Posted on 07/02/2002 4:53:42 PM PDT by gcruse
Police Search Handyman's Home in Utah Kidnapping
July 2
— By James Nelson
SALT LAKE CITY (Reuters) - Utah investigators on Tuesday conducted a second search of the trailer home of a handyman who police have said tops the list of possible suspects in the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart.
FBI agents and detectives spent nearly five hours going through the home of Richard Albert Ricci, who did work at the Smart home last year and who has a long criminal record.
"We want to make sure we didn't miss anything," said Sgt. Fred Louis, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Police Department. He declined to say if anything was taken from the home.
Ricci remained atop a list of possible suspects, investigators said. The 48-year-old handyman was arrested on June 14 on an unrelated parole violation when questions about his alibi arose in the Smart case.
A crime laboratory has been testing materials gathered during the month-long investigation, including Ricci's car.
Last week, a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City heard testimony from a mechanic who worked on Ricci's car and from Ricci's wife, Angela. The grand jury is expected to reconvene July 10.
Ricci has denied any involvement in the girl's June 5 disappearance and released a statement over the weekend saying he was "in shock" after hearing about the kidnapping.
Police have questioned anyone who had access to the Smart's million-dollar home. And investigators continued to look at friends and neighbors who arrived at the Smart home shortly after the pre-dawn kidnapping.
Police said five men have already been fingerprinted. Three more men and some women from the neighborhood were also scheduled to be fingerprinted.
Hundreds of volunteers have searched the neighborhood, but Elizabeth has not been found. Investigators have received thousands of tips in the case, but none has panned out.
Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine, was the only witness to the kidnapping. She told police her sister was taken from their bedroom at gunpoint.
Copyright 2002 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.