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.

[Bella]

Puhleeze, Neenah. If you believe that I've got some oceanfront property for you in Florida. Why would Thurber, her friend, lie about that. He also said Angela went around the neighborhood later to make sure no one saw Rick leave that night so she would know no one would be disputing her testimony. She told Newhouse she didn't know if Rick had gone out or not.

Wouldn't YOU check to see if your spouse went out after being accused and planting doubt in your mind of something like this?!

[varina davis]

"WHY" indeed!

[cookiedough]

If I heard a loud scream that sounded like a female, I'd call 911, it being my firm belief that police are here to serve and protect, just like the legend on their cars states.

I wish that doctor had done so. The police I've talked to agree they'd rather be called and find nothing, than not be called at all and find out later it was something.

This is why I tell babysitters that if they wonder whether they should call the police -- when in doubt, don't think, just call 911.

[Sherlock]

>How in the world do you know so much about the inner workings of Thurber's mind??!!

That's what he said. He's no genius but there is no indication he has the kind of convoluted thinking that tries to compact the realities of the case into the polarized, preconceived mindset that is characteristic of a lot of you posters here. Thurber thought there was no way his buddy Ricci had anything to do with this until he started considering the red flags many of you choose to remain oblivious to.

[Bella]

To: Sherlock

And you joined the FR on 6/29/02!

Maybe he has another freeper name on FR and doesn't want to post on this thread with his other name, Sherlock might be created specifically for this case??

[Sherlock]

No, we don't think we are smarter, or you'd be one of 'em. But it's obvious when someone is following the leader, blind-siding with unproved, prejudiced information. Some of us want to see the real culprit apprehended, not a stooge just because he's an easy mark. Ricci is being used as a distraction on this thread. We want Elizabeth returned to her parents alive.

DeNial is not just a river in Egypt.

[cookiedough]

Thanks for very kindly clearing all that up for me.

I do realize FR is addictive -- I went camping for a week and couldn't wait to get back to it.

BTW, I live in Mass., and am a transplant from the South.

[Sherlock]

I agree with everything you said, very well stated. Police said several weeks ago they had no reason to interview Ricci again until he's ready to talk about the Jeep on Jun 8.

[Jolly Green]

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

You and anyone else can submit any case details you like that are documented in credible published sources. You can call it prejudiced if you like, but it is a fact that the police have named Ricci as the number one suspect in the case.

[sandude]

I don't express anyone's mental and emotional state as a FACT. Just a supposition. Big difference.

Varina, I think you are splitting hairs. Not much that is posted here can be expressed as FACT. You are beating up a poster because they didn't structure their sentence properly. I'm sure if you would have asked Sherlock nicely he would have informed you that it was indeed not a known fact but only his opinion that Thurber was affraid. By the way I happen to be of the same opinion. I don't mean to be speaking for Sherlock but I have been offended at the badgering he has taken tonight.

[Bella]

THEY KNOW WHO IT IS

And they're still watching his every action!

[JudyB1938]

Do you know how to check somebody's profile (homepage)? Just click on their name; that'll take you to it.

[Sherlock]

Someone must know something, and perhaps a bigger reward would smoke them out.

Excellent idea. $25,000 isn't much anyway and considering all they're spending on the case, a higher value would be worth it if it could get this over with. At this point I personally don't think there's much probability of anyone collecting on the 'safe return' reward.

[sandude]

THEY KNOW WHO IT IS And they're still watching his every action!

Let's hope so. It would be great to see sweet Elizabeth rescued or her killer hanged.

[Jolly Green]

Ed Smart is not listed as a mortgage Broker in Utah, in the licensed Brokers/Agents. That is odd.

Details, details. Ed is a real estate broker, not a mortgage broker. Do you suppose that might have something to do with him not being listed with licensed mortgage brokers?

Your other two "theories" are just as lame. You might want to get some facts.

[varina davis]

I'm sure if you would have asked Sherlock nicely he would have informed you that it was indeed not a known fact but only his opinion that Thurber was affraid

I'll certainly try to be nicer. My views have been attacked so often on this thread by sherlock and J.G. -- I guess I just got carried away for a moment.

[Sherlock]

I would like to see Varina and Bella's timeline.

[Sherlock]

THEY KNOW WHO IT IS And they're still watching his every action!

He's probably back in jail.

[cookiedough]

Thanks! :-)

[Jolly Green]

If Ricci knew this Jeep had "anything" to do that was connected to a crime, why would he even return the vehicle to Moul? It was obviously good enough to drive. He could have paid off what he owed and taken it back in a week or two down the line, if at all.

Because Moul, who Ricci thought didn't keep mileage records, etc., would afford him the perfect alibi for the whereabouts of the jeep i.e. it was in the shop the entire time. It would have just been Ricci's word against Moul's - except for those darn records.