Posted on 07/23/2002 9:34:42 PM PDT by Jolly Green
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| 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. |
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| 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". | 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. If Moul had "borrowed" the Jeep, he certainly would have washed it to remove the bugs, mud and pine needles. | |
| 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 | We will ask Jengaio to analyze the phrazing. | |
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| Motive | Possible Suspect | Details |
| Kidnapping | All | - The SLCPD has said there has not been any credible ransom demands. This may be due to the massive search and media blitz within 5 hours of the abduction i.e. the perps may have realized that their chances of getting caught were very high and they decided to get rid of the evidence. |
| Ricci & cronies | - Ricci and his colleagues have recently been indicted for several Utah bank robberies, each producing only a modest amount of cash i.e. $1800 split 3 ways. It is likely that they were looking for a bigger "score". | |
| Unknown | N/A | |
| Burglary | Ricci | - Ricci has five previous convictions for theft, burglary, and assault (shooting a police officer). He has recently been indicted on three additional state charges including burglary of a Smart neigbor while they were sleeping (a M.O. similar to the Smart kidnapping) and theft of the Smart home. He has also been indicted on three federal charges including two bank robberies. - The Smarts, like most people, wouldn't keep large amounts of cash around. It seems likely that a simple burglary would not produce much in the way of cash or jewelery. - The SLCPD has said some things were taken but haven't identified those items. |
| Unknown | N/A | |
| Burglary Gone Wrong | Ricci | - The Smart perpetrator may have been surprised by Elizabeth Smart and decided to remove the only witness. |
| Unknown | Same as above | |
| Sexual Predator | Ricci | - Fox News reported Ricci had attempted an "inappropriate relationship" with one of his old girlfriends 16 yr old daughters. |
| Unknown | N/A | |
| Revenge | Ricci | - Ed Smart wouldn't rehire Ricci even though Ricci claimed he had no involvement in the theft of the Smart house. |
| Unknown | N/A | |
| Runaway | Elizabeth Smart | Unknown possible motive |
| Unknown | N/A |
Also said that whoever was working with him, hopefully that person is still taking care of her....
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Ed must be getting updated with withheld info (unknown to the public) and complete updates of evidence against Ricci and accomplice(s) from the police.
I have held all along the police know who the kidnapper is, Ricci is the accomplice and the kidnapper is the 5' 8", athletic, short dark hair, tan denim jacket, white baseball hat, drives a white or silver Honda or Nissan. He was 1) seen in daylight by the milkman on Jun 3, 2) seen on security video in a convenience story near the Smart neighborhood minutes before the kidnapping in his white baseball cap, 3) seen in profile from 20 ft by the security guard at Shriner's Hospital, 4) seen by MK, 5) seen by the searcher appr. Jun 7, and 6) seen by Moul on Jun 8. I think he is one of the usual suspects associated with Ricci's crimes and I'd still like to see a photo of Remington who was supposedly in jail at the time of the kidnapping.
But something went terribly wrong. The kidnapped girl wasn't at all placid - remember the scream in the night - and accidentally died, perhaps in an attempt to escape by leaping from a moving vehicle.
Now the kidnappers can't say anything. They all know it will be curtains for them in Utah if they spill the story.
Sunday, June 16, 2002
Sister reported the abduction relatively quickly
Wait was quite short for child, an expert says
By Jake Parkinson
Deseret News staff writer
Elizabeth Smart's little sister was the only eyewitness to her sister's abduction.
Mary Katherine, 9, watched as an armed man entered her bedroom and led Elizabeth away at gunpoint.
Then she waited.
According to police, the kidnapper threatened to hurt Elizabeth if Mary Katherine told anyone about the abduction.
So she sat in her room for as long as two hours before telling her parents who, when told, called 911 at 4:01 a.m.
Certified forensic psychologist Gerald P. Koocher said it is remarkable the child notified the parents as soon as she did.
Koocher, dean of Health Studies at Boston's Simmon's College and a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, pointed out that in other scenarios such as sexual abuse, a child will refrain from telling on or speaking about the incident for years if there is a threat to hurt other members of the victim's family.
From her brief encounter and with the help of police examiners, the soon-to-be fourth-grader gave a description of the kidnapper: a white male, possibly in his 30s, about 5 feet 8 inches, with dark hair and a medium build.
The morning of the incident, Salt Lake Police Sgt. Dwayne Baird said Mary Katherine "saw a little bit of what was going on, but she couldn't see him real clearly."
A few days later, authorities brought a child forensic specialist to Salt Lake City to re-interview Mary Katherine, but the description didn't change, and any new information found in the interview, if there was any, was not reported to the media. To date, authorities say Mary Katherine has been interviewed four times, all along insisting her testimony remains consistent.
"Police will have a hard time gauging the amount of time that passed before the girl told her parents," Koocher said. "Children gauge time differently."
But Koocher said a child's testimony of the event should be considered as credible as an adult's.
"Any person, a child or adult, in a situation like this is subject to a lot of stress, but the facts of what took place will be accurate," Koocher said.
But the details might be a little distorted, he said.
"A child laying down is going to have a hard time telling just how tall a man is who is standing over her."
In questioning children, an investigator must be careful not to ask pointed questions such as, "Was the man about the same height as your father?" Koocher said. But at the same time, investigators must be quick in gathering testimony.
Over time, a person can fabricate thoughts and experiences, Koocher said.
"Most people don't actually have memories of being 3 years old; instead they remember what their parents told them and fabricate the scenario in their own minds."
But Koocher said in the disappearance of Elizabeth, her sister could not have been coached by an adult to produce the testimony.
"Kids are not good secret keepers unless they feel threatened, and in this case it doesn't appear there would have been a lot of time for coaching. If there were, after four separate interviews there would be some level of inconsistency," he said.
In the absence of any real ransom request directly following the abduction, one would logically assume that ES was abducted for a particular reason.
In my opinion that reason was sexual in nature. It was based on her nubile sexuality, her incredibly beautiful appearance, and youthful sensuality.
Whoever the abductor(s) is (are) he was only the fence or middleman in the operation. I suspect the "buyer" sought such a girl for child pornography and/or rape. Having grossly miscalculated the national attention her disappearance would bring and the intensive manhunt conducted to find the perpetrators, they most likely used her for their own personal vices and then killed her. It is highly unlikely that her body will ever be recovered.
Ten years from now reporters will be seeking Ed Smart out to review the abduction of his daughter on the anniversary of her disappearance. Most likely, he will have nothing new report.
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