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- #kidnappedelizabethsmart
Netflix just released Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, a new documentary about the 14 year old girl who was snatched away from her bedroom in the middle of the night and subjected to 9 months of constant torture at the hands of a crazed maniac.
What are your thoughts on this case? Let's discuss in the comments.
Thank you guys for watching, hope to see you next time!
#solved #unsolved
#KidnappedElizabethSmart
#KidnappedElizabethSmart2026
#KidnappedElizabethSmartfullmovie
What are your thoughts on this case? Let's discuss in the comments.
Thank you guys for watching, hope to see you next time!
#solved #unsolved
#KidnappedElizabethSmart
#KidnappedElizabethSmart2026
#KidnappedElizabethSmartfullmovie
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Elizabeth Smart's disappearance and rescue has been a widely discussed case for years.
00:05In fact, it was one of the first ever cases that I dove into as a true crime researcher.
00:11Elizabeth Smart is one of the most incredible women and someone that I've looked up to for
00:15a very long time.
00:17In fact, I do have her memoir and I read it a few years back.
00:21It's a little bit beat up, but it just goes to show how well loved this book is and I
00:25do highly recommend reading it if you're interested in her case.
00:30Recently, though, Netflix came out with a documentary covering her story and, of course, I knew
00:34I had to watch it right away.
00:37Overall, I'm happy with how they covered her case, especially because Elizabeth and her
00:41family are very much involved in the storytelling.
00:44They do a great job of unraveling the case and how it played out in front of the media
00:49and for Elizabeth herself.
00:51They also revealed tidbits of information that I hadn't known before.
00:55But, of course, it's an hour and a half documentary about a case that happened over the course
00:59of several years and they have to add flair and dramatics, whereas I can just tell you
01:05the facts as we go through the case.
01:07So, there was a lot left out in the documentary.
01:10Today, I will be going over the documentary as a whole, telling you the bombshell information
01:15that was revealed and giving you some of the details they left out in the documentary.
01:20With that being said, this is going to be a long one, so let's just jump right into it.
01:25The case starts on June 5, 2002, when 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was found to be missing from
01:31her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah.
01:35Officers received the call alerting them to the missing teenager at around 4 a.m.
01:40According to Police Captain Corey Lyman, they felt a good bit of urgency with this case,
01:45given how rare a child abduction like this was.
01:48A 14-year-old girl taken right out of her bedroom in the middle of the night, according
01:53to Elizabeth's parents, Lois and Ed Smart, they all went to bed that night, only to wake
01:58up to find that Elizabeth was gone.
02:01From what officers knew initially, Elizabeth came from a good family.
02:05Ed worked as a successful real estate and mortgage broker, which allowed the family to live in
02:10the affluent, ritzy neighborhood of Federal Heights, an area that was known to be safe and
02:16free of crime.
02:16The family was involved in the Mormon church.
02:19Elizabeth did well in school, played instruments, especially the harp, and had lots of friends.
02:24By all accounts, they seemed like your typical family.
02:28When police arrived to the home, they noticed that the window in Elizabeth's bedroom was open.
02:34The screen had been cut, and there was a chair pushed against the wall outside that window,
02:39which indicated that someone stepped up on the chair to boost themselves up and climb
02:44through that window.
02:45Right away, police assembled a team and set up a command station to start searching for
02:50Elizabeth.
02:51They went to the media, asking the public to be on the lookout for Elizabeth.
02:56They went to her school, spoke with friends, peers, and teachers, all who confirmed that
03:01Elizabeth was your typical 14-year-old girl.
03:04It's not like she could have just run off with a boy and went and hid somewhere or went on
03:09this crazy road trip to be rebellious.
03:12She was this sweet, innocent, religious girl who lived a quiet life with her family.
03:19Everyone in the neighborhood actually knew the smart family and knew them as a close-knit,
03:23loving family.
03:25Elizabeth was one of six children.
03:27She had four older brothers, making her the first of their two daughters.
03:32They were devout Mormons, active in their community, and always known to be nothing but generous
03:37and kind.
03:38That is why the community absolutely banded together to help in the searches for the missing
03:4314-year-old girl.
03:45Hundreds came out, boots on the ground, to go out and scour the terrain searching.
03:49Every media outlet was covering her case, the news of her disappearance spreading like wildfire.
03:57Ed went to the media, begging for her safe return and thanking the community for their help
04:02in searching for his sweet daughter.
04:04You know, if you can hear me, Elizabeth is the sweetest girl.
04:10She's, she's an angel.
04:14And I, I hope that there's no reason to take her.
04:20I just, I can't imagine why you took her to begin with.
04:24I, I want to thank everyone who has helped in the, in this search.
04:29I'm just so grateful.
04:31And my wife, she would be here, but she just, she's having a very hard time with it.
04:37And I would just appreciate it if you have got her to please let her go.
04:42Please.
04:42I mean, she doesn't do anything to anyone, and there's no reason that you should have her.
04:53Please let her go.
04:55Please.
04:57As the police and community started their desperate searches,
05:00Lois, Ed, and Elizabeth's siblings were all taken in for interviews.
05:05Quickly, they learned that Elizabeth's younger sister, Mary Catherine,
05:09was going to be the key to figuring out what happened to her because the two of them actually
05:14shared a room.
05:15So she was present when Elizabeth was taken.
05:19They brought her into a quiet room with a forensic investigator who, as gently as he could,
05:25got her to tell them exactly what she remembered about that night.
05:28She was just nine years old at the time, and she reported that it was around 2 a.m.
05:34when she awoke to a man in her room who said,
05:38Be quiet.
05:39If you scream, I will shoot you.
05:41If you don't, I won't.
05:43She said that she tried sneaking out to go get her parents, but as she did so,
05:48she saw that Elizabeth and the man were just outside her brother's bedroom,
05:53so she ran back to her bed and laid there for another two hours,
05:57just frozen in fear because, obviously, she didn't want to be seen by the man.
06:02So she laid there, frozen in fear, for two hours until around 4 a.m.
06:08when she willed herself to get back up and go alert her parents to let them know what happened.
06:14When giving this interview, she told them that the voice sounded familiar,
06:18but she couldn't say whose voice it was or where she had heard it,
06:23but that she had heard the voice before.
06:26In the documentary, officers said that this statement is what made them start looking at the family.
06:33Yes, the family seems like your typical loving family from the outside,
06:38but statistically, when children go missing like this,
06:41someone the child knows is responsible.
06:45It's typically someone within the family.
06:47This is something that hasn't been very widely talked about in reporting on this case.
06:52If you were to look up this case, you know,
06:54the family's possible involvement has not really been discussed in media reporting,
06:59so it was interesting to learn when watching the documentary.
07:03They said that when interviewing the family,
07:05Ed said that the home's security system had actually been left off that night for some reason.
07:12We don't know exactly why it's been left off or if that was common practice for them,
07:16but for whatever reason, on that night in particular,
07:20the security system in their home had been left off.
07:24That obviously was very suspicious to investigators.
07:28They also noticed that the area where the chair had been pushed up against the bedroom window,
07:34there was no scuff marks around.
07:36It was very clean.
07:37If someone truly used the chair to prop themselves up and cut the screen,
07:43there would be some sort of marks, some sort of mess made when they, you know,
07:47opened the window and climbed through and then climbed back out and used the chair
07:52and had to balance on the chair to climb through and do all that,
07:55especially when Elizabeth was coming out.
07:57Maybe she was fighting.
07:58There would have been some sort of scuff marks happening.
08:01That got officers thinking that maybe the scene was actually staged
08:06and that the chair was pushed up against the window and the screen was cut after the fact.
08:12This prompted further searches of the home.
08:15They ended up removing 12 computers from the home.
08:17They also brought in JJ the bloodhound who picked up Elizabeth's scent inside the home,
08:22then out through the backyard, up onto a path into the woods before JJ abruptly lost the scent.
08:30This led investigators to believe that she was taken away in a vehicle.
08:35Then, as time went on and reporting continued,
08:39the public grew increasingly skeptical of the family.
08:42They pointed out that whoever took Elizabeth would have to be someone familiar with the home's layout
08:49who knew exactly where Elizabeth's room was.
08:52Then, when Ed would go out in front of the media for interviews,
08:55the public started paying more attention to how he was acting or performing for the cameras.
09:01People pointed out that there weren't tears in his eyes when he cried on TV.
09:07He just didn't seem sad enough for people.
09:09People just started picking apart how he was behaving,
09:13accusing him of killing his own daughter,
09:16bringing her in the woods, taking her away, and burying her somewhere.
09:21Then, when Ed passed a polygraph test,
09:25police started looking at Ed's three brothers,
09:28aka Elizabeth's uncles.
09:31One brother in particular, Tom, was sort of known for getting into some trouble,
09:35and he acted a bit jittery in the media,
09:37and most suspicious of all.
09:39His polygraph test came back inconclusive.
09:43Again, this really made people suspect Tom,
09:47and the more people pressed him for answers,
09:50the more nervous he got,
09:52the more he spiraled.
09:55Of course, this just continued making things worse and worse for the family,
10:00when in reality,
10:02Tom was just stressed as hell,
10:04sleep-deprived,
10:05not very well spoken at all.
10:08And yeah, he was extremely nervous,
10:10because anyone being suspected of something like this,
10:13whether guilty or not,
10:15will be nervous,
10:16especially when there are no answers.
10:20As the media continued reporting on the family's possible involvement,
10:24as police continued looking into them,
10:26the searches started to die down because people no longer wanted to help the family.
10:32Of course, if the community started to suspect that the family was involved,
10:36why would they want to help them?
10:38So without the searches, without community involvement,
10:42the leads in the case also started to die down.
10:45But then, after a few weeks of looking into the family,
10:48reviewing the evidence collected from the home,
10:51they were all cleared.
10:52They either all had alibis,
10:54or there was just no evidence found that connected them to her disappearance in any way.
11:00Of course, being cleared of all of this was a relief to the family.
11:04Now, of course, they knew themselves that none of them had anything to do with it,
11:08but now that police efforts weren't being put into looking at them,
11:11and could be put elsewhere,
11:13where they were relieved by that.
11:16But they also knew that this just brought them back to square one.
11:21At this point, police worked with the family to compile a list of everyone
11:25who had entered the home in the weeks before Elizabeth's disappearance.
11:29They had multiple people in and out for different reasons.
11:33Contractors working on the place,
11:34doing work around different areas of the home,
11:37people who may have known the layout,
11:39and who Mary Catherine may have heard talking enough to have recognized their voice,
11:43but not to know exactly who the voice belonged to.
11:48This led them to a man named Richard Recy.
11:52He was a contractor who was recommended to Ed by the church,
11:55who had worked on their home in the weeks before Elizabeth's disappearance.
11:59Turns out, though,
12:01he and Ed had gotten into an argument about wages,
12:04and he was a violent convicted felon.
12:08Everything lined up,
12:10and investigators really started to believe that Richard was their guy.
12:15But one issue was that Mary Catherine was adamant
12:19that Richard was not the man in her room that night.
12:23She had met him multiple times when he worked on their home,
12:27and she knew for a fact that he was not there that night.
12:32Of course, though,
12:33she was just nine years old when that happened.
12:35She also had no idea that he was a felon.
12:38No one in the family knew that he was a felon.
12:40They all thought that he was this nice guy.
12:42They had no idea of his criminal past.
12:45Of course,
12:46you're not really going to ask questions
12:47when someone's recommended to you by your church.
12:50Plus, given the fact that it was the middle of the night when this happened,
12:54Mary Catherine was terrified,
12:57it was still possible that she was misremembering everything.
13:01For the time being,
13:02police did hold Richard Recy in jail and continued questioning him.
13:08But then, a few weeks later,
13:10he actually died of an aneurysm in his jail cell.
13:14By that point,
13:16Elizabeth had been missing for seven weeks.
13:18Police weren't 100% certain that Richard was responsible,
13:23but they felt that he was hiding something,
13:26and they had a lot of unanswered questions.
13:30Now, though,
13:31whatever questions they wanted to ask,
13:34whatever Richard was hiding,
13:36it all died with Richard.
13:38If he was responsible,
13:41it really started to feel like there was a real possibility
13:44that Elizabeth may never come home.
13:47The next part of the documentary acts as sort of a turning point in the story.
13:51It starts going back and forth between what was happening
13:53while Elizabeth was being held captive
13:55and what was happening in the investigation.
13:58After reviewing the court documents,
14:01articles, and transcripts from a trial that would ultimately take place,
14:04I'm going to review what they discussed in the documentary,
14:07as well as adding details that were left out.
14:10In the early morning hours of June 5th, 2002,
14:15Elizabeth describes that she was awoken by a man
14:17who was holding a cold knife to her throat.
14:20He told her that he had a knife to get up and to come with him.
14:25She was obviously terrified,
14:27hoping that her parents would wake up and come save her,
14:30but nobody did.
14:31She followed him out of her bedroom window and through her backyard.
14:34That was just the start of a long, arduous hike.
14:38He took her up on the mountains and through the woods
14:40until four miles later when they eventually made it to a tent.
14:45When they got to the tent,
14:47the man yelled out a name, Hepzibol,
14:49and out came this woman dressed in a white robe and headdress.
14:54She went to Elizabeth and gave her a hug
14:56before bringing her into the tent.
14:59She washed her feet and started to try to change her,
15:02and Elizabeth tried to resist, but she threatened her.
15:06So she eventually gave in.
15:09Hepzibol gave her a white robe and a headdress to put on.
15:12She then burned the clothes that Elizabeth was wearing.
15:16Once Elizabeth was dressed in the proper white attire,
15:20the man who introduced himself as Emmanuel David Isaiah
15:24declared that Elizabeth was his wife.
15:28Elizabeth tried to fight back,
15:30but he just told her that if she tried to yell or scream,
15:33that he would kill her.
15:35He then raped her to consummate their marriage.
15:40After that, after he ripped away her innocence,
15:44leaving her with blood running down her legs,
15:47he left the tent casually,
15:50and she passed out from the immense pain she was in.
15:54From there, she was tied up to a tree with a metal cable
15:58and subjected to torture,
16:00physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
16:04Emmanuel and Hepzibol said that God commanded them
16:07to steal seven little girls,
16:09all who would be his wives.
16:11She was just the first.
16:13Emmanuel said that he was a Davidian king
16:16who would emerge in seven years,
16:18be stoned by a mob,
16:20lie dead in the streets for three days,
16:22and would then rise up to kill the Antichrist.
16:25But within that time,
16:26he needed all these brides,
16:28within the ages of 10 to 14, of course.
16:30No adults for him.
16:32He also had his own book of scripture
16:35where he wrote that the Holy Spirit
16:37convinced Elizabeth to open her bedroom window for him
16:40and compelled her family
16:42to leave their alarm system off.
16:45He said,
16:45Elizabeth did rise from her bed
16:48and did come forth upon hearing the Lord's command
16:50for she knew in her heart
16:52that to disobey would cause the loss
16:55of great and eternal blessings
16:56for herself and her family.
16:58She was raped every day,
17:00sometimes up to three or four times per day.
17:03He had attached a lock to her ankle,
17:06which was attached to a 10-foot cable,
17:08which was attached to another 15-foot cable
17:11that was tethered between two trees.
17:14At times,
17:15they would go down to a nearby creek
17:17to collect water,
17:18but Emanuel would hold onto her metal cable
17:21and walk her like a dog.
17:23They made her use a bucket to go to the bathroom.
17:26They would sometimes force her to chug beers,
17:28sometimes until she threw up,
17:30just to humiliate her.
17:32She was given drugs to weaken her
17:34and lower her resistance.
17:36She was starved or fed trash.
17:40All this time,
17:41Emanuel would use religion
17:42to excuse how he treated her.
17:45She was his bride,
17:47so he got to have his way with her
17:49whenever he wanted.
17:50When he humiliated her,
17:52he said that she needed to be humbled
17:55before she could be exalted.
17:58All the while,
17:59Hepzibol participated in the torture,
18:01encouraged Emanuel,
18:02or simply stood by
18:04and watched it happen.
18:06For the weeks that followed her kidnapping,
18:09she stayed in that tent
18:11just four miles away from her home.
18:14She knew that people were looking for her.
18:17She even once heard searches
18:19yelling for her name,
18:21though it was very faint
18:22and they never got close to the tent.
18:25She wasn't brave enough to yell out
18:27when she did hear this, though,
18:28because she was absolutely terrified.
18:31Emanuel held a knife up to her
18:33and said that if anyone came close to the tent,
18:36he would kill them and her.
18:39When Emanuel would leave the tent
18:41and come back,
18:42he would even bring back
18:43missing posters of Elizabeth
18:44and show them to her.
18:47She knew that people were desperately
18:49trying to find her.
18:51She knew that her family
18:52was looking for her.
18:54But he would say things like,
18:56everyone is looking for you,
18:57but they will never find you
18:59because I have you.
19:01Even with all of this,
19:03Elizabeth tried fighting back.
19:05She refused to be brainwashed,
19:08refused to just lie down
19:09and accept what was happening to her.
19:12But every time she tried,
19:14he threatened to kill her.
19:16This went on for months
19:17and months and months,
19:19living with constant daily torture
19:21and pain,
19:22all while holding on to the hope
19:24that her family was looking for her,
19:26that one day they would finally find her.
19:29All the while her family was looking,
19:32the investigation was ongoing.
19:34By October of 2022,
19:37as Mary Catherine described it
19:38in the documentary,
19:39she was looking through
19:41the Guinness Book of World Records
19:42when she came to the sudden realization.
19:45She knew who took Elizabeth.
19:47She told her parents
19:49who took her into the police station
19:50for another interview.
19:52There, she told officers
19:54that Emmanuel took her sister.
19:56She said that the previous year,
19:59she, Elizabeth, and Lois
20:01were on State Street
20:02when they met this man
20:03who was preaching religion
20:05on the street.
20:06He looked kind of homeless
20:08and in need of a helping hand,
20:10so Lois gave him Ed's card
20:13saying that he was looking
20:14for a contractor
20:15to help out around the house.
20:17Emmanuel did eventually reach out,
20:20went to the home,
20:21and did some work on their roof.
20:24Now, investigators
20:25weren't totally convinced at first.
20:28He was only at the house
20:29for a few hours
20:30and didn't even come back
20:32to collect his payment.
20:34He also wasn't initially
20:36on their suspect list.
20:37He wasn't listed as people
20:39that had visited their house
20:40in the weeks prior,
20:42as we discussed earlier
20:43when they made that list.
20:44They also didn't understand
20:46how, months later,
20:48Mary Catherine just suddenly
20:50remembered this man's voice
20:52out of nowhere.
20:53But, with no other leads
20:55to go off of,
20:57Mary Catherine worked
20:58with a sketch artist
20:58to create a sketch
21:00of what this person
21:01may look like.
21:02For the time being,
21:03they didn't release it, though,
21:05because they were afraid
21:06that the perpetrator
21:06may be spooked off
21:08if they saw their sketch.
21:10So, investigators kept the sketch,
21:12hoping to someday
21:13identify the man themselves.
21:16By that November,
21:17Elizabeth had been held captive
21:18for five long months.
21:21Throughout that time,
21:23she never once left that camp.
21:25Only Emmanuel got to leave.
21:27But eventually,
21:28Hepzibol started to get fed up
21:30that she was stuck
21:31at the camp with Elizabeth
21:32while Emmanuel got to leave.
21:34Neither of them
21:35really got to eat much
21:36while Emmanuel got to go out
21:38and eat whatever he wanted.
21:40So, by that point,
21:41Emmanuel dressed both
21:42Elizabeth and Hepzibol up
21:44in white robes
21:45and headdresses
21:45and walked all the way down
21:47to Salt Lake City.
21:49This first time
21:50they ever went out in public,
21:51I believe they were
21:51in a public library
21:53in Salt Lake City,
21:54they were actually approached
21:55by an officer
21:56who asked to see
21:58Elizabeth's face.
22:00Emmanuel said no,
22:01that it went against
22:02his religion
22:03and that the only people
22:04allowed to see her face
22:06were her father,
22:07who he said was him
22:08and her future husband.
22:10At the time,
22:11they were sitting
22:12and Hepzibol gripped
22:13her leg tightly
22:14under the table
22:15as a warning
22:16not to make a peep.
22:18Of course,
22:19from the outside looking in,
22:21we can wonder
22:22why Elizabeth
22:23might not have said anything.
22:24That was her opportunity.
22:26Obviously,
22:27if a police officer
22:28is there,
22:29she was going to be safe.
22:31But we also have to remember
22:32she was 14.
22:33She was horrifically abused
22:35every single day,
22:37multiple times per day
22:38for five months straight.
22:41This was her first time
22:42seeing the outside world
22:44since her abduction.
22:46No one,
22:46except her,
22:47can get inside her head
22:49to understand
22:49what she was thinking.
22:51So Elizabeth
22:52followed her warning.
22:54She didn't make a peep
22:55and eventually,
22:56the officer left them alone.
22:58As soon as the officer left,
23:00they left Salt Lake City,
23:02hopped on a bus,
23:03and headed to San Diego.
23:04They spent the following months
23:07moving between campsites
23:08and homeless shelters.
23:10Months continued passing
23:11with no sign of Elizabeth
23:13from family members.
23:15They spent their first Christmas
23:16without her,
23:17which is just so hard to imagine
23:20how devastating
23:21that must have felt.
23:22As they made their way
23:23into the next year
23:24without any new leads,
23:25by February of 2003,
23:27officers finally felt
23:29that they needed to do something
23:30to revamp interest
23:32in this case.
23:33So they finally released
23:35that sketch of Emmanuel
23:36and when they did,
23:38tips started just pouring in.
23:42There was a man who called in
23:44saying that the sketch
23:45looked like his brother-in-law
23:46and another man called in
23:47saying that he thought
23:48it looked like his stepfather.
23:50The brother-in-law said
23:52that he had this campsite
23:53up in the mountains
23:54but would never tell anyone
23:55where it was,
23:56meaning his brother-in-law.
23:58He was confident
24:00that if his brother took Elizabeth,
24:01there was a good chance
24:03she was still alive.
24:05They had him send over
24:06a picture to them
24:07of his brother-in-law
24:08and sure enough,
24:09he looked just like the sketch.
24:12And when Ed looked at the picture,
24:14he knew without a doubt
24:15that this was Emmanuel.
24:18From there,
24:19Emmanuel was officially identified
24:22as Brian David Mitchell.
24:25From there,
24:26they then found that
24:27Brian David Mitchell
24:28had a record of stealing beer
24:30from a local Albertson store
24:31just a few weeks prior,
24:34so sometime after
24:35Elizabeth had been taken.
24:38When he was caught at the store,
24:39they took a photo of him,
24:41which showed him
24:41with this full beard
24:43wearing his white robe getup.
24:45Police then used the photo
24:46of him clean-shaven
24:47along with the more recent
24:49photo of him
24:49to make a flyer
24:50and released it to the public.
24:52After releasing the flyer,
24:54the tips just started pouring in
24:56of people who saw him
24:58and two other women
24:59all over Salt Lake City.
25:02Someone reported
25:02seeing this man
25:03with two women
25:04wearing all white
25:05with veils
25:06at a soup restaurant.
25:07Another person reported
25:08seeing the same man
25:09with those two same women
25:11at a house party.
25:13These sightings
25:13were all from October
25:15or earlier,
25:16which wasn't great,
25:17but it definitely
25:18gave them some hope.
25:20As those tips
25:22were pouring in,
25:23investigators also went ahead
25:24and started digging more
25:25into Brian's past
25:26to find out more
25:27about who he was.
25:29Now, the documentary
25:30did dive a little bit
25:31into Brian Mitchell's past,
25:33but not too much,
25:34so the information
25:34I'm about to give you now
25:36is mostly from my own research.
25:38Now, Brian David Mitchell
25:40was raised in the Mormon church,
25:42though it was said
25:43that he had a very
25:44unstable childhood.
25:46He was apparently influenced
25:47by his own father's
25:49eccentric religious beliefs,
25:51and from the time
25:51he was a child,
25:52he started acting out.
25:54When he was 15,
25:56he was arrested
25:56and taken into juvie
25:58for being cruel
25:59and sadistic
26:00towards his mother
26:01and five siblings.
26:03At the time, though,
26:04no sign of serious
26:05mental illness
26:06was noted.
26:07By the age of 16,
26:08he dropped out
26:09of high school
26:10and got his girlfriend
26:11pregnant.
26:12He and the girlfriend
26:13went on to get married
26:14and have two children,
26:16though he didn't
26:17stick around for long.
26:18He left his wife
26:19in 1977,
26:21though he took
26:22his kids with him
26:23and lived in a group
26:24home in Virginia
26:25while he dabbled
26:26in drugs.
26:28Years later,
26:29he then placed
26:29his kids in foster care
26:31and returned
26:32to Salt Lake City.
26:33There, he met
26:34and married a woman
26:34named Debbie
26:35through the Mormon church.
26:37However,
26:37it was said that
26:38Brian was abusive.
26:40Debbie had two children
26:41from a previous marriage,
26:43and by 1985,
26:44she filed for divorce
26:46after accusing Brian
26:47of sexually abusing
26:48her two children.
26:49That same year,
26:51in November of 1985,
26:53he married a woman
26:53named Wanda Barzee,
26:55his wife at the time
26:56of Elizabeth's kidnapping.
26:58She, too,
26:59was a member
26:59of the LDS church,
27:00and it was said
27:01that she had
27:02an unstable upbringing.
27:03She struggled
27:04with mental health
27:05all throughout her life,
27:06and when she met Brian,
27:07she was actually married,
27:09but left him
27:10and her six children
27:11to be with Brian.
27:12Once married,
27:13the two lived
27:14a very transient lifestyle,
27:16working odd jobs
27:17and moving between shelters
27:18and outdoor camps.
27:20Over the years,
27:21he became increasingly consumed
27:22with his religious delusions.
27:24He would walk around the streets
27:26spouting off stories
27:27of apocalyptic end times,
27:29calling himself a prophet
27:30who speaks directly to God.
27:33He left the Mormon church,
27:34grew a beard,
27:35and became obsessed
27:36with living off the grid
27:37and having multiple wives.
27:40At first,
27:40he tried proposing
27:41to other women,
27:43but it seemed that
27:44no really other consenting women
27:46were interested
27:47in plural marriage
27:48with him.
27:49By 2002,
27:50as we heard from before,
27:52he would walk the streets
27:53reciting gospel,
27:54and that is how
27:55he ran into the smarts
27:56and took on
27:57that roofing job.
27:59That also brings us back
28:00to how and why
28:01he took Elizabeth.
28:02Again,
28:03he said that God
28:04spoke to him,
28:05telling him that
28:05he needs to have
28:06multiple wives,
28:07that he needs to take
28:09a little girl
28:09to marry him,
28:10because I guess
28:11a consenting adult
28:12isn't enough.
28:13And again,
28:15when he would
28:16rape Elizabeth,
28:16abuse her in any way,
28:18he would tell her
28:19that he didn't want
28:19to do it,
28:20that he had to do it.
28:22It was God's will.
28:23So now going back
28:24to what life was like
28:25while being held captive
28:26by Brian.
28:27That same month
28:28in February of 2003,
28:30Brian started telling
28:31Elizabeth that he had
28:32plans to bring them
28:33to another big city
28:34like Boston
28:35or New York.
28:36But in that moment,
28:38she knew that
28:39if he brought her
28:40to such a populated area
28:41so far away
28:43that she likely
28:44would never be found.
28:46And the way
28:47she describes it
28:48in this documentary
28:49is just incredible.
28:51To think that
28:52this 14-year-old girl,
28:53now 15-year-old girl,
28:55held captive
28:56for over eight months
28:57at that point,
28:58abused every single day,
29:00starved,
29:01forced to take drugs,
29:02can just think like this
29:03on her feet,
29:04it's just incredible.
29:06She basically used
29:08his own nonsense
29:09against him.
29:10Elizabeth told Brian
29:12that she knows
29:13God wouldn't speak
29:14with her,
29:16but she just had
29:17a feeling
29:17that God would want
29:19them to go back
29:20to Salt Lake City,
29:21that if he were
29:23to ask God,
29:24that he would tell
29:25him such,
29:26because he is the prophet,
29:28because he is the one
29:30that speaks to God.
29:31And this worked.
29:33Brian agreed
29:34that God must now
29:35finally be starting
29:36to work with her.
29:38She has accepted
29:39God's will,
29:40finally,
29:41and yes,
29:42God wanted them
29:43to return to Salt Lake City
29:44where they belong.
29:47From there,
29:48the three of them
29:48hopped from bus to bus
29:50and made their way
29:51through California
29:52and Nevada
29:52until they made it
29:53to Sandy, Utah.
29:56There,
29:56Elizabeth was told
29:57that she would go
29:58back up into the mountains
29:59so that no one
30:00would find them.
30:02It was March 12,
30:032003,
30:04when Brian,
30:05Wanda,
30:05and Elizabeth
30:06were walking down
30:07the street
30:07in Sandy,
30:08Utah,
30:09wearing their disguises
30:10when patrol cars
30:12started pulling up
30:13besides them.
30:14According to officers,
30:15they'd received a call
30:16from someone
30:16who said that
30:17they may have seen
30:18Brian David Mitchell
30:19alongside two
30:20strange-looking females.
30:22By that point,
30:24officers weren't
30:25expecting much.
30:26They had been getting
30:26tons of calls
30:27at that point,
30:29none of which
30:29had obviously
30:30panned out.
30:31But when they
30:33approached the trio
30:34and asked for
30:34identification,
30:36none of them
30:36would give it up.
30:37They all said
30:38that they were
30:39messengers
30:39from God.
30:41It was obvious
30:42to officers,
30:43though,
30:44that the youngest
30:44of the three of them
30:45was wearing
30:46a terrible disguise.
30:48she was wearing
30:49an obvious wig.
30:51They said that
30:52she was also
30:52acting very nervous
30:54and none of the
30:55answers she gave
30:56to their questions
30:57made any sense.
30:59So officers
31:00separated the group
31:01and questioned
31:02them individually.
31:04At that point,
31:05Elizabeth describes
31:06that she was
31:07still terrified.
31:09Even though
31:09she was separated
31:10from her captors,
31:11they were just
31:1210 feet away.
31:14But according
31:15to officers,
31:16even though
31:16she was wearing
31:17that terrible wig,
31:18she was also
31:19wearing sunglasses,
31:21they could just
31:21tell by her smile
31:23and specifically
31:24her teeth
31:25that it was her.
31:26It was a smile
31:27that they had seen
31:28a million times
31:29over those nine months.
31:31A smile they had
31:32grown very familiar
31:33with.
31:34So,
31:35they quietly
31:36begged her.
31:38They asked her,
31:39please tell them
31:40if she is Elizabeth.
31:42And she said,
31:43thou sayeth.
31:44To them,
31:45that was confirmation
31:46enough that she
31:47was Elizabeth Smart
31:48who had been
31:49snatched away
31:50from her home
31:51nine months ago.
31:53They immediately
31:54ushered her
31:54to the back
31:55of the police car
31:56and called her parents.
31:58And I'm sure
31:58that moment
31:59for Elizabeth
31:59and her parents
32:00was just indescribable.
32:03Elizabeth started
32:04crying,
32:04probably tears
32:05of relief
32:06in the back
32:07of that police car
32:08while her parents
32:09probably just felt
32:10this massive weight
32:11lifted off their shoulders
32:13the second
32:13they got the call
32:14about possibly
32:15finding Elizabeth.
32:17They immediately
32:18got in their car
32:19and met with officers
32:20to finally reunite
32:21with their baby girl.
32:22When Ed got
32:23to the police station
32:24and saw
32:25now 15-year-old
32:26Elizabeth,
32:27Ed describes
32:27that his brain
32:28almost couldn't
32:29comprehend
32:29what he saw
32:30in front of him.
32:32She was not
32:32the innocent
32:33little girl
32:33he saw
32:34nine months prior.
32:36She has been
32:37through a hell of a lot
32:38and she was different now.
32:40For Elizabeth,
32:41she didn't know
32:42what to expect either.
32:43She said that she spent
32:44so many months
32:45of her captivity
32:46wondering what her family
32:48would think.
32:50Would she get in trouble?
32:51Would they still want her back
32:53if they knew
32:53what happened to her?
32:55Would they still love her
32:56if she came home?
32:59But once the two of them
33:00finally got to embrace,
33:02finally got to hold
33:03one another,
33:04they both just melted
33:05and realized that
33:06everything was going
33:08to be okay.
33:09From there,
33:09Elizabeth was reunited
33:11with everyone.
33:12Her brothers,
33:13sisters,
33:13her mother,
33:14aunts,
33:14uncles,
33:15everyone was elated
33:17to see her,
33:18just shocked
33:18and relieved.
33:20It was over.
33:21Elizabeth was home.
33:24But of course,
33:25even though Elizabeth
33:26came home,
33:27it wasn't actually over.
33:28There was still
33:29a long uphill battle
33:31in front of them
33:32that was just beginning.
33:34Of course,
33:35both Brian Mitchell
33:36and Wanda Barzee
33:38were arrested
33:38and charged
33:39with kidnapping
33:40and numerous counts
33:41of sexual assault
33:42related crimes.
33:43But according
33:44to those arresting officers,
33:46Brian was one
33:47of the most bizarre
33:48and frustrating
33:49individuals to work with.
33:51As soon as they got him
33:52in those interview rooms,
33:54he just spouted off
33:55his religious nonsense.
33:57Anytime he got close
33:58to admitting
33:58to what he did,
34:00he would instead say
34:01that he was just doing
34:02what God sent him to do.
34:04He would start yelling
34:05at the officers
34:06and calling them Satan.
34:07Well, let's just
34:09cover the basics,
34:10okay?
34:10Okay.
34:11Did you take
34:12Shirar Jeshu?
34:15Is that her name?
34:15Shir Jashu?
34:16Esther Isaiah
34:17is her name.
34:18Shir Jashu?
34:19Esther Isaiah.
34:20I'm sorry, Emmanuel.
34:21I just can't pronounce that.
34:22I'm just going to call her
34:23Elizabeth, okay?
34:24Shir Jashu?
34:26Esther Isaiah.
34:27Esther?
34:28Esther.
34:29I'll call her Esther.
34:30Okay.
34:30Did you take Esther
34:30out of her house?
34:31Okay.
34:31The Lord God
34:39delivered her to us.
34:40And how did the Lord God
34:41deliver her to you?
34:43Was that on the street
34:44somewhere?
34:46Was it at the shelter?
34:47Did the Lord God
34:48sneak into her bedroom
34:49and take her out of her room
34:50in the middle of the night
34:50and deliver her to you?
34:52I mean, this is,
34:54I understand, you know,
34:56you're trying to,
34:57this isn't making much sense
34:59to the two of us.
35:00So what I was hoping
35:01is maybe you could explain it
35:02in a way that we can
35:03understand it.
35:04Well, you want answers
35:06that you can use against me.
35:07You know you do.
35:08Well, not only that,
35:09but understand this.
35:10And you say you want
35:11to know the truth.
35:12I mean, the truth we do.
35:13Okay?
35:14But the truth
35:15will set you free.
35:16It will set all men free.
35:19Let me just say...
35:19And when Jesus Christ
35:21was questioned,
35:22his answers didn't
35:23please them either.
35:24And we're angry with him.
35:26It's taking time
35:27to listen to God.
35:28And let him speak.
35:29If you're trying to
35:30debate, the question
35:31is what it is.
35:32It's the Lord God
35:33is giving the Lord
35:34time to tie her up
35:36to the campsite.
35:36It's giving the Lord
35:37God Almighty time
35:38to speak to us,
35:40to take, to pause
35:41and let him speak.
35:42Did the Lord tell you
35:44to tie her up
35:44on the campsite?
35:44The whole world,
35:45the whole world
35:46is in the bonds
35:47and chains
35:48of idolatry
35:49and great wickedness.
35:50This is the reality.
35:51And because of that,
35:52great destruction...
35:53The reality of it is
35:54is that for the past nine months...
35:55The reality of it is...
35:56Great destructions
35:57are coming on the earth.
35:59Yeah.
35:59You know,
35:59this is obviously
36:00word salad defense mechanism
36:02that you throw up
36:03whenever the questions
36:04get really, really tough.
36:06Okay?
36:07You just start wandering on
36:08about the scriptures
36:09and stuff.
36:09But it's obvious to me
36:10you talk about tactics
36:11and interrogation.
36:13When the questions
36:14get too tough
36:15and uncomfortable,
36:15you just start wandering off.
36:17I've never wandered.
36:18I've stuck right straight.
36:20Straight as the gate.
36:21You take Elizabeth Smart
36:21out of her house
36:22at nine point.
36:23Yes or no?
36:23Straight as the gate
36:24and there was the way
36:25and I have stayed
36:25on that straight and narrow path.
36:27And you talk about wandering.
36:28You guys are wandering
36:29all over the place.
36:30Trying everything and anything
36:32to get me
36:34to say something false.
36:37To say something false.
36:40And I will only speak the truth.
36:42All right.
36:43Only speak the truth.
36:44You take Elizabeth Smart
36:45out of her house
36:46at nine point.
36:46Your accusations are false?
36:49Then you did not.
36:50And you are denying
36:51Elizabeth Smart
36:52out of her house.
36:52In the teachings of Unibley,
36:54who's a great scholar
36:55in the church,
36:55he says that Satan
36:56will always accuse
36:58with the truth.
36:58You know what I think?
36:59I think you're getting
37:00awfully uncomfortable now
37:01because you keep talking
37:02over the top of this.
37:03This is getting a little
37:04too intense for you,
37:05isn't it, Emmanuel?
37:06I think we just have to get
37:08to the core of the problem here.
37:10And the core of the problem
37:11is Isaiah.
37:13Imprisoning?
37:14No.
37:14Listen to me.
37:15Okay.
37:15We're getting to the real
37:16core of the problem
37:17is you.
37:19And the real core is
37:21you are not a prophet
37:22and you are not
37:24a servant of Jesus Christ.
37:26You are indeed
37:27Brian David Mitchell.
37:29and you have done
37:30a really terrible,
37:32terrible thing
37:33that you need to get to.
37:36You have done
37:36something awful.
37:37I'll tell you,
37:38the both of you,
37:40you talk about shame.
37:41The great shame
37:42that will be upon you both
37:43for talking this way
37:47to the Lord's servant.
37:48You are not the Lord's servant.
37:50You are not the Lord's servant.
37:53You are not the Lord's servant.
37:54I tell you that.
37:54And I don't feel shameful
37:55in saying it.
37:56I don't feel any shame
37:58in saying you're...
37:58I say you will.
38:00You know what?
38:00You will reap great shame.
38:01You are not the Lord's servant.
38:02If heaven's filled with people like you,
38:04I'd be more comfortable in hell.
38:05Your story's bullshit.
38:06You took that 15-year-old girl
38:08out of her room at knife point,
38:09hiked her up into a canyon,
38:11you raped her,
38:12you kept her tied up
38:13at the campsite,
38:14you traveled around the country
38:15with her for nine months
38:16telling her that her name
38:18was some bullshit,
38:19sheer job,
38:20Esther Isaac crap,
38:22saying that she was your wife
38:23sealed unto God.
38:24And then when you got caught for it,
38:25oh my God,
38:26then all of a sudden
38:27she's been delivered to you
38:28by Christ.
38:29And then they gnashed
38:30their teeth on Christ
38:32in their anger
38:33and their accusation
38:33against the Lord.
38:34They gnashed their teeth on Christ.
38:36You are not
38:37the servant of Jesus.
38:38You're not the servant of Jesus.
38:40You are not.
38:41Jesus' servants
38:42do not take little girls
38:43out of their house
38:44You're a child braver.
38:45and have sex with them.
38:47Let's face it,
38:47you are Brian David Mitchell
38:49and you are a child molester.
38:51A criminal.
38:52A criminal
38:53who has done criminal acts
38:54who cannot pass off his story
38:57by talking about Jesus.
38:59You are a fraud.
39:02The officers didn't buy it though.
39:03They just felt that
39:04he was a sick pedophile
39:06that was making excuses
39:07for what he did
39:09and that this was all
39:10just an act
39:11to get an insanity defense.
39:13Which did work.
39:14The courts ordered
39:15competency examinations
39:16for both Brian and Wanda
39:18and over the course
39:19of the next few years
39:21the case went back and forth
39:22between different psychologists
39:24coming to different conclusions
39:25on whether they were delusional
39:27or just religious zealots.
39:30Throughout those examinations
39:31and various hearings
39:32it was said that Brian
39:34was disruptive,
39:35uncooperative,
39:36and would have random outbursts.
39:38In July of 2005
39:39a final determination
39:41was made that both
39:42Brian Mitchell
39:43and Wanda Barzee
39:44were unfit to stand trial
39:46and so they were confined
39:48to the Utah State Hospital
39:50until the case
39:51was re-examined in 2008.
39:54By that point
39:55the case was transferred
39:56to the U.S. District Court
39:58for the District of Utah.
39:59There, a new evidentiary hearing
40:01was scheduled
40:02for November of 2009.
40:03Just weeks before the hearing though
40:06Wanda Barzee
40:07actually pleaded guilty
40:08to charges of kidnapping
40:10and was eventually sentenced
40:12to 15 years behind bars
40:14in exchange for a plea.
40:17At her hearing
40:18she apologized to Elizabeth
40:19for all the pain
40:21and suffering she caused.
40:23After admitting to her charges
40:25the evidentiary hearing
40:27took place.
40:28There, multiple people
40:30including Elizabeth, Wanda,
40:31and multiple experts
40:33all testified.
40:34In that hearing
40:35Elizabeth described Brian
40:37as quote
40:38smart, articulate, evil,
40:40wicked, manipulative,
40:41sneaky, slimy, selfish,
40:43greedy, not spiritual,
40:45not religious,
40:46not close to God.
40:48Multiple others testified
40:49that he was fully aware
40:50of his actions,
40:51was able to manipulate others,
40:53and had successfully deceived
40:55the courts for many years.
40:58Finally, by March of 2010
41:00Brian Mitchell
41:01was deemed competent
41:03to stand trial
41:04and by November of that year
41:06the trial began
41:07for charges of kidnapping,
41:09sexual assault,
41:10and burglary.
41:11The defense was not arguing
41:13that Brian was innocent.
41:14Instead, they said
41:15that he was legally insane
41:17at the time
41:18so he should be found
41:19not guilty
41:20due to reason of insanity.
41:22At the trial,
41:24of course,
41:24Elizabeth bravely testified
41:26to the horrific sexual abuse
41:28and torture she suffered
41:30at the hands of her captor
41:31for those nine grueling months.
41:34She was terrified,
41:36made to believe
41:36that she would be killed
41:37at any moment.
41:40Then, as a part of a plea deal,
41:42again,
41:42Wanda also testified at trial.
41:44She detailed
41:45what Brian did to Elizabeth,
41:47how she helped,
41:48saying that she was just
41:49brainwashed
41:50into participating.
41:52In the end,
41:54thankfully,
41:54by December 10, 2010,
41:56the jury rejected
41:58the insanity argument
41:59and they did find
42:01Brian Mitchell guilty.
42:03By May of 2011,
42:05he was sentenced
42:05to life in prison.
42:07At a sentencing hearing,
42:09Elizabeth said,
42:10I know that you know
42:11what you did was wrong.
42:12You took away nine months
42:14of my life
42:14that can never be returned,
42:16but in this life
42:17or the next,
42:18you will have to be held
42:19responsible for those actions
42:21and I hope you are ready
42:22for when that time comes.
42:24I am so
42:25thrilled with the result
42:28that came out today,
42:30the life-sentence
42:31I couldn't be happier.
42:33It's not a huge miracle
42:35in my life
42:35that I can be standing
42:37in front of you
42:37here today.
42:38The question was
42:39after how I felt
42:41addressing Mr. Mitchell.
42:42I was happy
42:49for the opportunity
42:50to say what I felt
42:52that I used to say
42:53and I'm thrilled
42:55it's over.
42:56I told Brian David Mitchell
42:58today, of course,
42:58that whether he
42:59received his
43:01just sentence
43:02here on Earth
43:03or after this Earth life,
43:04that one day
43:05he will have to be
43:06responsible for his actions.
43:08After that,
43:08by 2018,
43:09Wanda was released
43:11from prison,
43:11unfortunately.
43:13This did create
43:13a massive public outcry
43:15but unfortunately,
43:17not much can be done.
43:18I do believe
43:19she did go back
43:19to prison temporarily
43:21for violating her parole
43:23but she was released again.
43:26Thankfully,
43:27Mitchell does remain
43:28in prison
43:28where he belongs
43:29and will hopefully
43:30never see the light
43:31of day ever again.
43:32From the time
43:33that Elizabeth
43:34was found
43:35up until right now
43:37when the Netflix
43:37documentary came out,
43:38she has rebuilt
43:40her life
43:41and has been
43:41a non-stop warrior.
43:43She went on
43:44to graduate college,
43:45get married,
43:46and she became
43:47a mother.
43:48She created
43:49the Elizabeth Smart
43:50Foundation
43:51which, quote,
43:52exists to drive
43:53social change
43:54and the fight
43:55against sexual violence.
43:56Our education programs
43:57adopt a thoughtful,
43:59trauma-informed approach
44:00and include the perspectives
44:01of survivors
44:02and victims.
44:03We envision
44:04a compassionate society
44:05where survivors
44:06are heard,
44:07individuals are empowered,
44:08and sexual violence
44:09is eliminated.
44:10They offer resources
44:11on healing through trauma
44:12and leaving abusive situations.
44:14They offer a self-defense program
44:16which I think
44:17is absolutely badass.
44:19They raise money
44:20through their
44:21survivor support fund
44:22and raise awareness
44:23through education,
44:25advocacy,
44:25and storytelling.
44:27Elizabeth has been
44:28a non-stop force
44:29in raising awareness
44:30for sexual violence
44:31since the moment
44:32she came home
44:33and she has not stopped.
44:35Once again,
44:36by 2013,
44:36she wrote a memoir
44:37called My Story
44:38where she provided
44:39her first-hand account
44:40of survival
44:41and resilience.
44:43Again,
44:43I read this book
44:44and it was years ago.
44:45I might re-read it
44:46after this
44:47but I do highly recommend
44:49you read it as well.
44:51Elizabeth Smart
44:51has always been
44:52a huge inspiration to me.
44:54It's so incredible
44:55that she has managed
44:56to take the worst
44:57kind of tragedy
44:58and turn it into something
44:59that can help
44:59so many people.
45:01Hers is one of the first cases
45:03I've ever done
45:03a deep dive into
45:04so when I saw
45:05this documentary come out
45:06I knew I had to watch it
45:08and I knew I had to cover it.
45:09Overall,
45:10again,
45:10I think it did a good job
45:12of covering the case
45:12from start to finish
45:13though I'm happy
45:14I was able to give you
45:15additional details
45:16that you weren't able
45:17to get from the documentary
45:18alone.
45:20I do recommend you watch it
45:21if you haven't already
45:22because you do get to hear
45:23from Elizabeth herself
45:24and that just adds
45:25such a good perspective
45:27to the case.
45:29But with that,
45:30that is all I have
45:31for today's video
45:32and now I want to know
45:33what you think.
45:34Did you watch the documentary?
45:36If so,
45:37what did you think?
45:38Do you think
45:39it was thorough enough?
45:40And what do you think
45:41of the case itself?
45:42Do you truly think
45:43that Brian David Mitchell
45:44was insane
45:45or was it all just
45:46an excuse
45:47for his sick pedophilia?
45:49In my opinion,
45:50I don't think
45:50he was insane.
45:51I think he knew
45:52exactly what he was doing
45:53and just used his religion
45:54as an excuse.
45:56But I definitely want to know
45:57what you think
45:57at this point.
45:58Let's discuss this
45:59and any other thoughts
46:00you have in the comments below.
46:01If you liked this video,
46:03please make sure
46:03to go ahead
46:03and leave this video
46:04a thumbs up
46:05and subscribe to my channel.
46:06I put out new
46:07true crime and mystery videos
46:08every single week.
46:10Don't forget to
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46:12on any of my future videos.
46:14Make sure to follow me
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46:18All will be linked
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46:19And if you have
46:20any case suggestions,
46:21please make sure
46:22to fill out the Google form
46:23which will also be
46:24linked down below.
46:25With that,
46:26I hope you guys
46:26have an amazing week.
46:28Stay safe,
46:29stay healthy,
46:29and I hope
46:31to see you next time.
46:32Bye!
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