Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee charged in Elizabeth Smart abduction...

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[Maedhros]

Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary in Elizabeth Smart abduction...

[Utah Girl]

I'm not in Utah right now. KSL.com has the most up-to-date reports, and they are very accurate. I think I will post their articles. Watch for them on this thread, I'll try to remember to ping you.

[ewing]

Since Elizabeth came home alive, (after going what she went through) she did everything right to stay alive.

[Palladin]

Pish-tosh, Utah girl! 24 hours? You are an appeaser. ;)

[CindyDawg]

I have been lurking on these threads for awhile. I think I understand now. The hate isn't towards the child but the family. Why? Does the idea of them having money, or being religious, or having a "normal" family offend? If the little girl sells her story and makes a fortune I say more power to her, if it is her decision. Her story may help other parents on what to teach their children to do or not do in these circumstances.

[ewing]

Going across state lines isnt a federal offense anymore?

[aristeides]

It's a federal offense, but it no longer carries the death penalty.

[FreeTally]

I think that you'd be wise to speak for yourself.

I think you would be wise to not speak of things you know nothing about, two of which being the mentaility of people in real estate and the charitable nature of Mr. Smart.

[AppyPappy]

Some people are just naysayers. The same people who swore OJ and Westerfeld were innocent

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Exactly, and that is all I have ever said, over and over. Illbay's attack is unwarranted, because I have never blamed the little girl for any of her circumstance. Survival is the key. Mitchell is a madman who holds the guilt for what happened. Not Elizabeth.

[Utah Girl]

Mitchell and Barzee Charged

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Self-proclaimed prophet Brian Mitchell and his wife were charged with aggravated kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated burglary Tuesday in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart.

Bail for each defendant was set at $10 million. Mitchell and Barzee each face a single count on each charge, for a total of six counts. They are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning. A preliminary hearing and trial were expected sometime this summer.

Authorities say Elizabeth was kidnapped from her bedroom at knifepoint by Mitchell on June 5. Mitchell, 49, and his wife, Wanda Barzee, 57, and Elizabeth were found Wednesday in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb. The two were charged jointly, meaning any hearings in the case will deal with both defendants.

David E. Yocom, Salt Lake Co. District Attorney, announces charges filed against Brian Mitchell and Wanda Barzee in relation to the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping.

"We do believe that these defendants, particularly Mitchell, should be prosecuted as a predatory sex offender," said District Attorney David Yocom. "If he ever hits the streets, (he should) carry that label as a sex offender for the rest of his life. We are not dealing with just a religious zealot, we are dealing with a predatory sex offender."

The charging documents claim Mitchell entered the Smart home using a knife to cut a window screen. The teen, dressed in pajamas, was forced at knifepoint to walk four miles up a mountain trail behind the home to a concealed campsite. During the hike and inside the Smart home, Mitchell threatened to harm or kill the Smart family if she resisted, prosecutors said.

"She was under the threat of death," Yocom said.

At some point after the abduction, Barzee told Elizabeth that she knew her husband was going to kidnap her, Yocom said.

Prosecutors say that when they reached the campsite, Barzee tried to remove Elizabeth's pajamas. When the girl resisted, Barzee threatened to have Mitchell forcibly do it.

Mitchell then "raped or attempted to rape her, or commit forcible sexual abuse against her," with Barzee's help, Yocom said. At some point, Elizabeth was restrained with a cable around her foot that was tethered to a tree, he said.

From that night until Oct. 8, the couple held Elizabeth against her will at the mountain campsite with little or no shelter, plumbing, water or food, prosecutors said.

Yocom said it was unclear why Mitchell allegedly picked Elizabeth. He could have seen her during his five hours of handiwork on the Smart home in November 2001 or when Lois Smart, possibly accompanied by her daughter Elizabeth, hired Mitchell as he panhandled outside a downtown mall, Yocom said.

Prosecutors also say that Mitchell and Barzee attempted to kidnap Elizabeth's cousin on July 24. A window was cut with a sharp instrument and the child inside told police that she saw something come through the window. The attempt was foiled when the family stirred and called police.

In October, Mitchell and Barzee took Smart to California where they stayed until March 5.

Aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree felony, with a minimum prison sentence of six years and a maximum of life. Aggravated kidnapping carries a penalty of six years to life in prison. Aggravated burglary is also a first-degree felony, with no minimum and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Yocom's office asked the media to refrain from asking questions on the sexual assault counts "for reasons that should be obvious."

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Schwendiman said federal charges would come "only if and when it is necessary."

Yocom also said Mitchell wants to represent himself. Mitchell had spoken to attorney Larry Long, who once claimed to represent Mitchell. He had said Mitchell considered Elizabeth's disappearance a "call from God" and that he took her as his second wife. Long suggested that prosecutors should seek a light sentence to encourage kidnappers to keep their captives alive.

Mitchell's father made a similar appeal, arguing that any punishment should be tempered by the girl's survival. "There's a lot of people that kidnap little kids and murder them," said Shirl Mitchell, 83. "He took care of the girl and she came back in good health."

Smart family spokesman Chris Thomas said Mitchell was wrong to believe he had any kind of relationship with the girl.

"Elizabeth was taken against her will at knifepoint, she's a minor, and whatever rationale Mitchell used to believe that she was his wife and loved him is grossly mistaken," Thomas said. "The definition of love is not degradation, humiliation, or robbing someone's life of control and respect."

Mitchell, an excommunicated Mormon, wrote a rambling manifesto last year espousing the virtues of polygamy. The Mormon church has long distanced itself from polygamy and excommunicates those who practice it.

Before Tuesday's charges, no details had been released about any abuse Elizabeth may have suffered while captive. The girl has been interviewed several times by police, but her parents have not asked her for details, Thomas said.

Family members have said repeatedly that Elizabeth was brainwashed during the nine months, and that her loss of free will prevented her from escaping despite several opportunities to do so.

Earlier, Elizabeth's family called on prosecutors to make sure they do not traumatize the girl during questioning about the nine months she spent with her captors.

The family met Monday with the district attorney's office and asked that investigators involve Elizabeth only as much as they need to for a successful prosecution, Smart family spokesman Chris Thomas said.

"They have expressed their concerns for Elizabeth's well-being, and will hold the D.A.'s office accountable for any actions that might victimize her a second time," Thomas said.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said Monday he would name an independent commission to examine police handling of the case to provide "a fair, objective review."

Investigators drew criticism for concentrating on potential suspect Richard Ricci even after Elizabeth's younger sister told authorities in October that Mitchell could be the man that took her sister.

Thomas said the family "hopes that those who made egregious errors will be held accountable and those mistakes will not be repeated."

Tuesday's charges stemmed from about 20,000 pages of materials gathered in the case, Yocom said.

[Catspaw]

The Smarts still give me the creeps. Bringing bums off the street as day laborers? What idiots, at best.

Nice attempt at a smear at the Smarts; however, our next-door neighbor hired a man who was recommended by his church to help him with a little work around his house. Our neighbor paid him and gave him clothes. One day the guy disappeared, just never showed up--that's because he was arrested for the murder of a man for his Social Security money. Our neighbor testified at his trial because he had given the murderer the shoes that left the footprints in the blood of the murder victim.

Is it the fault of his church that he hired a murderer to help him paint his garage?

[alnick]

I'll tell you what I do know for a fact, and that is that you cannot state that merely because someone is a real estate agent he is therefore skeptical by nature.

[spudsmaki]

Uh, any contractor I've ever hired has had to cough up licensing, bonding, insurance, and references. It ensures at least some legitimacy. And I make dammed sure they're paying taxes, I seen enough troubles with sleazeballs.

I think Mr. Not-So-Smart pulled a Zoe Baird. I'll bet he hired day laborers so he didn't have to pay withholding taxes.

I still have my doubts about the parents, they have some loose screws.

[andysandmikesmom]

I too, was sickened by how many Freepers seemed to take genuine delight in smearing Elizabeth Smart and the whole Smart family....picking on everything from in the most absurd way....

Some of those Freepers were so sure that Elizabeth ran away, because, gosh, 'She was an overachiever, trying so hard to please her goofy dad', so of course, she ran away....Yet no doubt, some of those same Freepers like to tell us, how wonderful and brilliant and overachieving their own kids are, and they think thats ok...

And for some reason, some folks just picked up the 'Elizabeth ran away' mantra, somply because the Smart family is Mormon, and somehow bashing Mormons seems fun to some people(and no, I am not Mormon)

Others folks found it 'sinister' and 'revealing' that Ed Smart actually put on a nice shirt and tie to talk to the press, right after Elizabeth had been found....my gosh, how looney do some of these Freepers now appear....

And many of these Freepers did not like the way Elizabeths mother acted during the time Elizabeth was missing...of course, it never seemed to occur to these bashing Freepers, that no doubt, Elizabeths mother was in shock, and was also probably heavily medicated for nerves, or for depression, or was given sleeping pills...and who could blame her for seeking some relief in meds...tho the side effect, may be that one acts differently than what others would consider normal...good grief, she had every right to act differently, as her situation was grave...

And of course, now we have the bashing Freepers, seething at the mouth, because the Smarts are receiving unsolicited request to sell their story...

Lets face it, those who believe that Elizabeth ran away, was just a young teen looking for fun, well, these people will never believe the truth, that Elizabeth was abducted...they will not believe the truth of the abduction, no matter the evidence...I also dont expect to see most of the 'Smart' bashers offer any type of apology..they will go on and on and on, and keep bashing the Smarts no matter what...

I cringe to read the details, of what happened to Elizabeth during her captivity....she certainly suffered, and I can only hope that her captors will be made to suffer even more...

[TheDon]

I don't know, I can't read his mind. I'm glad you can though.

[Utah Girl]

New Details on Campsite in Dry Creek Canyon

Charges against Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee are expected late Tuesday morning.

Eyewitness News has new details of what investigators found at the campsite where the suspects and Elizabeth lived for two months following the kidnapping.

The campsite where the three were staying was up in a canyon, just about three miles from the Smart house. Elizabeth took a helicopter ride Sunday to point out exactly where they were staying, late today we learned what investigators found there.

Investigators first thought they had determined the campsite where Brian Mitchell, Wanda Barzee, and Elizabeth stayed for two months following the kidnapping.

But when Elizabeth boarded a helicopter with investigators Sunday, she reportedly pointed out the “real” site.

Detectives quickly learned the three had stayed underground in a concealed hole Mitchell dug himself or some kind of underground structure. The site was reportedly covered with boards and dirt.

That is why the three were not picked up by infrared cameras during the search in the days following the kidnapping. The heat-sensing camera cannot see through boards. The site was very well concealed so searchers on the ground or in the air never spotted anything out of the ordinary.

Chris Thomas/Family Spokesperson: “THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEARCHED THAT CANYON WHO DIDN'T SEE THEM, AND HAVE CARRIED ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF GUILT, AND CAN'T SLEEP AT NIGHT, THE FAMILY WANTS THEM TO KNOW THAT THEY DID THE RIGHT THING."

"THERE ARE A LOT OF WHAT IF'S ..BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT SHE IS HOME WITH HER FAMILY."

At the site, investigators reportedly found an incredible amount of evidence--possibly the knife used in the kidnapping and a rope. Prosecutors are preparing to file charges against Mitchell and Barzee tomorrow. Today, Smart family members met with prosecutors from the district attorneys office to discuss the case.

Chris Thomas/Family Spokesperson: “THE FAMILY DOES WANT TO SEE JUSTICE IN THIS CASE, THEY BELIEVE MITCHELL AND HIS WIFE SHOULD RECEIVE APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT FOR THEIR CRIMES AND THAT JUSTICE SHOULD PREVAIL.

Thomas said Monday Elizabeth is doing well and that in time, she may go back to school. But the family is reportedly taking it one day at a time.

[FreeTally]

If you don't mind, what's your profression. You can be general if you don't care to be specific.

[Yeti]

Some people are just naysayers. The same people who swore OJ and Westerfeld were innocent

Hey, I resemble that remark!

Not OJ, but Westerfield. I still have problems with the case, although he may have done it. I just don't think the evidence against him was on the up-and-up.

[berkeleybeej]

I have a list of those who condemned Elizabeth hanging on my wall.

I would sure like to have that list - can you share?

[twigs]

Well, we certainly don't know if it's true and I hope it isn't. The only positive side, and it's not really that, is that you're right. This could get them the death penalty.