That's where the speculation comes from (and I stress, speculation...nothing to back it up, just throwing out ideas for discussion)that there's more to this than meets the eye. I could be completely wrong.
I think you're right, just because this guy has a history of crimes, doesn't seem to match up. How many other criminals are in that area w/ similar criminal pasts. They normally look for suspects w/ similar histories..Even though we'd like Ricci to be the "one", I have reservations.
Richard Albert Ricci, 48, who has failed a lie-detector test in the case and has (confessed to burglarizing) the missing girl's home last year,
"At this point in time, he is (not) a charged suspect, but he is very interesting."
The handyman worked for six months in Elizabeth's home in an affluent neighborhood of Salt Lake City before he was fired by the girl's father, Ed Smart, who suspected Ricci had (burglarized the home.)
Police said Ricci, who has a (29-year criminal record), has an extensive knowledge of the home and has confessed to the burglary.
He has a long criminal history in Utah, beginning with a (burglary conviction) in 1973. He was been in and out of prison for the past three decades, and was most recently freed on parole in 2000.
Ricci's convictions also include (aggravated robbery, attempted homicide and a prison escape).
Dinse said he believed Ricci had contact with the Smart children while he was working on the house.(many contractors do generally KNOW members of a family when working at their homes for extended periods of time, isn't unusual). I just have reservations on this guy. His past doesn't add up..If he was going to rob the place, WHY would he go to the girl's bedroom instead to an area of the house where there was something he wanted to steal...His past convictions aren't related to children..