More than two decades later Elizabeth Smart he was kidnapped when he was 14 years old Brian David Mitchell i Wanda Barzeeis opening up about the experience in the Netflix documentary Abducted: Elizabeth Smart.
In the film, Elizabeth joins her sister, Mary Katherine Smartand his father, Ed Smartto talk about the 2002 case and how it affected his family. Along with interviews from the detectives who worked on the case, the documentary offers a new look at the case that has shocked people for more than 20 years.
Us Weekly break the bigger bombs Abducted: Elizabeth Smartbelow
Members of the Smart family were considered suspects after Elizabeth Smart disappeared
After Elizabeth was abducted from her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, Det Cordon Parks he explained that the officials were suspect the smart family because “statistically, most of the time, the perpetrator of this type of crime is a parent or a family member.”
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During interviews with the family, Parks said “there were a couple of things” that came up that made them even more suspicious that they were involved in Elizabeth’s disappearance. “They told me the alarm had been inadvertently left on. And the window. When I looked at it the first morning, there were no crack marks on the outside wall,” he recalled. “Even if you step on a chair, you’re going to make a crack mark. I didn’t see any. My initial assessment was that maybe that wasn’t the point of entry. Maybe it was staged.”
In the documentary, Ed reflected on being considered a suspect. “For your daughter to disappear is horrible,” he said. “And then to be a possible suspect, I was beyond words.”
Ed proved his innocence by taking a polygraph test, though public blame shifted to his brother Tom Smart when his polygraph test was inconclusive. The attention on Tom only got worse when he made some questionable comments during interviews about Elizabeth’s disappearance.
In the documentary, Tom said it was “stupendous” how long it took police to “clear the family” of any involvement in the kidnapping. “And when the finger was pointed at us, we saw a real drop off in people … coming to help us look,” he said.
Elizabeth Smart emotionally recalled the night she was kidnapped
Elizabeth became emotional as she recalled the night she was kidnapped by Mitchell in the documentary. “That night, I remember a man’s voice. ‘I have a knife to my neck. Don’t make a sound. Get up and come with me,'” he said. “I was terrified.”
She said Mitchell led her around her backyard and up a hill. “I was so worried that I was losing my chance to escape. I asked him if he was going to rape and kill me because I thought that must be what he was going to do,” she said. “I wanted him to do it as close as he could to my house so my parents could find me.”
Elizabeth and Mitchell eventually arrived at a campsite, where they were greeted by Barzee. “He took off my shoes and then started washing the dirt off my feet,” Elizabeth recalled. “And then he started trying to take my pajamas off.”
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After Elizabeth took off her pajamas to put them on, Barzee said she would have to cooperate or Mitchell would “tear her clothes off.”
Brian David Mitchell declared Elizabeth his “wife” on the night of the abduction
Elizabeth finally put on a robe and went to see Mitchell. “Thus I seal you as my wife before God and his angels as my witnesses,” he told her. She said she screamed, and he replied, “If you ever scream like that again, I’ll kill you. If it helps you not to scream, I’ll tape your mouth shut.”
Although Elizabeth argued that the marriage was not legally binding, Mitchell said it was time to “consummate the marriage” and raped her.
“It didn’t matter what he did. Ultimately, he raped me. And I remember being in a lot of pain. I remember begging him to stop,” she said. “And when he was done, he stood up and smiled like it was no big deal to him and walked out of the tent. And I was floored.”
Brian David Mitchell planned to kidnap 7 girls
Elizabeth recalled Mitchell, who told her her name was Hephzibah Eledah Isaiah, telling her that “God commanded them to kidnap seven girls.”
“I was the first of seven. He said my sister would probably end up being one of his wives and my cousin Olivia. I was horrified,” she said.
Mary Katherine Smart connected Brian David Mitchell to the kidnapping
Since Elizabeth and Mary Katherine shared a room, she was the only witness to the crime. Detectives initially hoped she could identify the kidnapper, although she was unable to identify Mitchell until later in the investigation.
Ed explained that the family previously met Mitchell while he was homeless and hired him to help them in their home, which is why Mary Katherine recognized him. However, the police were skeptical if Mitchell was really involved, as it took Mary Katherine a while to connect him to the crime.
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Sketches of the suspect were eventually released and Mitchell’s brother-in-law called Tom to say it could have been him.
Police quickly learned that Mitchell “believed himself to be a prophet of God.” A detective said: “In recent years, he seemed to be spiraling into a violent mood.”
Elizabeth Smart convinced her captors to return to Salt Lake City
After Mitchell was identified as the suspect and the search for Elizabeth continued, he decided to leave Salt Lake City with Elizabeth and Barzee. However, Elizabeth managed to convince him to return to his hometown by telling him that God told him so and that he was a prophet.
“And he turned to me and said, ‘Well, God is finally starting to work with you. Now that you recognize your own nothingness, we’re supposed to go back to Salt Lake,” he recalled.
When they returned to Salt Lake City, someone saw the trio on the street and reported it to the police. As they walked down the sidewalk, police cars pulled up and officers began questioning the adults. Elizabeth was then separated from the adults and eventually confirmed to the cops who she was. Then he returned with his family nine months after being kidnapped.
Elizabeth Smart reflected on the aftermath of her kidnapping
“Seeing my family again, it reminded me that everything that I had been through, it didn’t take away my worth or my value. Like, those monsters could never take that away,” she said in the documentary. “I just remember being so excited to be home. I woke up a few times that (first) night and my parents were, uh, standing over me making sure I was still there.”
Elizabeth added that she was “afraid of men” when she returned home. “I was scared of a lot of things and I still didn’t hear anyone talking, like now, about being raped or abused,” she said. “I felt, like, a lot of shame and embarrassment about what had happened even though I knew it wasn’t my fault.”
She went on to say that her mother played “a big role” in helping her process what happened. “I feel like the things that really helped the most were spending time with my family,” she said.
Elizabeth Smart decided to testify against Brian David Mitchell
Mitchell did not go to trial until 2010, making it difficult for Elizabeth to come forward.
“I felt the system was rigged against me and I thought, ‘This has gone on for almost a decade. It has to end. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care if I have to sit in the courtroom every day for months and months. If this is going to end, that’s what I’m going to do,'” she said of her decision.
Elizabeth added that she “didn’t want to face him” in court but felt it was important to testify so he wouldn’t be released and “went after another girl”.
“When the verdict finally came in as guilty, I mean, it was… It was like, ‘It’s about time.’ thank god It’s done and now I can leave it in the past,” he concluded.
Mitchell was found guilty of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor and was sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile, Barzee was found guilty of kidnapping and other crimes. She received a 15-year federal prison sentence in 2009 and was released on September 19, 2018.