Elizabeth Smart Case - Ricci Dies in Hospital

FoxNews | 8/30/02

[stlnative]

Richard Ricci Dies in Hospital

AP
Richard Ricci

Friday, August 30, 2002

SALT LAKE CITY — Richard Albert Ricci, the top potential suspect in the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, died at a hospital Friday.

Ricci, 48, had been hospitalized for three days after suffering from a brain hemorrhage and collapsing in his jail cell, doctors said.

Earlier Friday, doctors had said Ricci had an irreversible injury to the brain stem after the hemorrhage Tuesday night.

The former handyman for the Smart family was not charged in the disappearance and denied involvement. He was in prison for a parole violation.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse this week reaffirmed that Ricci remained at the top of the list of potential suspects in Elizabeth's abduction. However, investigators were no closer to finding the missing 14-year-old than they were June 5, when a gunman took her from the bedroom she was sharing with her younger sister.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[stlnative]

LOL...

[Sherlock]

So he worked in the bedroom on April 3 then broke in that night. Apparently April 3 was his last day working there or why wouldn't he have just taken the jewelry while working in the house? He may have seen the stuff and not had the guts to take it at the time then kicked himself later for not taking it and went back in and got it.

[stlnative]

You know it is kinda strange why he did his crimes near the beginning of the month each time. Maybe he was hard for cash mainly at this time of the month when bills came due?

[Sherlock]

It's kind of surprising that they wouldn't have put 2 and 2 together and figured out since Ricci had just worked there that day in that bedroom and it was his last day there it was probably Ricci that broke in. And since Ed Smart referred Ricci to them that they didn't mention the break in to Ed. Ricci continued working for Ed for 2 more months after that.

Maybe they were afraid if they told Ed he would say something to Rick and it would bring more problems on them from Rick, after all in a robbery like that there's usually no way to prove it on anyone unless you see them. They probably just put extra security devices on the sliding doors and windows and started using their security system and went on.

[Bella]

....I think.....
I think....

You think? From the trash you've been saying and posting, you have NO idea what that word means and remains to be seen.

[Sherlock]

You know it is kinda strange why he did his crimes near the beginning of the month each time. Maybe he was hard for cash mainly at this time of the month when bills came due?

Excellent observation, brigette.

[Sherlock]

you have NO idea what that word means and remains to be seen?

[ClancyJ]

So very sorry for your loss. I'm glad the hospital worked with you and allowed you the time needed. I was hoping you were going to say he recovered. May God bless you and your family and give you comfort. You did all possible to save him.

[stlnative]

I think the problem was Ricci was not the only one working in the home, so it was hard for them to directly point the finger at him. Maybe Ed Smart had so much faith in Ricci that he may have told the neighbors it probably wasn't Ricci and Ed probably never though anything about it until items came up missing at his home, then he fired all of the workers including Ricci but still could not directly finger Ricci as he had too many suspect workers to choose from. It was reported at the time it happened, but the police would have had to had strong evidence on Ricci to search his home right after it was reported to Police.

Maybe just maybe everyone may get some answers if Ricci had a partner in the kidnapping, who now may be sitting in jail for a different crime and maybe they will talk to get a lesser sentence for why they are sitting in jail now. They may now finger Ricci as the killer (even if they are the actual killer) and lead police to her. It's been so long that it will be hard to tell who may have actually killed her between the 2 people, if 2 people were involved. So why not say Ricci killed her by himself and they were there after the fact just to help him get rid of the body after Ricci killed her.

[Sherlock]

We've never had any experience with anything like this, we didn't know what we were talking about.

[Sherlock]

This ties in with what I think these words by Dinse mean:

Dinse would not characterize Ricci as a suspect, saying there were "other individuals that we are looking at that may have some kind of connection." "They also may have some connection to Mr. Ricci," the sheriff said.

I think this is ushering in the next phase and now that Rick's gone they will reveal who some of these other suspects are. Hard to believe they wouldn't know by now if these people are connected to Ricci.

[stlnative]

I am going to bed. I think now we should all learn more as somethings should be able come out now that he is dead.

[ClancyJ]

I'm convinced that Mary Katherine picked Ricci's voice out of an audio lineup sometime after the 1st of August. Ed Smart would not reveal the identify of the voice although he said she recognized the voice. Said he could not because the police asked him not to.

[Iwo Jima]

It should be interesting to see who suddenly has information to share, stories to change, things to "clarify" now that Ricci is dead.

[FR_addict]

Elizabeth Smart thread, August 24-31, 2002

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/my/comments

Fred, you may be interested in the above thread. It's been a continuing thread in the chat forum.

[FR_addict]

I never heard about this chair before.

So now according to what Ed has said recently, Ricci had a "potential" key that he used to break-in, but Ricci staged this break-in to look like someone used a chair under the "cut from-the-inside" window.

What happen to Ed's theory that they broke in from the unlocked garage door.

This chair just points futher away from Ricci, and to the family staging a kidnapping and staging a break-in at the cousins, or to a young boy small enough to fit in the window, or Elizabeth staging a run-away.

I don't seriously think a career burglar would use a chair under a window as a point of entry.

[SunnyUsa]

I can still feel the pain of that terrible loss of your beloved son.

There is no simply no comparison between what your family went through and whatever occurred with this Ricci guy....

I am shocked reading the conspiracy theories on this thread....though I shouldn't be. With all the hospital personnel involved etc...it would be very difficult to conceal whatever they are implying here. Ricci apparently was a great con artist - and even in death he's conning some.

My sympathy is to the poor Smart family who have suffered a horrible blow now, with their greatest fear of NEVER finding their daughter.

People need to focus on that, and pray very hard that someone knows something and now - with his death behind them - will reveal what they know and give the Smart family some peace.

Hope all is well with you A&M's mom , and how is ANDY? :)