like, but he was well-spoken and came off as your average guy. He was believable.

I always thought it was a drug deal, he witnessed that night, but given the proximity to the Smart house, it's easy to see why it should be investigated.

Looks like Ricci's the news item today for FOX..just showed his pix again and talked about his arraignment today for theft, etc.

Your birthday card to Brigette is very thoughtful. I have work to do this morning, but I will check the thread later in the day. If Brigette shows up, I want to wish her happy birthday.

DEAR BRIGETTE

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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.