Smart Case, July 23, 2002

07/23/02 | Jolly Green

[Jolly Green]

Wild-Eyed Speculation, Half-baked Theories and Myths
Theory(?)	Facts
Richard Ricci has been identified as the prime suspect in the case, though several of his "theme park" pals are under suspicion.	- Ricci is a 5-time loser, having been convicted of burglarizing a food bank and shooting a police officer. He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including theft at the Smart residence and burglary of a Smart neighbor. Additionally, he has been recently indicted on three federal charges related to two bank robberies. - Ricci worked for the Smarts last year for several months and was paid with a white Jeep in lieu of cash. He had full access to the house and may very well have had a key to the Smart residence. Ricci and two others were fired when some items were stolen from the home. Ricci later approached Ed Smart and said he wasn't involved and wanted his job back. Ed Smart declined to rehire him. - Ricci lives in a trailer park in West Jordan that is now referred to as a "theme park" because of the large number of Ricci convicted felon friends living there. - Ricci has no credible alibi for the period during and shortly after the abduction. He is believed to have put an additional 1000 miles on the Jeep during a period when he claimed the Jeep was in Moul's shop. Moul also reported that Ricci removed several trash bags, the seat covers and a post hole digger and carried them across the street. - Ricci had both opportunity and motive.
Ed Smart and Richard Ricci were gay lovers. This is based upon Ed Smart's pleading before the media for Ricci to come clean, where he used phrases like "Help me, Richard".	This theory was eloquently refuted by Jengaio and it hasn't reared its ugly head recently.
Elizabeth Smart had a nose ring, must have been rebellious and ran away. Later, proponents shifted emphasis to "piercings" so as not to offend those who believe this to be utter nonsense.	Numerous photographs of Elizabeth Smart show no indication of a nose ring and the existence of a nose ring has never been reported by any credible news source.
Moul, the mechanic, lied to the grand jury and in TV interviews. Some of the scenarios: He knows more than he is telling; his eyesight is bad; he made it up; he is in cahoots with Ricci; he used Ricci's Jeep without Ricci's permission.	Moul has no criminal record and no motive. What's more his vehicle logs corroborate his testimony.
Elizabeth Smart's aunt, in a televised interview said the police "are working with us". Implications: This surely must mean that the Smarts and their influential friends and church must be controlling/thwarting the 100-man SLCPD/FBI task force	While this is "grasping" of the highest order, we will ask Jengaio to analyze the phrazing.

[ChocChipCookie]

This isn't really a theory for your yellow chart, but last night dh and I were discussing this kidnapping, and he said that kidnappings of children are motivated by three things. 1. Revenge (which would probably result in the murder of the child) 2. Money (as far as we know, no ransom has been demanded) 3. "Some weird sexual thing" (that's exactly how dh phrased it LOL)

So as this case pertains to ES, we can probably eliminate #2 as a motivation, unless she was murdered before a ransom demand could be made.

Revenge? We really can only speculate. We don't have any business or financial records of the Smarts; those might provide clues of a business deal gone bad, debts, blackmail, etc. We know that Ricci was fired by Ed, but that was some time ago. Would someone like Ricci nurse a grudge that long and choose kidnapping/murder as revenge?

The sexual thing. Possibly. I've wondered if ES's somewhat high profile during the Olympics might have attracted the attention of some creep or creeps. Was Ricci attracted to her? Was it *her* jewelry and perfume that he originally stole?

Are there additional motivations we didn't think of? Can we make a chart of motivations and then, for each motivation, possible perpetrators?

For the most part it seems that this case has dropped almost completely from the public eye. I don't live in Utah so there may be local stories there that are still making the news. When was the last time the Utah police held a press conference? Dh thinks they have absolutely no idea where Elizabeth is or what happened to her, and that's the reason for their low profile. I tend to agree.

[MiloMarch]

1. Who do YOU believe is the most responsible for Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping?
A) Richard Ricci and associates

2. Whose fault is it that this case has not been solved yet?
A) Richard Ricci and associates because they left very little evidence

3. Do you believe that Elizabeth is alive?
B) NO

[freedox]

"I mention the police only because when in front of the camera they act as though they don't believe she was taken against her will."

Interesting observation, spore-gasm.

[sandude]

I mention the police only because when in front of the camera they act as though they don't believe she was taken against her will. This may or may not be part of their overall plan. Recent snippits of reporting reflect the same thing: no leads, nothing new, etc. When the Chief said, "We'll get you" he sounded as though he was talking to a teenager.

LE has spent hundreds of man hours pursuing leads pertaining to Ricci and associates. Apparently they are still checking on new leads in the central Utah area. If they felt like she had run off with some boy I think you would see almost nothing going on from LE.

[Jolly Green]

Good idea. I'll try to get something like that put together tonight. We have discussed other possibilities here on FR i.e. a burglary gone bad. If the perp ran into Elizabeth he might think he had to take the only witness with him. The sub-plot that I believe is most credible is that Ricci and his cronies were looking for a big score. An $1800 bank job - split 3 ways - is hardly worth the effort. If they planned on kidnapping her for ransom and within 4 or 5 hours of the abduction (7:21am), there is a nationwide manhunt going with Amber/Rachel alerts, national media and FBI involvement, that changes the whole picture. What seemed like a get rich quick scheme, suddenly became VERY high risk. They no longer had a way to communicate with Ed Smart that wasn't likely to be bugged or traced to them. They might decide to cut their losses and not even bother to risk a ransom request, which might backfire on them.

Another avenue that needs to be explored is that it appears that the perp and ES walked away from the residence. Where did they go? That probably means a vehicle with another perp waiting for them. Most likely they walked to the hospital lot nearby. That raises what I call the "Fred" issue. Fred was the security guard who called police about vehicles he had seen in the hospital lot and provided the tape. The plot thickens at that point, though, because Fred knew Ricci while he was a guard at the prison. That is an astronomical coincidence in my book. Why is Fred working there instead of the prison, which probably paid more. Was he fired for some reason? If he was involved, he possibly could have created a fake tape days or weeks before which he could have fed the police, which would shift the time and show the wrong vehicles.

It is also possible the perps could have been in radio contact. A pair of very good walkie talkies with headphones can be had for $100, with which someone outside would be able to act as a lookout. Fred was in a great position to be a lookout. If I were the FBI I would be culling NSA radio/cell phone communications during a 6 hour window around the abduction.

[Rad_J]

Ping! Please take my poll if you haven't already. Thanks.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/720659/posts?page=47#47

[GovernmentShrinker]

Given Ricci's amazingly extensive criminal career, it's quite possible that there's another reason for his shaky alibi for the time of the kidnapping. Even though, as I understand it, SL police have given him immunity for any other crimes he might have committed during that time, if he had accomplices he might still prefer to keep mum, as those accomplices would probably have friends in prison who could mete out punishment to Ricci for blabbing.

[Utah Girl]

1. Who do YOU believe is the most responsible for Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping?
E) A person or group not yet named by police or media (with Richard Ricci's help in negotiating the house)

2. Whose fault is it that this case has not been solved yet?
A) Richard Ricci and associates because they left very little evidence
E) Nobody's fault. These things just take time

3. Do you believe that Elizabeth is alive?
B) NO

[Jolly Green]

as I understand it, SL police have given him immunity for any other crimes he might have committed during that time

I have read about some sort of immunity for Ricci here on FR, but haven't seen a link describing it or heard it on the media. I'm sure that if there was some sort of immunity deal offered, I would bet big bucks that it has been withdrawn as indicated by the 3 new state and 3 new federal charges.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I doubt that it has been withdrawn. As I understand it, the immunity deal covered only a few days around the time of Elizabeth's disappearance. It never covered crimes committed at other times, and the new charges which have been brought against Ricci are all for crimes committed at times far removed from the date of Elizabeth's disappearance. The purpose of the immunity deal was only to try to ensure that Ricci was forthcoming about his whereabouts at the time of Elizabeth's disappearance, presumably so that if he didn't have anything to do with it, that could be determined quickly.

[Jolly Green]

The purpose of the immunity deal was only to try to ensure that Ricci was forthcoming about his whereabouts at the time of Elizabeth's disappearance, presumably so that if he didn't have anything to do with it, that could be determined quickly.

That seems reasonable, but why hasn't it been withdrawn? He surely hasn't cooperated.

[per loin]

Heard part of a short bit on FOX about there now being a composite drawing of the suspect seen by the sister, but that the sketch is not being released? Any here have an info on that?

[freedox]

I, too, think that Elizabeth is most probably alive, and that she will eventually resurface. However, I am not at all sure that we will ever see all of the loose ends tied and the dots connected in this case. I have a feeling that many questions will remain unanswered, just as they have throughout this saga.

[freedox]

I saw that, too. From what I heard, it was Ed Smart (not the police) who made the announcement that Mary Katherine has just now provided sufficient details for a sketch artist to formulate a likeness of the alleged abductor. It is my understanding that Ed Smart did not name names, but said that the sketch confirms that the police are on the "right track."

[per loin]

This case gets stranger and stranger. I here the ghost of Jon Benet weeping in the afar.

[freedox]

I know what you mean. However, since Elizabeth apparently left the house on her own two feet and there has been nothing reported that would suggest physical harm, I am hoping that she is still alive. As to the "stranger and stranger" part.......no argument here.

[dalebert]

1. D&E, 2. D, 3. B

[dalebert]

What about cults in Utah?