A woman who endured a harrowing nine-month kidnapping ordeal as a teenager has courageously shared her story in a powerful new true crime documentary. Elizabeth Smart, now 38, was just 14 years old when she was violently snatched from her own bed in Salt Lake City, Utah, in June 2002, and subjected to daily sexual assaults by her captor.
The Night of the Abduction
On the night of June 2, 2002, a depraved intruder named Brian David Mitchell scaled a chair placed against the wall of the Smart family home. He cut through a protective window screen to enter the bedroom shared by Elizabeth and her nine-year-old sister, Mary Katherine. Holding Elizabeth at knifepoint, Mitchell threatened to kill Mary Katherine if she screamed for help, forcing the terrified child to watch in paralysed silence as her sister was taken.
Initial Investigation and Familial Connection
When detectives arrived the next morning, they initially believed the case would be solved within 48 hours. Although they questioned Mary Katherine, the young girl was too traumatised to recall significant details immediately. However, she did note that the intruder's voice sounded strangely familiar. Unbeknownst to authorities at the time, Mitchell was known to the family under the alias Emmanuel, a self-proclaimed homeless man who had performed odd jobs at their home for money.
The Captivity and Abuse
After the abduction, Mitchell held Elizabeth captive in a remote camp, where he began raping her, often multiple times a day. His wife, Wanda Barzee, later joined them and witnessed these horrific sexual assaults. The trio even ventured out in public together, with Mitchell forcing Elizabeth and Barzee to cover their faces with veils. In one chilling incident recounted in the documentary, a detective approached them at a library and asked them to remove their coverings, but Elizabeth, abused for months and terrified, remained silent as Mitchell claimed religious reasons for the veils.
The Crucial Breakthrough
Four months after the kidnapping, Mary Katherine realised the intruder's voice belonged to Mitchell. Despite initial scepticism from detectives, who had been pursuing dead leads, authorities eventually investigated Mitchell after her insistence. His family provided photographs, and a police sketch was released, leading to public recognition. Mitchell, who believed he was a prophet in direct contact with God, had taken Elizabeth to San Diego, California, but she cleverly convinced him that God had instructed them to return to Salt Lake City.
The Rescue and Aftermath
Nine months after her abduction, while walking along a road in Salt Lake City, officers recognised Mitchell and rescued Elizabeth. She credits her sister, Mary Katherine, with saving her life through her crucial identification. Mitchell, now 72, was sentenced to life in prison, where he remains. Barzee served half of her 15-year sentence before being released. Elizabeth, now a mother of three and a prominent activist and advocate for missing persons, hopes that sharing her story will help others who have endured similar traumas.
The documentary, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, is currently streaming on Netflix and features previously unseen material, offering a raw and intimate account of this devastating crime and the resilience that followed.
