Smart Case, July 25, 2002

07/25/02 | Jolly Green

[freedox]

Thanks, brigette. I checked your archives and wasn't able to find a reference to Mitchell saying that Ricci had been late to work that day, as opposed to having been scheduled to come in late. In fact, all I saw were positive statements about Ricci's behavior as an employee. That's why I was curious.

Apparently, Sherlock is looking for the reference now......

[Sherlock]

The repair shop owner said there's "no doubt" Ricci took the vehicle, noting the handyman asked for the keys before driving away.

Moul showed CNN a log in which he wrote notes indicating when the vehicle -- which the FBI has impounded -- was taken and returned. Moul said after Ricci brought the Jeep back June 8, he removed a post-hole digger, put two seat covers in a black bag and carried away another bag filled with unidentified material.

Moul said Ricci then walked across the street with the garden tool and the bags slung over his shoulder to meet an unidentified man, who had waved to him from a convenience store parking lot.

Moul could not say if the two men drove away together, but he said he saw the second man talking on a pay phone outside the convenience store.

The law enforcement official said authorities are seeking telephone records and said he believes Moul is a credible witness.

Moul said he testified last week before a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City investigating the kidnapping. He said he has no reason to make up a story that would harm Ricci, whom he said he liked.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/30/missing.girl/index.html

[Sherlock]

Ok......so Mitchell's and Newhouse's accounts differ, and you're taking her word over his?

I can't figure Mitchell's account out, can you please explain to me what days Ricci worked and what day he had off. If you can't, I submit to you he's being deceptive. Why?

[freedox]

"I submit to you he's being deceptive.:

Sherlock, all I can find is an account wherein Mitchell (a business owner) states that Ricci (his employee) had only one day off work during the time period in question. I don't find any reference to Mitchell having lied about which day that was. I don't even find any reference to Mitchell being publicly asked which day it was. How does this add up to "being deceptive"?

[Sherlock]

Freedox, I don't have time to look for this article but several of us remember it and it's irrelevant anyway. That hour and a half was probably when police interviewed him on Jun 6 unless they interviewed him after work. Ricci was not the kidnapper so he wouldn't have had anything particularly to do in the days immediately following the kidnapping. For some reason he did get involved again on Jun 7-8 when he made the 500 - 1000 mile trip.

[Sherlock]

Mitchell, owner of Mitchell's Nursery, 2184 E. 3300 South, told The Salt Lake Tribune last month that Ricci worked until 7 p.m. on June 6, and would have had only one day off over the next five days. That makes it unlikely Ricci was setting fence posts June 7 in Cheyenne, about 450 miles from Salt Lake City.

Freedox, wake up. This is the statement. Tell me what days Ricci worked and which day he had off. If you can't it's because this statement is deceptive. You come at this case with such a biased perspective you will never approach the truth.

[freedox]

"We know that Elizabeth received extensive training and was an accomplished harp player - so accomplished that she played at one of the nationally televised Olympic events. One might say she was gifted."

Actually, according to an interview with Elizabeth's harp instructor (Deseret News, June 16), Elizabeth was not "gifted." The instructor states, "It's not like they're (Elizabeth and Mary Katherine) gifted, it's like they work very hard at it." The instructor also said that Elizabeth never missed a lesson. She even described a time when Elizabeth was quite young, and she showed up for a lesson feeling "terrible" with "her face as white as her hair." Both of the daughters were described as having "an incredible work ethic."

Not that any of this has any bearing on anything in particular.......your statement just triggered my memory of the article.

[lakey]

Don't bet your paycheck.

[Sherlock]

Ok......so Mitchell's and Newhouse's accounts differ, and you're taking her word over his?

I pray that Newhouse was correct and when Ricci returned with Jeep and self covered with mud it was fence post holes he had been digging with that post hole digger.

[Sherlock]

Lakey, tell he your theory on who kidnapped Elizabeth. Do you think LE can be trusted?

[freedox]

LOL!!! Sherlock, deception is an intentional act. The statement that you quoted from Mitchell doesn't clarify which day Ricci had off, but it certainly doesn't reflect an attempt to deceive anybody. Where does it show that he was ASKED which day Ricci had off??? Just because Mitchell didn't offer that information in this particular statement doesn't mean he was being deceptive about it. If you want to keep this up, SHOW ME THE DECEPTION.

[freedox]

"I pray that Newhouse was correct...."

Let me guess......so this DOES mean that you are taking her word over that of Ricci's employer?

[Sherlock]

Moul said Ricci was a regular customer who typically joked around, but seemed to be in a bad mood that day.

"I was trying to play a joke with him -- I saw his car and said, 'What, you just come back from the mountain and play in some weeds?' but he did not respond," said Moul. "He didn't even look me straight in the face."

Before returning the car, Moul said Ricci parked it across the street from the shop and removed covers from the rear seats. Ricci threw the covers into a large plastic bag, removed a post-hole digger from the Cherokee's hatchback and apparently disposed of the items, Moul said.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/30/missing.girl/index.html

What I'm telling you is the alternatives are unthinkable of why he was digging.

[Neenah]

By deduction, LE would not want a sketch made because they knew the kidnapper,

They do? It is almost 2 months now, they know the kidnapper, but he is not arrested?

[freedox]

"What I'm telling you is the alternatives are unthinkable of why he was digging."

Calm down, Sherlock. It has been reported that Ricci did a lot of gardening around his home, did yardwork at one time for the Smart family, and was employed by a local nursery. I don't think that the presence of a posthole digger in his vehicle is necessarily an ominous sign.

[Neenah]

he doesn't want to upset their investigation if it is an honest one but he doesn't want to hide his head in the sand either,

I know those are your words and not fact...but I can't understand how you can condone this. It is just not the thing to do. It is going above the law...and he is doing it and broadcasting it on t.v. shows. Albeit, trying to get sympathy too. But any person working in law, at any rank, would not look at this behavior as GOOD.

It is out of order, to me no matter how you try to explain it.

This behavior gets people saying on t.v. " There is something wrong here."

[freedox]

"Anyone wonder what was contained in those 6,000+ tips the police received in the first few days."

Well, yes, I have wondered. I doubt that all 6,000 of them were focussed on Richard Ricci, an obscure handyman and ex-con.