Elizabeth Smart kidnapped
The abduction of Elizabeth Smart began in 2002 when the American was abducted from her parents' home in Salt Lake City , Utah . In 2003 she was discovered after nine months in Sandy , Salt Lake County . The police arrested the two kidnappers and rescued the girl.
Life
Elizabeth Smart was born in Salt Lake City on November 3, 1987, and comes from a Christian and affluent Mormon family. She is the daughter of Ed and Lois Smart, has a sister, Mary Katherine, and four brothers, Andrew, Edward, Charles and William. The family lives in Salt Lake City. Since 2003 she attended East High School in Salt Lake City. She is studying harp at Brigham Young University in Provo .
Her parents Ed and Lois Smart published the book Bringing Elizabeth Home on October 28, 2003 , which was the basis of the November 9, 2003 film The Elizabeth Smart Story . On May 5, 2006, Elizabeth Smart appeared on the CNN talk show Larry King Live with her father Ed Smart .
kidnapping
Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped on June 5, 2002 at night from the nursery of her parents' house in front of her sister Mary Katherine in Salt Lake City , Utah. Immediately after the kidnapping, her father Ed Smart started a publicity campaign with his wife Lois and numerous relatives and offered a reward of 250,000 US dollars . More than 16,000 reports were received from the population.
On March 12, 2003, a woman recognized Elizabeth Smart, accompanied by a man and a woman, in a parking lot in front of a Burger King branch in the suburb of Sandy. The witness then alerted the police. The two suspects Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Eileen Barzee were arrested. The girl wore a veil and dark sunglasses. She was released and brought to safety by the authorities after 280 days of detention.
The homeless Brian David Mitchell had been searched nationwide just the previous month on America's Most Wanted television show . The kidnappers left Elizabeth Smart on the street throughout her detention . The nine months of torture left deep marks on the girl. After being isolated for a long time from normal life, her personality had changed so much that the police suspected she had been brainwashed .
Elizabeth Smart was nervous and initially did not want to speak to the authorities. According to his own statements, Brian David Mitchell wanted the girl as a second wife. The kidnappers are said to have hid the girl first in a basement in Salt Lake City and later in the mountains near the city. The kidnappers first traveled with the girl to San Diego , California and Atlanta , Georgia . The Elizabeth Smart case generated a lot of public interest within the United States.
Criminal proceedings
Mitchell's lawyers tried to declare Mitchell incapable of standing due to a mental illness. After doing so temporarily, Mitchell was ruled standing by the court in 2010. In 2011 he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Wanda Eileen Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was released in September 2018.
Web links
- 14-year-old kidnapped from her own bed , Die Welt from June 25, 2002.
- The Miracle of Salt Lake City ( September 30, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ) March 14, 2003.
- Kidnapping case guesswork: kidnapped girl does not respond to her own name , March 14, 2003 (archive) .
- Kidnapped girl back home after nine months , Abendblatt dated March 14, 2003.
- The guesswork around Elizabeth's abduction ( September 30, 2007 memento in the Internet Archive ), March 15, 2003.
- My story | Elizabeth Smart | TEDxUniversityofNevada , TEDx speech January 31, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elizabeth Smart kidnap suspect to stand trial in November - CNN.com . ( archive.org [accessed September 11, 2018]).
- ^ Former street preacher Brian David Mitchell gets life in Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case . In: masslive.com . ( archive.org [accessed September 11, 2018]).
- ↑ McKenzie Stauffer, KUTV Staff: Woman convicted of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart to be release from prison . In: KRCR . ( archive.org [accessed September 11, 2018]).