Smart Case, August 2, 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

Let's hope we hear some good news today..

Since Jolly Green is so in the know (or would that be in the "no") with all of the inside scoop which is going to mnake the rest of us look like dolts when it comes out, I wonder why he goes to the trouble of posting these threads every day. I guess that he just likes to humiliate us, toying with us like a cat and a mice.

It's always hard to argue with someone whose knowledge is based on revealed truth when you are limited to the information which has become public and your own cognitive skills. But we try to do the best that we can with want we have.

I think that when the truth comes out (as I HOPE will happen), that we will all be surprised about some aspect of the explanation. I imagine everyone will be saying "I never thought about X at all," with X being different for different people. Except for He Who Knows ALL. By definition, he can't be surprised.

Courtesy ping to JG. I'm glad that you tend these threads. I just don't know why you do so, given that there's nothing in it for you because you already know everything that there is to know and therefore gain no beneift into any of our comments whether right or wrong.

Except for He Who Knows ALL. By definition, he can't be surprised.

It's not that I "Know ALL". It's that compared to you, it just seems like it.

Re your last post on 8/1, about whichyou asked for comments. I think that it's safe to assume that Mary Catherine was terrified, if everything happened the way it was presented in the media, with the gun and all.

She was nearly 10 years old, and which is old enough to grasp the implications of what was happening.

If MK stayed in her room because she was afraid the perp would see her, she must have been afraid that something bad would transpire if that happened.

They weren't playing hide-and-seek. Ergo, fear had to be a factor, and only MK knows the level of her fear.

I'd say both occurred: she stayed in her room because she saw the perp elsewhere in the house, and because she was afraid of what would happen if she were seen by him.

‘Abrams Report’ for July 31

Guests: Marc Klaas, Pat Reavy, Patrick Camden, Arthur Miller, Mike Celizic
ANNOUNCER: Here now, Dan Abrams.
DAN ABRAMS, HOST: Hi, everyone.
On “The Abrams Agenda” tonight: Elizabeth Smart kidnapped almost two months ago. Now her mother says Elizabeth’s sister was able to identify the abductor’s voice. Could this be a major break? This as Richard Ricci, the handyman police call a potential suspect-he may be the chief suspect — pleads not guilty to criminal charges, including stealing items from the Smart home. We’ll have an in-depth look at the latest on the case.

New information in the investigation of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart:
The only witness to her abduction, her 9-year-old sister, not only saw the kidnapper, but apparently heard him. And according to Elizabeth’s mother, Lois, was able to recognize his voice. A local Salt Lake City reporter asked Lois Smart-quote-”If Richard Ricci,” the chief suspect, “did abduct Elizabeth, wouldn’t Elizabeth’s sister, Mary Katherine, have recognized him?”

Lois Smart answered by saying-quote-”She saw the person. She did see him. And we can’t comment any further on that, but she did. And she recognized the voice.” And a family spokesperson confirmed to us that Lois Smart has said her daughter saw and heard the abductor well enough to identify him.

Joining us from Salt Lake City is Pat Reavy, a reporter for “The Deseret News,” and Marc Klaas, president of the Klaas Kids Foundation.

Gentlemen, thanks very much for joining us.

Marc, let me start with you. You’re the one who brought our attention to this story. What do you make of this? What do you make of the fact that Lois Smart is saying that her little daughter, the one who was also in the room at the time, was able to identify the abductor’s voice?

MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, the one thing we know from the Samantha Runnion case, Dan, is that, as soon as you can put out a viable likeness of the person that kidnapped the child, the more likely you are to recover the child and bring this guy in.

Now, I think it’s vitally important that certain things be made known to the public. And I understand there’s an ongoing investigation. But, certainly, little Mary Katherine knows enough that they know whether or not it was Richard Ricci. And, in fact, if it wasn’t Richard Ricci, she knows enough that she either recognized the voice or saw enough of his face to know whether or not he had a mustache.

And I think this is extremely important, simply because, if the guy that was in that room that night was not Richard Ricci, did not have a mustache, that means there’s a kidnapper out on the streets of Salt Lake City. And the public desperately needs to have that information so that they can make arrangements to protect their children from that potential risk.

ABRAMS: Mr. Reavy, this was all news to me. Let me ask, was this news to you?

PAT REAVY, “DESERET NEWS”: This was the first I’ve heard of it, yes.

ABRAMS: Yes. What do you make of this? What do you make of the confirmation? And, again, we spoke with the family spokesperson today, who confirmed that is what Lois Smart has been saying.
Now, this doesn’t tell who did it. But it does seem to be a piece in the puzzle, does it not?

REAVY: You would certainly think so.
If she can recognize the voice, she would seem to recognize Reavy’s voice. But Salt Lake City police have been pretty quiet about exactly who they’ve talked to, what evidence they’ve collected. And so whether or not this is something they’ve talked to Mary Katherine about, I don’t think anybody knows right now.

ABRAMS: I have got to believe that, if this police department-let’s assume this is all correct for a minute. Let’s assume that Lois Smart is right on, that Mary Katherine can identify the voice. It has got to be, I would think at this point, that she believes, the little girl believes, it was Richard Ricci, because, otherwise, I would think the police would come out and say, “Look, it’s not Richard Ricci,” don’t you think, Marc Klaas?

KLAAS: Well, I don’t know, Dan. I wouldn’t speculate on that.
What I would speculate on-or what would I say is what I just said a minute ago, that if the guy doesn’t have a mustache, then it’s not Richard Ricci. If it is Richard Ricci, then they should-I would think they would tell us. But, you know, as far as getting this guy’s face out there, they’ve been stalling on this from day one.
I almost convinced Ed Smart to do this very, very early on. Yet somebody from his family intervened and said that they didn’t want to bring Jeanne Boylan in, supposedly because she was connected to me. But then it turn out...

ABRAMS: Marc, let’s just-let’s explain who Jeanne Boylan is. Will you...

KLAAS: Oh, I’m sorry. Sure.
She’s the world’s foremost forensic artist.

ABRAMS: Who has now been called in to the case, correct?

KLAAS: But it was a month late.

ABRAMS: Right.

KLAAS: It was a month late. They could have used anybody up front.

ABRAMS: And let me ask Pat Reavy that.
Why only now? Look, when you talk about the Runnion case, the reason, it appears, this guy Avila was captured is because they put out this sketch of him, based on a 5-year-old girl’s description. And yet why haven’t the police put out a description now, Pat Reavy?

REAVY: You know, they’ve really been foggy on that, the police have.
At first it was because they claimed it wasn’t light enough in the room. Then they said, well, maybe she didn’t get a good enough look at him. Then later their explanation was, well, if Mary Katherine thinks that Ricci is the one that we want, then she will do a description of him, because that’s what she believes the police are after, rather than who she really saw.
So I think they were worried at first about really intimidating, I guess, or pressuring the young girl into naming somebody who wasn’t really the suspect, but somebody who she thought they wanted to be the suspect, so they could put this thing to bed a lot earlier.

ABRAMS: Marc, you seem to be jumping out of your seat there.

KLAAS: Well, that’s not the way it works.
They trusted the little girl in Southern California to produce this likeness very quickly and put it out there. They could have done the very same thing to Mary Katherine long before Richard Ricci came ever into the picture.

ABRAMS: But see, here’s my theory, Marc. Let me lay out my theory.
I’m going to trust the police on this. I’m going to assume that they’re not just sort of out there not having any idea what they’re doing. My guess is that the little girl said it was dark. She said: “I saw the kind of cap he was wearing. I saw basically the clothing he was wearing.” And if she was able to maybe identify his voice, I’ve got to believe she hasn’t said it was X, Y or Z person. And so it may have just been too dark to create a very good sketch.
You don’t buy it, Marc.

KLAAS: No, because that was the first story.
The second story-and this is part of the problem, is that the truth keep seemingly changing. The second time, we understand that she saw the guy in two different locations, that she was able to describe not only the kind of clothing that he was wearing, but the color of clothing that he was wearing, the color of his hair that came out from underneath his cap, and the hair on the back of his hands, which indicates he wasn’t wearing gloves.
She would know enough-even without seeing a full frontal, she would know enough as to whether or not this guy had a mustache. And that’s so critical. That’s such a critical piece of information. And now, several weeks later, we find out that she recognizes his voice. We also find out that, although they didn’t want to bring in a sketch artist at the beginning-because, for whatever reason, they didn’t want to put the face out or they didn’t trust the little girl-a month down the road, they’ve changed their minds. But they don’t want to talk about it.

ABRAMS: Marc, I got to tell you. I’m going to talk about this with you after the break. I disagree with you about them not trusting the little girl. Keep in mind, the only description they have of him comes from that little girl. They were releasing that from day one.
We’ll talk about it in a moment. We’ll take a quick break.
We’re going to talk also about the fact that Richard Ricci was in court today. He was charged with criminal charges, one of them regarding a theft from the Smart home. We’ll discuss that in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABRAMS: We continue now with our discussion about the Elizabeth Smart case, abducted back on June the 5th. Now her mother is saying that little Mary Katherine, the little 9-year-old sister who was in the bedroom at the time that Elizabeth was kidnapped, can identify the abductor based on his voice. We don’t know exactly what that means with regard to who did it, but it certainly is an important element in this case. She is the key witness here.
Now, remember, the Smart handyman, Richard Ricci, considered sort of the prime suspect at this point, pleaded not guilty to theft and burglary charges today, accused of stealing $3,500 worth of items from the Smarts’ home well before Elizabeth disappeared. Among the items: jewelry, cash, a perfume bottle, and a wine glass filled with seashells. Ricci was also charged with one count of burglary and another count of theft for allegedly taking items from a different home in the Smarts’ neighborhood while the people were sleeping.
Elizabeth’s father, Ed Smart, continues to think Ricci was somehow involved. Today, he even met privately with Ricci’s wife, pleading for her help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED SMART, FATHER OF ELIZABETH SMART: I know that it’s hard for her. I know it’s very hard for her seeing her husband there in chains and so forth. And Angela believes in Richard. She loves Richard. And I know that. And I was just trying to convey to her, as she is there watching what is happening, we are here watching what is happening to us and to our family. And we need Elizabeth back.
And I was just asking her if there is any care-which I believe there is care in her heart for us. She said that she was praying for us-if there is a care, that I would plead with her to please talk to Richard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABRAMS: Now, Ricci has apparently admitted to taking items from the Smart home, but denied any involvement in Elizabeth’s disappearance. If convicted, he could get up to life in prison. Remember, it’s been eight weeks since Elizabeth was taken from her bedroom at gunpoint. Still, no charge has been filed, no arrests have been made in connection with the kidnapping. Authorities continue to focus on Ricci.
Investigators have told MSNBC Ricci is-quote-”totally unbelievable” and that they believe he is trying to hide something. They’re suspicious of his alibi.
Pat Reavy, reporter for “The Deseret News,” if he has apparently admitted to stealing these items, why didn’t he plead guilty? Do we have any sense of why the judge ultimately had to enter a not-guilty plea for him today?

REAVY: I think it’s more of a procedural thing through the courts. After this, they will have a roll-call hearing next month, at which time he will probably again plead not guilty. And they’ll set up a preliminary hearing, at which time they will have probable cause established and then move on to a trial, if they make it that far. And we look for the plea bargains to happen around the time the preliminary hearing is set up.
And I think it was more just procedural today to plead not guilty.

ABRAMS: Do you get the sense that they have something on Ricci beyond this? I mean, the fact that he stole something from their house weeks before does not make him a kidnapper. Do you think that they have something more on him that’s leading them to believe he is their chief suspect?

REAVY: I think it’s all of the things combined that make him the lead suspect, not just the things stolen out of the house, but the fact that he is familiar with the house, the fact that he was brazen enough to break into another house in the Smarts’ neighborhood in the middle of the night while people were there and take something.
I think it’s-they’re developing more of a pattern of criminal conduct. And I think, right now, they have the circumstantial evidence growing against him. They are just missing that one key piece of evidence that is going to link him directly to the kidnapping, if he is involved.

ABRAMS: Marc Klaas, before the break, we were talking about this issue about Mary Katherine, the little sister, the 9-year-old, who is really the only eyewitness to this happening.
And you were saying you don’t think the police are believing what she’s saying or trusting her? Why do you think that?

KLAAS: Well, because nobody wanted to put a face out on this guy. The possibility also exists, Dan, that maybe even nobody even asked her. Has anybody thought of that?
(CROSSTALK)

ABRAMS: Come on. What do you mean? Do you really think that’s possible? Come on.

REAVY: Dan, it’s real simple. She knows Richard Ricci. He worked around her house the summer before. Has anybody said, “Mary Katherine, was that Richard Ricci?” Has anybody said that? If she saw him and she recognized the voice, she knows whether or not it’s him. What’s the cat-and-mouse game?

ABRAMS: Pat Reavy, I have got to believe-and I know Marc Klaas is not going to accept this, because all I’m saying is I have got to believe it, because I don’t know the answer. But I have got to believe the police have asked Mary Katherine that question.

REAVY: You know, you would think so, but they’ve really skirted around that question, also, because the reporters have asked that question to police. As I think their-as I said before, their excuse is: “We’re afraid of intimidating Mary Katherine into saying, ‘Yes, this is the suspect,’” because they think, “We don’t want her to believe that this is the man we want her to point out as the suspect.”
If you asked the family about it, the family has really stayed away from asking Mary Katherine, “Is this the man?” They’re kind of leaving that to police and not picking her brain as much about: “Hey, what did you see that night? Was it Ricci?”

ABRAMS: Quickly, final word, Marc, yes.

KLAAS: Well, this is unbelievable. Elizabeth Smart has been missing for two months, practically. And nobody wants to ask Mary Katherine if the guy that took her was Richard Ricci? This makes no sense at all.
What’s the goal here? Is the goal to return the little girl or is the goal to protect the other child and somehow provide for some kind of family unity? This is-it’s crazy.

ABRAMS: Pat Reavy, Marc Klaas, thanks a lot for coming on the program. Appreciate it.

Sherlock, last night, on the local news, they showed pictures of REMINGTON, Ricci, and Young. They showed all 3 mug shots next to eachother. Remington reminded me of Edmunds. It wasn't an exact likeness but definitely looked younger than the other two. Do we know how old Remington is? I think it was channel 4 News.

"This makes no sense at all. What’s the goal here? Is the goal to return the little girl or is the goal to protect the other child and somehow provide for some kind of family unity? This is-it’s crazy."

The goal is twofold: 1) to find Elizabeth and 2) to find and convict the kidnapper. None of this is crazy if the abductor is Ricci. Why release a sketch of someone they already have? If there were a killer on the loose in Salt Lake, grabbing 14 year olds, the SLCPD would be holding press conferences themselves and putting the sketch everywhere. Everywhere. (They would be liable for contributing to the net kidnapping if they did NOT release the sketch.) So the only thing that makes sense is that they know it's Ricci. No other possibility makes any sense at all.

KLAAS: Well, this is unbelievable. Elizabeth Smart has been missing for two months, practically. And nobody wants to ask Mary Katherine if the guy that took her was Richard Ricci? This makes no sense at all. What’s the goal here? Is the goal to return the little girl or is the goal to protect the other child and somehow provide for some kind of family unity? This is-it’s crazy.

Marc's frustration is showing and I think that we all can relate to that on some level. I think the interview on Hannity and Colmes of Jeanne Boylan last night was instructive. She had many of her feelings of frustration alleviated once she became privy to the inside information in this case. Her support of the effort by LE and the Smart family was comforting. We can only guess at what it is that they are keeping under wraps but it must be significant. My speculation would be that MK has already fingered Ricci or that they want him to suspect that she ID'd him. I think they are still looking for the mysterious man who picked up Rick at Moul's auto shop. They may have reason to believe that Elizabeth is still being held captive by this individual and that tipping their hand may cause her demise. Perhaps they know that Elizabeth was sold to someone as has been speculated and they are still tracking down leads in that area. The best we can do is to monitor the story for new information and to hash out what is known in this forum. It is healthy to speculate, even wildly speculate because somebody just may come up with something valuable. We should all be willing to listen to reasoned criticism of our posts and not get offended. And when we are critical on someone's theories we should do so in a civil manner. Just my two cents.

correction:

And when we are critical OF someone's theories we should do so in a civil manner. Just my two cents.

Why release a sketch of someone they already have?

Why hire a profiler after they already have him then?

correction:

And when we are critical OF someone's theories we should do so in a civil manner. Just my two cents.

The goal is twofold: 1) to find Elizabeth and 2) to find and convict the kidnapper. None of this is crazy if the abductor is Ricci. Why release a sketch of someone they already have? If there were a killer on the loose in Salt Lake, grabbing 14 year olds, the SLCPD would be holding press conferences themselves and putting the sketch everywhere. Everywhere. (They would be liable for contributing to the net kidnapping if they did NOT release the sketch.) So the only thing that makes sense is that they know it's Ricci. No other possibility makes any sense at all.

Excellent post. I am in agreement that Ricci as the perp make the most sense so far.

The doctor neighbor heard the car race off at 2:30 AM so the kidnapper wasn't in the house 2 hours.

Remington is 44. The kidnapper description is 5'8" and appr. 180 pounds, dark hair (short I think), athletic. Much smaller than Edmunds and shorter than Ricci.


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.