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.

[sandude]

I think it is someone that lives very close to the Smart home or has a connection to the school that Liz attended. It is someone that has been looked at, but has the police fooled at this point.

I hope that your feeling is correct because there would be a better chance that Elizabeth is still alive. If Ricci was the perp then the situation is definetly more ominous.

[stlnative]

See Bella you still think it is someone in the family. I do not feel or mean to imply by my statements that it is someone in the family. So please understand my comments about it, that is... I do not mean to imply that I think it someone in the family.

[Endeavor]

Brain hemorrhage usually results from an abnormally dilated area in the artery, an anuerism. It has to do with a breakdown of the arterial muscular wall. This kind of injury does not require outside traumatic events.

Tin foil is not a prerequisit for understanding these kinds of events. These things happen.

[stlnative]

an anuerism

Read on... through the thread!

[varina davis]

have had this nagging feeling since the start of this that Ricci really was not one, I think it is someone that lives very close to the Smart home or has a connection to the school that Liz attended. It is someone that has been looked at, but has the police fooled at this point.

You could very well be correct. A suspect close to home is very often the case.

[Bella]

See Bella you still think it is someone in the family. I do not feel or mean to imply by my statements that it is someone in the family. So please understand my comments about it, that is... I do not mean to imply that I think it someone in the family.

I think the family knows more than what they're saying. As far as immediate family, no..Don't forget, Lois' father died the week before, there were MANY family members, friends there, who's to say that Liz didn't speak with someone there, or someone there had an interest in her. Also, remember a few statements from Tom, I still can't figure out what he meant by an amazing story, can you? There's so many unexplained statements, actions, and whatever else to this story.

[Bella]

anuerism

aneurysm

[whenigettime]

The spelling "anuerism"
is something I have seen in British medical articles, fyi.

Just nit-picking...
Happy Saturday!

Pam

[Vinomori]

If Ricci was the perp then the situation is definetly more ominous.

If he was, they need to now release more circumstantial evidence against him so they can virtually "close the case" for the family. If they suspected an associate of his rather than him, they would have dealt with Ricci by now to get the associate identified. LE is in a position now to either step up and reveal what they've got, or be extremely embarrassed for a long time by the perception, at least, of staggering incompetence.

[Sherlock]

Ed didn't even know Richard was a felon. He had suspected that perhaps Ricci had stolen from him, but Richard had returned to Ed and tried to con him into believing that he wasn't the culprit in the thefts.

First, we don't really know that Ed didn't know he was a felon. I wouldn't blame Ed for not admitting it now if he knew. If I had someone kidnap one of my kids and there was someone in my life with this kind of a relationship with the Jeep and all that I had had to terminate less than a year ago this would be on my short list as the press indicated Ricci was. And LE should have run a quick check on this short list and seen Ricci was a career criminal before they talked to him and should have been tailing him, IMHO. They had half the SLCPD working this case.

[Iwo Jima]

"I have had this nagging feeling since the start of this that Ricci really was not one, I think it is someone that lives very close to the Smart home or has a connection to the school that Liz attended.

Oh, Brigette, you have now entered the "logic-free zone" per JG. If you don't believe that Ricci did it with the help of his minions and that there is NO ONE above him in the culpability chain, then you are a moron (though that's purportedly not necessarily a bad thing), and too stupid to be treated seriously or with any respect.

I have long thought and stated that I think that Ricci was heavily involved, basically "managed" the project, did not go into the house for the abduction and in fact was home in bed when it occurred, and took his orders from a Mr. Big who wanted Eliz. for himself and not for ransom and was going to give all of the gang a big payoff for their efforts. Something went wrong and Ricci's Jeep had to be used for some unexpected purpose which made him furious because it would link him to the crime.

Be careful. Having opinions like this will bring you nothing but grief from JG and his syncophants.

[Sherlock]

LE is in a position now to either step up and reveal what they've got, or be extremely embarrassed for a long time by the perception, at least, of staggering incompetence.

LE has hinted they will reveal 'more suspects possibly related to Ricci'. I can't imagine if they do that it would be more that one suspect, and that the person they believe kidnapped Elizabeth. I believe they know this person is the kidnapper and I can't imagine they would trash someone's else's reputation just to make it some kind of a Game Show. I think they have no doubt Ricci was an accomplice.

Also will predict like the JFK autopsy Ricci's will show nothing.

[Bella]

Also will predict like the JFK autopsy Ricci's will show nothing.

You're SO right there!

[Sherlock]

Something went wrong and Ricci's Jeep had to be used for some unexpected purpose which made him furious because it would link him to the crime.

I agree with what you said. Why do you think Ricci went through the charade of parking his Jeep away from trailer park from May 30 - Jun 8? Letting someone else use it?

[Neenah]

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."__________________________________________________

Mary Katherine,....It has been said by Lois, Ed, and other's in the press, that MK recognised the voice of the abductor..right?

Question:..How many convicts or known criminals does Mary Katherine know? I would safely say none.

One slilmey character we know she probably knew is Ricci..right?

If MK recognised his voice, I assume she told the police, and her parents..after all, a 9 yr. old is not going to hold that back...right?

If in fact, it WAS RICCI..don't you think that is all they would need to arrest him? Couple that with Jeanne Boylan's interview with her, where we do not know if she did a sketch or not.

If MK never gave out that she recognised it as Ricci..then she had to give a DIFFERENT NAME she was familiar with. We are to believe that she did in fact recogise THE VOICE...quoting her mother, Lois Smart. right?

If it was someone else..then why wasn't Ricci elilminated? Could this mean he had an accomplis, and that person was the one who abducted Elizabeth?? Well, if that be the case...Did MK know that voice so well, that she in fact put a name to it?

SHE DID PUT A NAME TO IT OR THE MOTHER IS LYING...I don't believe lovely Lois Smart lied!! So we have a NAME....

If the name is not Ricci, (or he would not be a potential suspect..but a suspect)..and the girl NAMED the person she recognised as the ONE WHO TOOK ELIZABETH..A PERSON SHE KNEW....and it was not a deralect...then it HAD TO BE SOMEONE MK WAS FAMILIAR WITH....!! Who does that leave?

IF SOMEONE FINGER'S RICCI NOW....it is his word against nothing...and it needs forecsic evidence...did they find fingerprints? Did they find evidence in the car?..if they found Elizabeth's DNA in the Jeep, an arrest would be made...(I am talking here of DNA that could be dated, or blood) If they found fingerprints in the house..an arrest would be made..

There was no arrest..there was no suspect..there is one witness..a little 9 yr. old girl who saw the person and recognised the voice and could describe what that person was wearing...and I will say again...if she said it was Ricci's voice..he would have been arrested, and that little star witness would be on the witness stand in a trial.

Just thinking.

[Sherlock]

I have long thought and stated that I think that Ricci was heavily involved, basically "managed" the project, did not go into the house for the abduction and in fact was home in bed when it occurred, and took his orders from a Mr. Big who wanted Eliz. for himself and not for ransom and was going to give all of the gang a big payoff for their efforts

Let me qualify, I agree Ricci was probably not the guy that went into the house but I don't believe he was at home in bed with Angela. Thurber said Angela was out so she didn't know. I think Ricci probably met the kidnapper at Shriner's Hospital and made some kind of a transaction or gave some instructions concerning the kidnapping before it went down.

Also the part about a Mr. Big could be true but other speculations could be as well, like someone Ed owed money to or a prince from Saudi Arabia that saw Liz at the Olympics. Could be anything. But I certainly agree Ricci probably got involved on June 8 to clean up the mess to protect himself from LE or whoever he may have been involved with that he was afraid of.

[Neenah]

but Ricci staged this break-in to look like someone used a chair under the "cut from-the-inside" window

Let me get this straight...the get-a-way car is parked somewhere hidden (if you can hide a car around there, don't know)..and he has packed a "chair" in the car to carry up the steep driveway to stand on, so he can cut the window screen, that is reported to be looong, but narrrow, from the inside?

ok

[varina davis]

There was no arrest..there was no suspect..there is one witness..a little 9 yr. old girl who saw the person and recognised the voice and could describe what that person was wearing...and I will say again...if she said it was Ricci's voice..he would have been arrested

You're right. Also, I do not believe for a New York minute that MK wouldn't have recognized Ricci, having seen the supposed kidnapper twice within about an hour. He had a very distinctive appearance and she was very familiar with him from his lengthy work in her home.

Some people are likely very relieved that Ricci is no longer a threat to tell what he knew and/or observed.

[varina davis]

or a prince from Saudi Arabia that saw Liz at the Olympics.

Oh oh. Over the top again with conspiracy theories.

[Iwo Jima]

I suppose that we should not be surprised to see a huge turnout at Ricci's funeral, with many respected persons present, since Ricci was such "a trusted person in the neighborhood or in the community."