(Elizabeth) Smart Says Ordeal Not Life-Altering

AP ^ | 10-25-03

[wheelgunguru]

SALT LAKE CITY - Elizabeth Smart, whose abduction from her bedroom and reunion with her family nine months later made her name and face familiar to millions, said in her first public interview that she hasn't changed that much from the girl she was before.

"I think there's some things different about me, but I think I'm still pretty much the same person," the 15-year-old told NBC's Katie Couric in an interview aired Friday.

"It's not like I was, like, all happy and all of a sudden I come back and I'm not, because I'm still happy," she said. "It's the same. It's like it never happened."

Elizabeth was 14 when someone slashed the screen on an open kitchen window in the Smart family home early on June 5, 2002, and abducted her at knifepoint from the bedroom she shared with her younger sister, Mary Katherine, the only witness.

For nine months, her family kept her face and story before the public, not knowing if she was alive but not willing to give up.

On March 12, the publicity paid off. Residents in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy spotted the man Mary Katherine identified as Elizabeth's abductor, a drifter and self-styled prophet named Brian David Mitchell who had done work on the Smart family home. Police found him walking with two people in white robes. One was Elizabeth.

Prosecutors say Mitchell, 50, and his wife, Wanda Barzee, 57, had kidnapped Elizabeth to be Mitchell's second "wife" and held her against her will at a crude campsite in the foothills above the Smart home until Oct. 8. They then took her to California, where they stayed until March 5, according to court documents.

Both are now charged with kidnapping, burglary and sexual assault. They are being held on $10 million bond pending psychological examinations to determine whether they are competent to stand trial.

In the NBC interview from the Smart family's ranch, her parents, Ed and Lois Smart, said Elizabeth was strong and even insisted on taking them to the campsite and showing them how she had lived. Her mother described her daughter as she marched up the hill as "triumphant."

Elizabeth had tried to escape from her abductors but she had been tethered, and they had threatened to kill her family if she cried out for help, her parents said. They said the abductors tried to strip Elizabeth of her identity.

Now, seven months after her return, her parents said Elizabeth has been getting help for coping with her ordeal and is doing well.

She is back at Salt Lake City's East High School, where she admits "weirdoes" at school taunt her as she walks down the hall. But her friends have welcomed her, treating her normally, she said. They still don't ask questions.

"They say, 'It's like you came back from a huge, long vacation,'" she said.

When asked if life is back to normal, she said, "Yeah."

Elizabeth said that if anything has changed, it's that she has more compassion for the homeless after experiencing how they live.

That compassion doesn't extend to her captors. "They didn't have to be" homeless, she said. "They had plenty of opportunity to do what they wanted, but they're such idiots."

The NBC interview was the first of a media blitz to coincide with the Monday release of her parents' book, "Bringing Elizabeth Home: A Journey of Faith and Hope."

[Cathryn Crawford]

This kind of makes me sick.

[OldFriend]

Welcome home Elizabeth. May you be blessed with a happy healthy future.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

"The NBC interview was the first of a media blitz to coincide with the Monday release of her parents' book,.. "

Hmmmm... This couldn't be about MONEY, could it? I mean, I have been admonished repeatedly that the Smart's are practically Saints, and to doubt a single word that comes out of Ed Smart's mouth is akin to heresy.

Flame away- I don't care. If you are dumb enough to believe that this happened the way they claim, then your opinion is of no interest to me.

[halfdome]

Those people are creepier than the Ramseys.

[Cathryn Crawford]

Well, I'm not one of the conspiracy theorists that think that the whole thing was a set up because she was pregnant or something like that...but the idea that they're exploiting her tragedy and trauma for money - that's what makes me sick.

[rs79bm]

Uh, I find it kind of add.....ok.,, extremely odd..... that the family would try to benefit financially from such an ordeal. What does this say about the Smart's? That they are willing to sell stories as horrible as this, for personal profit???

[aynrandfreak]

She's giving ammo to the defense team; "You see, your honor, she wasn't even hurt by the experience, she's still happy."

[commish]

If you are dumb enough to believe that this happened the way they claim, then your opinion is of no interest to me.

I am sure your statement will be the start of a very meaningful dialog about the smart case. Way to keep an open mind, such an admirable trait.

[Ditter]

Yeah well, it happens to every young girl. Abducted, held captive, lived on the streets? Who hasn't been? Expect this girl to self-distruct some day. I hope I'm wrong but I'd feel better if she said, It was horrible, I'm very angry about it, I want them to be punished.

[Cindy]

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Now, seven months after her return, her parents said Elizabeth has been getting help for coping with her ordeal and is doing well.

She is back at Salt Lake City's East High School, where she admits "weirdoes" at school taunt her as she walks down the hall. But her friends have welcomed her, treating her normally, she said. They still don't ask questions.

"They say, 'It's like you came back from a huge, long vacation,'" she said.

When asked if life is back to normal, she said, "Yeah."

Elizabeth said that if anything has changed, it's that she has more compassion for the homeless after experiencing how they live.

That compassion doesn't extend to her captors. "They didn't have to be" homeless, she said. "They had plenty of opportunity to do what they wanted, but they're such idiots.""


Yes. It is life altering, but as with all bad experiences; one bucks up and get on with life or becomes a victim for life. It seems like Miss Smart is getting on with her life.

Generally speaking, her answers seem to be somewhat bland and naive, possibly coached; but maybe that is her coping method.

[NYCVirago]

Elizabeth said that if anything has changed, it's that she has more compassion for the homeless after experiencing how they live. That compassion doesn't extend to her captors.

What a stupid statement. What does this reporter expect her to say -- that it was just fine for her captors to abduct her?

[Jeff Chandler]

[Grig]

I suppose you would all feel more comfortable if she spent the rest of her life curled up in a corner somewhere, too scared to lead a normal life?

I watched the interview, and I'm amazed how strong ES is.

Some parts from the transcript: http://www.msnbc.com/news/984676.asp

The Smarts say Elizabeth did resist in small ways. Brian Mitchell made her keep a diary, writing only what he told her to. But she found a way around that.
Lois Smart: “She had the presence of mind to use French and write in French. And down at the bottom of her diary, she’d say, ‘I hate him. I hate being up here,’ you know. And ‘I want to go back home.’ And things like that.”
...
Lois couldn’t imagine her daughter sleeping her first night back at home in the room where she’d been abducted. But Elizabeth surpassed her.
Lois Smart: “She said good night, and she said, ‘I’m going to sleep in my room.’ And she says, “‘Don’t worry mom and dad, I’ll be here in the morning.’”
...
Lois Smart: “And she was very adamant about going up there and showing us the place. She marched up there and got to the top. And I said to her, I said, ‘Elizabeth, how does this make you feel coming back here, seeing this squalor that you lived in for so long?’ And she said, she stood up and she said, ‘I feel triumphant.’ Which was amazing. Amazing. She had conquered this. She was Elizabeth Smart, and she was back with her family, doing those things that she wanted to do. She was in control.”
...

Elizabeth, and her family, have shown a great deal of courage, strength, and faith. Their story is inspiring, not tragic or seedy. I'm glad they feel strong enough to share it with us. And if it secures a future for ES, so what.

How sad to see so many who are so eager to attribute the worst characteristics and motives, who would rather call courage, love, and faith 'creepy' to justify their cynicism than rejoice with how the love of a strong family can overcome even something as terrible as what happened to her.

[JakeWyld]

I agree. This interview reads in a surreal fashion. Especially this "big long vacation" line.

I don't know what it is. Theres just something not right.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

It WOULD be a very inspiring story- if it were true. But this is like the Princess Diana story- people WANT to believe, and they really don't want to think they could have been taken in.

Not my problem- I won't be buying the book or watching the movie, anyway!

[Mfkmmof4]

Since the day Elizabeth was found there have been suspicions about whether she was really kidnapped. Now it continues because the family has gone public. Is there really a right or wrong way to behave after an event such as hers?

What if this has a positive effect on other kids that have been take and returned? Meaning that your life is not over and you can continue and NOT be a victim. Just my opinion.

[freedox]

"Hmmmm... This couldn't be about MONEY, could it?"

IMO, money is only part of it. I think what the Smarts are really concerned about is the fact that many people still have questions about this whole saga. I see this latest media blitz by the Smarts as yet another (pre-trial) attempt to convince the public that "yes, yes, it really did happen the way we say it did......now swallow it whole and stop asking questions!!"