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The Kidnapping Of Elizabeth Smart — Transcript

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0:00The world is a dangerous place. Despite
0:03civilization becoming more advanced,
0:05more connected, and more evolved, evil
0:08people still walk among us. And
0:10sometimes those evil people target
0:12children. Over 840,000
0:15children are reported missing every
0:18single year in the United States. And
0:20that number continues to rise. And the
0:23people responsible seem to vanish along
0:25with their victims with the children
0:27disappearing [music] without a trace.
0:29and they're taken off streets, snatched
0:32from public spaces, and in the most
0:34terrifying cases, stolen from the safety
0:37of their own homes. This is the story of
0:40Elizabeth Smart. Crime, conspiracy,
0:43cults, serial killers, and murder. All
0:45things that I love to consume, and I
0:47know you do, too. You [music] sick,
0:48twisted, beautiful, intellectually
0:50minded freak. And uh just to make a
0:52note, I don't have my second camera
0:54right now. I'm trying something new.
0:56Okay? gotten more complaints than
0:58compliments on having a second camera.
1:00Some people think it's distracting. Let
1:01me know how you feel down below. We're
1:03just going to have one on camera today.
1:06Okay, but to talk about the case, we are
1:08talking about the case of Elizabeth
1:10Smart. [music] This case does involve a
1:12child. So, if you need to skip this one,
1:13that is totally fine. But this is a very
1:16famous case and for very good reason.
1:19So, if you are sticking around, let's
1:21unbuckle our seat belts, go mukbite down
1:22the highway, slam on the brakes, and
1:24bust through the windshield into the
1:25infamous case of Elizabeth Smart
1:27together.
1:34[music]
1:42I want to take a pause to talk about
1:43when I first started this podcast. I had
1:46no idea what I was doing. I mean, I knew
1:49the cases and how to research and
1:51everything, but I didn't know anything
1:53about the business side, the planning,
1:55the branding, figuring out how to
1:57actually reach people. It was
1:59overwhelming cuz every day there was a
2:01new problem and I didn't really know how
2:03to solve it to be honest. But luckily, I
2:06found Shopify. And if you have got a
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2:30time I'm okay with AI because it's
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2:50shopify.com/ccm.
2:53That's shopify.com/ccm.
2:56Thank you so much to Shopify for
2:58sponsoring this video and supporting the
2:59channel. And let's get back to it. The
3:01Smart family, by all appearances, was
3:03living the American dream. Ed Smart and
3:06his wife Lois had built a life together
3:08in Salt Lake City, Utah, nestled in the
3:10foothills of the Wasuch Mountains. And
3:13they lived in Federal Heights, a quiet,
3:15affluent neighborhood with sweeping
3:17views of the valley below. And their
3:19home was large and comfortable. It had
3:22to be because Ed and Lois had six
3:24children, Charles, Elizabeth, Edward
3:27Jr., Andrew, Mary, Catherine, and
3:29William. And Ed worked as a mortgage
3:32broker and was by all accounts a very
3:34dedicated father. And Lois stayed at
3:36home to raise those six kids full-time.
3:39And the family was deeply rooted in the
3:41Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
3:43Saints, commonly known as the Mormon
3:45Church. And their children were raised
3:47with strong family values and a
3:49close-knit community around them. And
3:51Elizabeth Anne Smart was born on
3:53November 3rd, 1987. And she would be the
3:56second oldest of six children in this
3:59family. and she would attend Bryant
4:01Middle School where she was for the most
4:03part your average middle schooler. But
4:05there was one area where Elizabeth truly
4:08stood out, music, specifically the harp,
4:11which I think arguably that is the most
4:13beautiful instrument you could ever
4:14play. But Elizabeth would practice for
4:17hours every single day. And her
4:19dedication showed and she was talented
4:21enough that by her early teens, she was
4:23asked to perform at local weddings and
4:26funerals. and she even performed
4:28regularly at a field concert held at the
4:30Capitol Retunda in Salt Lake City. Cuz
4:33for Elizabeth, the harp wasn't just a
4:34hobby. It was her greatest passion. But
4:37music wasn't her only talent. Elizabeth
4:40was also a skilled distance runner,
4:42training for cross country once she
4:44reached high school age. And she'd
4:46practice her runs throughout the
4:47neighborhood, building up her endurance,
4:49and somehow still found time to stay
4:51active in church and help look after her
4:53younger siblings. So she was by all
4:55accounts an optimistic kid with a very
4:57bright future ahead of her and her
4:59family was very proud of everything she
5:02had accomplished so far. So [music] on
5:04June 4th, 2002, the Smart family
5:06attended a Bryant Middle School awards
5:08function and Elizabeth was being
5:10recognized for her academic and fitness
5:12accomplishments [music]
5:13and she was supposed to perform on the
5:14harp at that event, but the family
5:16arrived late so she never got the chance
5:18to play. [music] And after the ceremony
5:20wrapped up, the family decided to call
5:22it a night and head home. So, everyone
5:24would go to bed like it was any other
5:26evening. But unfortunately, it wasn't.
5:29It was the very early morning of June
5:315th, 2002, and the smart household was
5:34silent, and everyone was asleep. But in
5:37the bedroom, 14-year-old Elizabeth
5:39shared with her 9-year-old sister, Mary
5:41Catherine, something was wrong. Mary
5:44Catherine woke up to the sound of
5:46footsteps and not the familiar shuffle
5:48of a sibling going to the bathroom.
5:50These were slow, deliberate steps. And
5:53through squinted eyes, pretending to
5:55still be sleeping, she watched as a man
5:58crept across the room toward her
6:00sister's bed. And the man woke Elizabeth
6:03by pressing a knife to her throat. And
6:05his voice was calm but firm, saying,
6:08quote, "I have a knife at your neck.
6:11Don't make a sound. Get up and come with
6:14me." unquote. And Elizabeth,
6:16understanding the severity of the
6:17situation, immediately quietly got up
6:20from her bed and began walking out of
6:21the room with the man. And as they moved
6:24towards the door, Elizabeth stubbed her
6:25toe on a chair and let out a small ow.
6:29And the man responded quickly, saying
6:30quote unquote, "You better be quiet and
6:33I won't hurt you." And Mary Catherine
6:35watched all of this happen through
6:37barely open eyes, just absolutely
6:39[music] petrified, just frozen in place.
6:42She was 9 years old when she didn't know
6:44any better or what to do. And as
6:47Elizabeth was led out of the room, she
6:49tried to make small talk with the man,
6:51asking him, "Why are you [music] doing
6:53this?" And Mary Catherine couldn't hear
6:55his full response, but she thought she
6:57heard him saying something about a
6:58ransom. So Mary Catherine lay still,
7:00assuming they had left the house, and
7:03she would work up the courage to get out
7:04of bed and head towards her parents'
7:06room. But before she could make it out
7:08the door, she froze because the man was
7:10still standing there outside of her
7:12brother's room now, which was near the
7:14stairs, and the knife was still pressed
7:16against Elizabeth's neck. So Mary
7:18Catherine ducked back into the doorway,
7:20praying she hadn't been [music] spotted.
7:22So she retreated to her bed and waited.
7:24And the fear, I'm assuming, was [music]
7:26just paralyzing. She was terrified that
7:28if the man saw her, he'd take her, too,
7:31or worse, she might hurt her sister. So,
7:34she lay there wide awake for what felt
7:36like an eternity, just waiting for them
7:38to leave. An estimate suggests she
7:40waited roughly 2 hours before she
7:43finally felt safe enough to move. And at
7:45around 4:00 a.m., Mary Catherine
7:47mustered the courage to run to her
7:49parents' room, and she shook them awake
7:51and told them everything. The man, the
7:53knife, her sister taken. At first, Ed
7:56Lois thought she was just having a
7:58nightmare. But Mary Catherine was
8:00insistent. This wasn't a dream. And when
8:03they got up to check, the evidence was
8:05undeniable. Elizabeth was nowhere in the
8:08house, and the screen from the window
8:10had been sliced open with a knife. So Ed
8:13and Lois called 911 immediately, and
8:15police were dispatched to the Federal
8:17Heights home and began investigating the
8:19scene. And the first thing they noticed
8:21outside was a chair propped up against
8:23the exterior wall beneath a window. So,
8:25someone had used it to boost themselves
8:27up to the window level, and the window
8:29screen above it had been cleanly [music]
8:31cut, consistent with forced entry. But
8:34here's where things got strange.
8:36Elizabeth's own bedroom window was found
8:39unlocked. Yet, there was no evidence
8:41that anyone had entered through [music]
8:42it. And the chair the kidnapper
8:44supposedly used to climb through the
8:46kitchen window. There were no scuff
8:48marks on the wall or beneath it. No
8:51muddy footprints and no physical
8:52evidence of someone actually climbing
8:54up. So it was as if the kidnapper knew
8:57the layout of the house well enough to
8:59move through it like a ghost. So with
9:01almost nothing to go on, the police knew
9:03one thing for certain. Time was not on
9:06their side. Because in missing person's
9:08cases, especially involving children,
9:09the first 48 to 72 hours are the most
9:12critical. And after that window closes,
9:14the chances of finding someone alive
9:16drop dramatically. So, the search for
9:18Elizabeth Smart had begun, and the clock
9:21was already ticking. So, news of the
9:23abduction spread through Salt Lake City
9:25like wildfire. A 14-year-old girl taken
9:28from her bed in the middle of the night
9:30in Federal Heights of all places, one of
9:32the wealthiest, safest neighborhoods in
9:34the city. cuz this was a community where
9:36people didn't even lock their doors. So,
9:38the idea that someone could break into a
9:40home and steal a child was unthinkable.
9:43So, police brought in a blood hound to
9:44search for Elizabeth, starting inside
9:46the home to make sure there wasn't a
9:48body hidden somewhere in the house.
9:50Then, when the dog cleared the interior,
9:51they brought it outside where it would
9:54pick up a scent. The blood hound
9:56followed a trail through the
9:57neighborhood before stopping at a dead
9:59end street where the scent disappeared.
10:02So investigators took this to mean that
10:04Elizabeth had been loaded into a vehicle
10:06at that point and driven away. So a full
10:09day passed with almost no leads.
10:12Elizabeth was still missing and the
10:14family was growing desperate. And Ed
10:16Smart, Elizabeth's father, made the
10:18decision to go on television and plead
10:20directly with the kidnapper to return
10:22his daughter. And in front of the entire
10:25nation, Ed wept, making multiple
10:27television appearances, begging for
10:29Elizabeth's safe return. It was raw,
10:32emotional, and it struck a chord with
10:34the public. And the response was
10:36enormous. [music] And thanks to the
10:38Laura Recovery Center, roughly 2,000
10:40volunteers a day were showing up to
10:42search for Elizabeth. And flyers with
10:44her face were posted all over the city
10:46and websites were set up to spread the
10:48word. And the entire community had
10:50rallied around the Smart family. But
10:52then public opinion started to shift.
10:55People watching the television
10:57interviews began pointing something out.
10:58[music]
10:59Ed Smart was crying, yes, but there were
11:03no tears. It was a small detail, but it
11:06was enough to plant a seed of doubt in
11:08the public's mind. And with doubt came a
11:11question the police had to confront.
11:14Could this have been an inside job? And
11:16statistically, it's not an unreasonable
11:18suspicion. In cases involving missing
11:21children, a family member is often the
11:23person responsible. So the police
11:25confiscated around 12 computers from the
11:27smartome and turned their attention
11:29toward Ed himself and they brought him
11:31in for a polygraph test. But Ed would
11:33pass with flying colors. However,
11:36someone else didn't fare as well and
11:38that was Ed's brother Tomart,
11:41Elizabeth's uncle, because he returned
11:43an inconclusive result. Tom had also
11:46been acting erratically in interviews,
11:48saying things that came across as
11:50suspicious or just plain awkward on
11:53camera, but his alibi eventually did
11:56check out because he was nowhere near
11:58the house on the night of the abduction.
12:00And his strange behavior was later
12:02attributed to the sleepless,
12:03anxietyfueled nights that followed his
12:05niece's disappearance, which is
12:07understandable. But still the damage was
12:10done and the media had latched on to the
12:12idea that someone in the family might be
12:14involved and that narrative was hard to
12:16shake which I can't even imagine if
12:19you're grieving your daughter being
12:21missing and and the public is looking at
12:23you as a person that did it when you
12:25didn't. It's just like talk about a
12:27weight on your shoulders. But public
12:29interest, which had been hot white in
12:31the first few days, was already now
12:33starting to cool because, as we know,
12:35the internet has a short attention span,
12:38and people were beginning to move on.
12:40Meanwhile, the one person who had
12:42actually witnessed the kidnapping was
12:44being kept in protective isolation. Mary
12:47Catherine wasn't in trouble. The police
12:49were quarantining her from the media to
12:51make sure that news coverage didn't
12:53contaminate her memory or cause her to
12:55create false details cuz she was only 9
12:58years old at this point. And they needed
13:00her recollection to be as pure and
13:02untainted as possible. So investigators
13:04began interviewing Mary Catherine about
13:06what she'd seen. And she told them it
13:09had been dark and she couldn't make out
13:10the man's face very well. and she
13:12described him as mid- height, wearing
13:15light colored clothing, and somewhere
13:17between 30 and 40 years old. And beyond
13:19that, all she really had was a
13:22silhouette. But then the police asked
13:24her a critical question. [music] Did she
13:26recognize the man's voice? Was it
13:29familiar to her at all? And Mary
13:31Catherine said yes. She couldn't place
13:34it exactly. She couldn't remember who it
13:36belonged to, but she was certain she had
13:39heard that voice before. it was someone
13:42she'd encountered in her life. So,
13:44police held on to that detail, hoping it
13:46was only a matter of time before she
13:48remembered. But for now, with nothing
13:50else to go on besides a familiar voice
13:52and a vague silhouette, the
13:54investigation turned to other leads. And
13:56one of the first outside leads the
13:58police pursued was a man named Brett
14:00Michael Edmunds, a local milkman who
14:03reported seeing a suspicious individual
14:05lurking in the neighborhood around the
14:07time of the kidnapping. And that
14:08individual turned out to be Brett
14:10Edmonds. So a 2-w weekek manhunt
14:13followed as police searched for this
14:14mystery man who had been spotted parked
14:16near the smart home. And they eventually
14:18tracked down Edmonds at a hospital where
14:20he had been admitted for drugrelated
14:22liver damage. And after he was
14:24discharged, police arrested him and
14:26brought him in for questioning. And
14:27Edmonds was completely cooperative and
14:30agreed to let them search his vehicle.
14:32And in the end, there was nothing
14:33connecting him at all to Elizabeth's
14:35disappearance. [music] So investigators
14:37had to move on. And back at the Smart
14:40household, the family continued to
14:42brainstorm who could have taken their
14:44daughter. And then EdSmart had a Eureka
14:47moment. And the family had recently done
14:49renovations on their house, which meant
14:51contractors had been going in and out of
14:53their home for weeks. And one contractor
14:55in particular stood out. A man named
14:58Richard Reesi. Now Richard Reesi was 48
15:01years old and had a long troubled
15:03history. and Ed had gotten into a
15:05disagreement with Reissi over payment
15:07for work he had done on the house and it
15:09had caused some friction between them.
15:11And more importantly, Reissi had a
15:13serious criminal record. Aggravated
15:16robbery, felony, burglary, thirdderee
15:18theft, and he'd been cycling in and out
15:20of prison for roughly 30 years. You
15:22never know who's working in your
15:24freaking home. Like, what the? And with
15:26no stronger leads, police obtained a
15:28warrant to search Reese's home. And
15:31inside an outside shed on his property,
15:33they found items belonging to the Smart
15:36family, including jewelry that belonged
15:38to Lois Smart. And in total, Reissi had
15:41stolen upwards of $3,500 worth of the
15:44Smarts belongings. And that gave police
15:46more than enough justification to drag
15:48him in an interrogation room. And the
15:50questioning was aggressive and direct,
15:53and detectives didn't waste time.
15:54>> When was the last time you were in that
15:56[ __ ] house
15:57>> in April? Reissi claimed it was back in
16:00April, and they pressed him on what he
16:02knew about the kidnapping, likely to see
16:04if he'd slip up and mention a detail
16:06that had not been released to the public
16:08yet. But weeks would go by with no
16:10confession. But Reissi was publicly
16:12identified as the number one suspect at
16:15this point. And one detail investigators
16:17kept coming back to was the mileage on
16:19Reese's Jeep because he had put several
16:22hundred unexplained miles on his vehicle
16:24around the time of Elizabeth's
16:26disappearance. And when police asked him
16:28about it, he refused to answer. And that
16:31refusal only deepened their suspicion of
16:33him. And the theory was that he'd driven
16:35Elizabeth somewhere remote and left her
16:38or worst case buried her. So the police
16:41were confident and publicly they stated
16:44they were almost 100% certain Reissi was
16:46the man responsible. And the public
16:48largely agreed cuz why would they
16:50disagree? The detectives were ready to
16:52close the book on this one. But there
16:55was one person who disagreed and
16:57honestly the most important person and
17:00that was Mary Catherine Smart because
17:03despite police asking her repeatedly,
17:05Mary Catherine was adamant Richard Rei
17:08was not the man she saw in the bedroom
17:10that night. And the police pushed back
17:13and they told her she was too tired to
17:15know for sure or too traumatized or
17:17simply just too young to understand. But
17:20Mary Catherine didn't waver. And Reissi,
17:23for his part, was fully cooperative
17:25about his other crimes cuz he did admit
17:27to stealing from the Smarts and others
17:29in the area, but he fully denied over
17:32and over again any involvement in
17:34Elizabeth's kidnapping. But the police
17:36weren't convinced. And Reissi was
17:38charged with the theft for the stolen
17:39goods and pressed once more about
17:41Elizabeth's disappearance in court. And
17:43again, he denied it. And then while
17:46Reesei sat behind bars awaiting his next
17:48court date, [music] something happened
17:50that threw the entire investigation into
17:53chaos. So on July 24th, 2002, an
17:57attempted break-in occurred at the home
17:59of Elizabeth's cousin. And Jessica
18:01Wright, a 14-year-old girl as well,
18:04heard a noise outside her bedroom
18:06window. And when she looked, she found
18:08that a small object had knocked over a
18:11picture on her desk and the window
18:12screen had been cut. the exact same
18:15method used in Elizabeth's abduction.
18:17Now, Jessica screamed for her father,
18:19who rushed into the room, but no one was
18:22there, and the evidence was clear.
18:24Someone had tried to break into the
18:25house, likely targeting one of the
18:27children inside. And thankfully,
18:30everyone was safe, and the attempted
18:32kidnapping had failed. So, police
18:34question the father, Steven Wright,
18:36suspecting he may have staged the
18:38break-in, which is I have like there's
18:41no motive I could think of that makes no
18:44sense in any way, shape, or form, but
18:46okay. And naturally, he would angrily
18:49and emphatically deny it. But here was
18:52the problem. Richard Reesei was locked
18:55up in jail when this happened. The
18:57number one suspect of Elizabeth Smart's
18:59abduction. So unless this was a
19:01completely different person using the
19:03exact same method, Reissi could not have
19:06done it. And that detail should have
19:08given the police serious pause. But
19:10instead, they remained focused on
19:12Reissi. And on August 27th that year,
19:15the day of Reese's next scheduled court
19:17appearance, disaster would strike.
19:20Richard Reesi would [music] collapse in
19:22his cell from a spontaneous brain
19:24hemorrhage. And after a 6-hour surgery,
19:26he would be pronounced dead. [music]
19:29And this was a devastating blow to the
19:32investigation cuz the man the police
19:34believed was responsible was now gone
19:36and he'd taken whatever he knew with
19:38him. So the case hit a dead end,
19:41literally. But the Smart family,
19:43however, was not crushed by this news
19:45because they had never believed it was
19:48Reissi because their daughter Mary
19:50Catherine had told them repeatedly that
19:52he was not the man. So, with Reissi
19:54dead, the police stopped conducting
19:56regular briefings with the Smart family,
19:58and the case was starting to go cold.
20:00But Ed and Lois refused to give up
20:03Elizabeth's parents. They continued to
20:06spread the word, creating a website
20:07dedicated to Elizabeth and uploading
20:10home videos of her for the world to see.
20:12But by October, most of the country had
20:14given up hope. But the smarts pressed on
20:17in every interview and every appearance,
20:19with every post. And they would not stop
20:21looking for their daughter because deep
20:23down they believed she was still alive.
20:26And they would be correct because while
20:29the investigation was still unfolding
20:31back in Salt Lake City, Elizabeth was
20:33living through the kidnapping in real
20:36time. Because after the man led her out
20:38of the house and away from view of her
20:41sleeping family, he forced Elizabeth on
20:43a long, grueling hike into the foothills
20:46above the city. And at this point, it
20:48was pitch black outside [music]
20:49and Elizabeth was wearing nothing but
20:51her red silk pajamas. No shoes, no
20:54jacket, no protection from the rough
20:56terrain. And the hike lasted roughly 4
20:59miles before they reached their
21:00destination, which was a crude
21:03encampment hidden in the hills. And the
21:05camp was primitive. It was a dugout
21:08shelter covered with tarps and makeshift
21:10tent barely visible from any trail. And
21:14as they approached, a woman in white
21:16garments emerged from inside one of the
21:18tents. And the man called out to her by
21:21name, saying, "Heepsa." So the woman,
21:24Hepsiba, walked over and gave Elizabeth
21:27a hug, as if this was some kind of
21:29welcome. And she then ushered Elizabeth
21:32inside the tent and began washing the
21:34dirt off her feet, which was a
21:36disturbing mockery of the biblical act
21:38of Jesus washing the feet of his
21:40disciples. And then the woman began to
21:42undo Elizabeth's pajamas. And Elizabeth
21:45pulled back, hesitant. And the woman
21:48would tell her that if she didn't
21:49cooperate, she'd call the man into the
21:51tent to rip the clothes off her himself.
21:54So Elizabeth was changed into the same
21:56white robes the woman was wearing. And
21:58what followed was a so-called ceremony,
22:02a ritual the man performed to make
22:04Elizabeth his wife. 14-year-old
22:06Elizabeth, his wife, quote unquote,
22:10before God and the angels. And he told
22:13her she would be one of his seven wives.
22:16[music] And after this ceremony, he
22:18would unfortunately s her. And Elizabeth
22:22would later recount that she blacked out
22:24during this assault. And when she came
22:26too, she found herself tethered to a
22:28tree by a cable or a chain. And the man
22:31stood before her and declared his name,
22:33which was Emanuel, David, Isaiah.
22:35[music]
22:36And he told her he had been chosen by
22:39God. But who was this man really? Who
22:42was this person claiming some up divine
22:46authority to justify these unspeakable
22:49acts? Who was Emanuel, David, Isaiah?
22:53Let's take a quick pause to talk about
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24:04And make sure to use my link so they
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24:10sponsoring the video. And let's get back
24:12to it. So, Emanuel David Isaiah was born
24:14Brian David Mitchell on October 18th,
24:181953 in Salt Lake City, Utah. And he was
24:21a third of six children in a family that
24:23belonged to the LDS church, which given
24:25that it was Utah, isn't exactly
24:28surprising cuz roughly 40% of the
24:30state's population identifies as Mormon.
24:32And Brian's mother, Irene Mitchell, was
24:35a teacher and his father, Shir, was a
24:37social worker. So, on the surface, it
24:39was a normal family. But behind closed
24:42doors, things were far from it. And when
24:44Brian was only 8 years old, his father
24:46decided to give him a sexual education
24:50lesson. And instead of going through the
24:52proper channels, Shir showed his
24:558-year-old son colored pictures of
24:58genitalia from a medical handbook. And
25:00the reason was that young Brian had been
25:03caught playing pretend doctor with other
25:06children. So little Brian was already
25:09bit of a freak. And his father's other
25:12parenting strategy was equally bizarre,
25:14as he would drop Brian off in unfamiliar
25:17parks of Salt Lake City and force him to
25:19find his way home to supposedly teach
25:21him independence, which is a thing to do
25:24to a kid. So, this kind of repeated
25:27misguided treatment took its toll and
25:30Brian became increasingly argumentative
25:32with his parents, which led to long
25:34stretches of isolation. By the age of
25:3616, his behavior had escalated and he
25:39was sent to a juvenile detention
25:41facility after exposing himself to a and
25:45this incident made him a pariah
25:47naturally among his peers [music] and
25:49his parents unable to handle him
25:51eventually sent him to live with his
25:53grandmother. So cut off from his family
25:55and any semblance of stability, Brian
25:58dropped out of school and fell into
26:00drugs and alcohol. And by 19, he'd left
26:02Utah entirely and married a 16-year-old
26:05girl named Karen Miner. I know how that
26:08it's Yeah, it's it sounds bad, and it is
26:10bad. And after not too long, he would
26:12get her pregnant. And together, they
26:14would have a total of two children, a
26:16son named Travis and a daughter named
26:18Angela. And the marriage would only last
26:202 years before completely falling apart,
26:22spiraling into a custody battle over the
26:25kids. And some sources indicate that
26:27Brian was initially awarded custody due
26:29to Karen's drug use, but she later went
26:31back to court and regained [music] it.
26:33And this prompted Brian to flee the
26:35state entirely, taking the children to
26:38New Hampshire. That's kidnapping, by the
26:40way. And he lived there for 2 years
26:43before eventually returning the kids.
26:45And during his time in New Hampshire,
26:47Brian went through a serious religious
26:49transformation. and he joined a hair
26:51Krishna commune for a period of time
26:53before circling back to the LDS faith.
26:56And by 1981, he appeared to have cleaned
26:58up his act. And he married his second
27:00wife, Debbie [music] Mitchell, who had
27:03three daughters from a previous
27:04marriage. And Brian took on the role of
27:06stepfather to Debbie's girls while also
27:08raising his two biological children from
27:10his first marriage. And he and Debbie
27:12then had two more children together. But
27:15the strain of raising a large blended
27:17family seemed to crack Brian's facade.
27:20And according to Debbie, the man she
27:22married transformed from gentle and kind
27:24into controlling and abusive. And he
27:27started dictating what she wear and what
27:29she eat. And he began studying Satan,
27:32claiming he was only learning his enemy.
27:34And during this time, some of Brian's
27:37children were sent to a foster home. And
27:39Debbie filed for divorce in 1984. And a
27:42year later, she alleged that Brian had s
27:45their three-year-old son, which is
27:49just monstrous. I I will never
27:52understand. And while the allegation was
27:54never formally confirmed, all future
27:57visitations between Brian and his
27:59children were ordered to be supervised
28:01by the Division of Child and Family
28:03Services. But I I don't even need it to
28:06be confirmed because what he does later
28:09to Elizabeth and what he's already done
28:11to Elizabeth at this point as we know in
28:13the story just confirms it for me. He's
28:15a sick and even one of Debbie's
28:18daughters would later come forward to
28:20claim that Brian had s her for over 4
28:23years. And I'm going to choose to
28:26believe the victim. And on the exact
28:28same day his divorce from Debbie was
28:30finalized, Brian married a woman again.
28:34And his third wife was Wanda Bartsy, a
28:3740-year-old piece of [ __ ] woman with six
28:40children of her own, all of whom she had
28:42left with her ex-husband following their
28:45divorce. And at first, the marriage
28:47seemed stable, and some of Wanda's
28:49children even moved in with the couple.
28:51But over time, Brian's true nature
28:53resurfaced. And one of Wanda's
28:55daughters, Loré, later described how
28:58Brian had seemed kind initially, but
29:00gradually became possessive and
29:02controlling. A perfect match, she said,
29:05for her mother, whom she described as a
29:08monster. So, not my words, just
29:10literally her daughter saying this. And
29:12you will see how she is also a monster.
29:14And as an example of her mother's
29:16cruelty, Laorray recounted a time when
29:18Wanda killed her pet rabbit, cooked it,
29:22and served it for dinner, and forced her
29:25to eat it as punishment.
29:29A monster. Some
29:32fatal attraction [ __ ] like stuff made of
29:35nightmares. So you got this [ __ ] paired
29:37with the psycho religious pervert, and
29:42it just gets worse. And all meanwhile,
29:44Brian was becoming increasingly radical
29:47with the LDS church. He threw himself
29:50into temple rituals, but his portrayal
29:52of Satan during these ceremonies became
29:54so extreme that church elders had to
29:56tell him to tone it down. And then one
29:59night, Brian claimed he was receiving
30:01divine visions. And he told his family
30:03that God was speaking directly to him,
30:05giving him instructions. And the
30:07children were naturally terrified. And
30:10one by one they moved out, leaving Brian
30:12alone with Wanda. So fully consumed by
30:15his delusions, Brian changed his name to
30:18Emmanuel David Isaiah. And he began
30:21calling himself a Davidic servant, which
30:24is a messianic figure he believed was
30:27prophesized in scripture. And the LDS
30:29church would actually excommunicate him.
30:32But undeterred, Brian and Wanda, who
30:34adopted the name Hefta Allada Isaiah,
30:37moved back to Salt Lake City, and they
30:40lived on the streets, panhandling and
30:42preaching in the downtown area,
30:44presenting themselves as holy figures.
30:46[music] And Brian walked around in white
30:48robes and a long beard, looking like a
30:50self-styled prophet. But Brian needed a
30:53gospel, something to preach. So he would
30:56take it upon himself to write a 27page
30:59manifesto called the book of Emanuel
31:02David Isaiah. Very clever Emanuel David
31:06Isaiah. And this document is a
31:08disturbing fusion of existing Mormon
31:11theology and Brian's own twisted
31:13additions. Just classic cult [ __ ] And
31:16among the many unhinged passages, one
31:19stands out. And Brian wrote that he and
31:21his wife would take quote unquote seven
31:25sisters as brides. And these young women
31:28would bring them great joy and eternal
31:31fulfillment. And with these seven wives,
31:33he would father children and eventually
31:36expanding to 7* 7 sisters, 49 precious
31:40jewels. and he claimed that God had
31:43commanded him to practice plural
31:45marriage and that these spiritual brides
31:48were divinely chosen. How convenient for
31:51Brian. But most disturbingly, he
31:53specified that these brides needed to be
31:56young, between 10 and 14 years old
32:02monster. and the rest of the document
32:04can be summed up as the ramblings of a
32:07dangerous, delusional, perverted man.
32:11So, acting on this self-written
32:13commandment, Brian told Wanda that they
32:16needed to begin acquiring these young
32:17brides immediately. And of course, her
32:20being a piece of [ __ ] beast that she is,
32:23agreed. And Brian already had a target
32:26in mind, a young girl he'd seen before
32:29from a family he'd worked for. And that
32:32girl was Elizabeth Smart. So back at the
32:35camp, Elizabeth woke up each day
32:37tethered to a tree, trapped for days on
32:40end. And she was fed literal garbage and
32:43went hours without water. And the rope
32:46was long enough for her to reach a crude
32:48bathroom area, but not nearly long
32:50enough to escape or even get out of
32:52sight of the camp. And when Brian would
32:54take her to a nearby creek, he would put
32:56her on a leash and walk her like a dog.
32:59And when Brian feared someone might
33:00stumble across the campsite, he would
33:02hide Elizabeth in a hole dug into the
33:05ground. And the abuse was constant and
33:08relentless. And he ripped her
33:10repeatedly. And he would also force her
33:12to drink massive [music] amounts of
33:14alcohol until she vomited and then made
33:16her sleep in her own vomit. And she was
33:20not allowed to speak out of turn. And
33:22she was forbidden from complaining,
33:24screaming, or making [music] any noise.
33:26And Brian forced her to listen to him
33:29read aloud from his 27page manifesto
33:32over and over, just drilling into her
33:35that she was the first of his seven
33:36divinely chosen wives. And one day,
33:39Brian left the camp and returned with
33:41something chilling, a missing person's
33:43flyer with Elizabeth's face on it. And
33:46he showed them to her and told her that
33:48all of Salt Lake City was looking for
33:50her, but it didn't matter. They would
33:52never find her because he had her. I I
33:55can't even imagine how she feels like
33:57being 14
33:59and just oh this man is like abusing you
34:02and trying to indoctrinate you and just
34:04giving you no hope. It's just it's
34:07absolutely heartbreaking. And then about
34:106 days after the kidnapping, something
34:12happened that nearly changed everything.
34:15Elizabeth heard a voice in the distance
34:18faintly shouting her name from somewhere
34:20in the forest. So someone was out there
34:22searching for her. Brian acted
34:25immediately and he dragged Elizabeth
34:27inside the tent and pressed a knife to
34:29her throat. And he told her that if
34:30anyone came into the campsite, he was
34:33going to kill them and it would be her
34:36fault. Elizabeth was too afraid to make
34:38a sound cuz the threats Brian had made
34:41from the very first night that he would
34:43kill her if she tried to escape or call
34:45help had done their job naturally. So,
34:48she would stay silent. And after a
34:50while, that voice faded [music] away.
34:52And Elizabeth's window of opportunity
34:54closed. And in the days that followed,
34:56Elizabeth would make a mistake, one that
34:59would haunt her. Cuz in a moment for
35:01desperation for comfort, she began
35:03talking about her old life. And she told
35:06Brian about her family and in particular
35:08about her cousin Olivia Wright, who she
35:11described as her best friend. And she
35:14would mention that Olivia was also
35:15around her age. And that was all Brian
35:18needed to hear. Cuz it was then that
35:20Brian declared that God was calling him
35:23to take another wife. And that wife now
35:25would be Olivia Wright, Elizabeth's
35:28cousin. And Elizabeth was devastated,
35:31blaming herself for leading her captor
35:33to his next victim. [music]
35:35But Brian would spend several days
35:37surveilling the Wright family's home,
35:39studying their routines. And when he
35:41felt ready, he executed the same plan
35:43he'd used on the smart house. He dragged
35:46a chair up to the window, sliced through
35:48the screen, and attempted to climb
35:49inside. As we know, this time he wasn't
35:52as careful, and one of the Wright
35:54sisters was jolted awake and screamed
35:56for her father. And that's when Brian
35:58fled back to the camp. And Elizabeth
36:00later admitted that while she was
36:02horrified by what she believed she had
36:04caused, a small, desperate part of her
36:07had wished Brian had succeeded. Not
36:09because she wanted her cousin to suffer,
36:12but because she was so lonely that
36:14having someone else there would have
36:15made the nightmare slightly more
36:17bearable. And it's a [music]
36:19heartbreaking admission that speaks to
36:21just how psychologically broken she had
36:24become and that he had made her. But the
36:26failed break-in at the Wright home put
36:28police back on high alert. And Brian,
36:30fearing they were no longer safe in the
36:32mountains, made a decision that was as
36:34bold as it was disturbing. and instead
36:37of fleeing further into the wilderness,
36:39he moved them into the city itself,
36:42hiding in plain sight among Salt Lake
36:44City's homeless population. So, in
36:46August of 2002, Brian relocated
36:49Elizabeth and Wanda out of the foothills
36:51and into downtown Salt Lake City. And to
36:53make sure Elizabeth wouldn't be
36:55recognized, they dressed her in the same
36:57white robes they wore and covered her
36:59face with a heavy veil. And if anyone
37:01asked questions, they couldn't see her
37:03face. So, they blended in seamlessly.
37:06panhandling on the streets just as Brian
37:08and Wanda had done before the
37:10kidnapping. And on one occasion, the
37:12three of them even attended a house
37:14party, mingling with other guests. And a
37:17photograph from that night still exists.
37:20And Elizabeth, hidden behind her veil,
37:22standing in a room full of strangers who
37:24had no idea they were looking at
37:26America's most famous missing girl. And
37:28as media coverage of the case continued,
37:31Brian would grow increasingly paranoid
37:33and decided they needed to leave Salt
37:35Lake City altogether. So to plan their
37:38next move, he went to the city's public
37:40library to research possible
37:42destinations. And while there, a patron
37:44noticed the group's bizarre attire and
37:47would call the police. And an officer
37:49arrived and confronted Brian. And he
37:51asked the women to remove their veils so
37:53he could see their faces. But Brian
37:55refused, claiming that as their father,
37:58it was against their religion to show
37:59their faces to anyone outside the family
38:01or future husband. And while this
38:04exchange happened, Wanda was grabbing
38:06Elizabeth's leg under the table and
38:08squeezing hard. A silent, painful signal
38:11not to move or speak. and the officer
38:14with no legal grounds to force a
38:16religious practice let them go which is
38:20crazy to think about given that a girl
38:22is missing and like
38:26like I know everything's you know
38:27hindsight's 2020 but I just I can't
38:30believe that that was
38:34not searched a little bit more but I
38:36digress. So Elizabeth watched another
38:39chance at a rescue walk out the door.
38:41And a normal person might have screamed,
38:44might have spoken up, but Elizabeth was
38:46not in a normal state of mind because
38:48months of constant threats repeated as
38:52and the systemic destruction of her
38:54identity had broken something inside
38:56her. And she was no longer Elizabeth
38:58Smart cuz Brian had given her a biblical
39:01name Esther and had a cover name for the
39:04public which was Augustine Marshall. So,
39:07she had been conditioned at this point
39:09to believe that speaking up would get
39:11her killed. But things were about to get
39:13even worse because Brian had found his
39:16next destination and they were going to
39:19California. So, Brian decided that God
39:21was calling them to San Diego and the
39:23only way to get there from Utah for them
39:25was a Greyhound bus. So, roughly [music]
39:2814 grueling hours of travel. and
39:30Elizabeth would sit wedged between her
39:32two captors for the entire ride, unable
39:35to move, unable to speak, and unable to
39:37escape. And in September of 2002, they
39:40would arrive in the San Diego area and
39:42set up camp in a dry creek bed near
39:44Lakeside. And they continued to
39:46panhandle for money, moving from place
39:48to place under the cover of darkness to
39:50avoid raising suspicion. And eventually,
39:53they ended up in Alcohon, where Brian
39:55managed to befriend a local Mormon
39:57family. Now, the family, having no idea
40:00who Brian really was, invited him and
40:02his companions over for dinner. And
40:04during this visit, Brian noticed a young
40:06girl who was part of the family, and he
40:08immediately decided she would be his
40:11next [music] wife, claiming God was
40:13calling him to rescue her. So, Brian
40:16prepared what can only be described as a
40:18kidnapping kit, [music] the same
40:20supplies he'd assembled before taking
40:22Elizabeth, and made his way to the
40:24family's home. and he found an unlocked
40:26door and was about to enter when he
40:29heard a man snoring inside. So spooked,
40:32he retreated back to the camp and told
40:34Elizabeth that they were not prepared
40:36enough to receive another wife. So thank
40:38God that another little girl didn't get
40:40taken, but it's just I mean Elizabeth
40:42still stuck alone and with no hope of
40:46getting any sort of help. [music] And
40:48during their time in California, Brian
40:51was actually arrested but not for
40:53kidnapping. He was actually picked up in
40:55El Cahone for breaking into a church and
40:57he spent [music] a few days in jail
40:59before being released. So the police
41:01never had any idea that the disheveled
41:04man they just processed and let go was
41:06the person responsible for one of the
41:08most high-profile kidnapping cases in
41:10the country. And after he returned, the
41:12months of abuse would continue. [music]
41:14Elizabeth was still malnourished, still
41:17exhausted, still being repeatedly. And
41:20she slept on the hard ground in terrible
41:22conditions most of the [music] time. But
41:24through all of it, she never completely
41:27gave up. And somewhere inside the
41:29broken, terrified girl, there was a
41:31spark of hope, a belief that one day she
41:34would make it home. [music] And back in
41:35Utah, the key to bringing her home was
41:38finally falling into place. [music] Cuz
41:40Mary Catherine, Elizabeth's little
41:42sister, had remembered something. The
41:45voice finally [music] had a face. So on
41:47October 12th, 2002, more than 4 months
41:51after the kidnapping, Mary Katherine
41:53Smart finally remembered. She recalled a
41:56man who used to come to their house,
41:58someone her family had hired to rake
42:00leaves and do odd jobs around the
42:02property. And he was a homeless man
42:04they'd met through their church and
42:06given work to help him get back on his
42:07feet. And the man's name was Emanuel.
42:11The name Brian David Mitchell had been
42:13going by. And the memory was triggering
42:15by something almost impossibly random.
42:18Like if you don't believe miracles, I
42:20feel like this is a miracle cuz Mary
42:22Catherine was flipping through a
42:24Guinness World Records picture book when
42:26she came across the name Emanuel and it
42:30clicked. She ran to her father and told
42:32him she knew who had taken Elizabeth.
42:34But when the Smart family brought this
42:36information to police, they were met
42:38with skepticism. Investigators had spent
42:40months building a case around Richard
42:42Reesi, who had since died in custody,
42:45and they weren't ready to accept a
42:469-year-old girl's month old memory of a
42:49man's voice. A man who had spent no more
42:52than a handful of hours at their home
42:54was the key to solving this case, which
42:56again drives me insane. She's the only
42:59person that saw this person that this is
43:02the person you should be listening to.
43:03Like, I tell the police's pride
43:06sometimes. I tell you what. And
43:08frustrated by the police's reluctance,
43:10the Smart family took matters into their
43:12own hands, and they hired their own
43:14sketch artist. And Ed provided as many
43:17details as he could remember about the
43:19man they'd known as Emanuel. And it had
43:21been over a year since he'd last seen
43:23him, but he did his best. And the family
43:26held on to that sketch for months,
43:28waiting for the right moment. So on
43:31February 3rd, 2003, the Smarts held a
43:34press conference and released the sketch
43:36to the public, [music] asking anyone who
43:38recognized the man to come forward with
43:40information. And 2 weeks later, on
43:42February 15th, America's Most Wanted
43:44aired a segment about Elizabeth Smart's
43:46disappearance. And the sketch was
43:48broadcasted on national television. And
43:51the response was almost immediate. And
43:53just one day later, Brian's own sister,
43:56or Emanuel's own sister, came forward
43:58and identified the man in the sketch as
44:00her [music] brother, Brian David
44:02Mitchell. And his stepson, Derek
44:04Thompson, also came forward, confirming
44:06that the sketch was unmistakably his
44:09stepfather. And they provided
44:10investigators with Brian's real name and
44:12recent photographs, which were released
44:14to the public.
44:15>> [music]
44:15>> So now the whole country knew what he
44:17looked like and if anyone spotted the
44:19bearded man in the white robes, they
44:21were urged to call the authorities.
44:23[music]
44:24You police. The fact that the family had
44:26to take it into their own hands just
44:28makes me sick. But I'm so glad that they
44:31did. And meanwhile, something remarkable
44:33was happening with Elizabeth, cuz after
44:36months of captivity, she made a move
44:39that was as clever as it was brave. And
44:42she told Brian that she felt God
44:45speaking to her and that even though she
44:47wasn't a chosen one like he was, she had
44:50a feeling they were being called back to
44:52Utah. Just such a smart girl. Such a
44:56smart girl. And Brian, ever the
44:58narcissist piece of [ __ ] that he was,
45:00was overjoyed. And he took this as a
45:03sign that Elizabeth was finally coming
45:05around, that she was beginning to
45:07understand his divine mission. And on
45:10March 5th, 2003, they would board that
45:12Greyhound bus and go back to Utah. So
45:15Elizabeth had manipulated her dumbass
45:18and perverted captor into walking right
45:21back into the arms of law enforcement.
45:23And for the first time in 9 months now,
45:27she felt like she had some control over
45:29her fate. So on March 12th, 2003, a
45:32couple was driving down State Street in
45:34Sandy, Utah, when they spotted something
45:36unusual. Three people walking along the
45:39road. A bearded man flanked by two
45:42women, all dressed in white robes and
45:45tunics. Luckily, this guy is aing
45:48dumbass and just sticking out like a
45:51sore thumb in plain sight. Fantastic.
45:53And these people would recognize him
45:55from the news. And without hesitation,
45:58they called the Sandy Police Department.
46:00And four officers were dispatched to the
46:02scene. And when they arrived, they
46:04approached the group and began asking
46:06questions. [music] And the young girl
46:08seemed very uncomfortable and nervous.
46:10So the officers made the decision to
46:12separate her from the two adults. Before
46:15the officers could even get their first
46:17question out, the girl blurted out that
46:19her name was Augustine Marshall. The
46:21cover identity Brian had drilled into
46:23her for months. But the officers weren't
46:26buying it. And one of them, Sergeant
46:28Victor Kazeda, looked at her carefully
46:31and he recognized her. And he asked the
46:33question directly, "Are you Elizabeth
46:36smart?" And her response was two words
46:39spoken through tears. Thou sayest. And
46:42it was a biblical phrase essentially
46:45meaning, "You said it." A reflection of
46:47the religious language Brian had forced
46:50upon her for 9 months straight. But the
46:52officers understood what it meant. And
46:54[music] Brian David Mitchell and Wanda
46:56Barzie were arrested on the spot. and
46:59Elizabeth was placed in a separate
47:01police car and driven to the station.
47:03And she could not stop crying. And
47:06that's when Ed Smart received a phone
47:07call telling him to drop everything and
47:09get to the police station immediately.
47:12And when he walked through the doors, a
47:13row of officers stood at attention,
47:15lining the hallway. And as he passed
47:18them, they blessed him and wished him
47:19well. Then he turned the corner and
47:22walked into the room where a young woman
47:23was sitting on the sofa. And he almost
47:26didn't recognize her. The last time Ed
47:28had seen his daughter, she was a
47:2914-year-old girl. And now, nine months
47:32later, she had grown into a young woman,
47:34thinner, weathered, and different, but
47:36it was absolutely his daughter. And he
47:39asked if it was really her. And
47:41Elizabeth looked at her father and said,
47:43[music] "Yes, Dad." Which is
47:47just so just makes me so happy.
47:52I'm going to try not to cry. So the
47:53family pulled the other children out of
47:55school to come see their sister and
47:57everyone was overjoyed and everyone
48:00[music] was in tears and Elizabeth spent
48:02her first day back reading emails from
48:05supportive strangers and playing her
48:06harp and watching a movie with her
48:08family and the news exploded and Salt
48:11Lake City celebrated and the Smarts went
48:13on every news program they could to
48:15announce that their daughter had been
48:16found alive thanks to them, thanks to
48:19them really stepping up and taking
48:22initiative And that night when Elizabeth
48:24went to bed, she kept waking up
48:26throughout the night. And each time she
48:28opened her eyes, her parents were
48:30standing there watching over her making
48:32sure she was still there and making sure
48:34that she was real. Just
48:37oh gosh, I don't even have a kid, but
48:39like to imagine your kid going missing
48:41for 9 months and then the first night
48:42back, like you bet your ass I would be
48:45sitting on that bed. Like it's just it
48:48just pulls at every single heartstring I
48:50have. But Elizabeth was home and she was
48:52finally safe. But for her captors, the
48:56nightmare, the deserved nightmare was
48:58just beginning. All right, guys. I'm
49:00back to talk about my favorite blanket
49:02because it is quite literally my
49:05favorite thing in my house. Maybe
49:08besides my husband, my dogs, and my
49:09cats, but it's pretty close. Okay. And
49:13you already know I'm talking about Lola
49:15blankets cuz the first time I pulled
49:17this thing out of the box, I literally
49:20stopped what I was doing and just
49:21cuddled it for like a half hour. It is
49:24unbelievably soft. And I have multiple
49:27now, but my favorite is the large
49:30naturally cuz it's the perfect size for
49:32curling up on the couch to snuggle with
49:34my dogs or my cat or, you know, my
49:35husband too sometimes. But what sets
49:37Lola apart is the [music] quality. It's
49:39made with luxury faux fur and the
49:42signature four-way stretch that no other
49:44blanket has. And plus, it's machine
49:46washable, double hemmed, and it [music]
49:48doesn't peel or shed. Even after I've
49:51washed mine a bunch of times, cuz I have
49:53animals, so it gets stinky sometimes, it
49:55looks and feels brand new. There's a
49:57reason they have over 20,000 five-star
49:59reviews, [music] cuz once you feel it,
50:01you get it. So, for a limited time, my
50:03listeners are getting 40% off select
50:06Lola Blanket products with code CCCM
50:09[music] at checkout. So, head to labal
50:11blankets.com and use CCCM at checkout
50:15for 40% off select Lola [music] Blanket
50:17products. Wrap yourself in luxury with
50:20Lola Blankets. Thank you so much to Lola
50:22Blankets for supporting the channel and
50:23sponsoring the video. And let's get back
50:25to it. Now, Brian David Mitchell and
50:27Wanda Bartsy were arrested and brought
50:29into custody on March 18th, 2003. And
50:32detectives who interrogated them would
50:34describe them as the strangest
50:36individuals they had ever encountered in
50:38their careers. And it's not hard to see
50:41why. Because from the moment questioning
50:43began, Brian refused to cooperate in any
50:46conventional sense. And when detectives
50:48pressed him, he would launch into
50:50religious rants and singing hymns and
50:53screaming, "Get thee behind me, Satan."
50:56And every time investigators got close
50:58to cornering him on a detail, Brian
51:00would deflect with another religious
51:01tirade. So he was clearly unhinged, but
51:04there was something calculated about it
51:06as well. [music] And the detectives
51:08could see that he was sharp, crafty, and
51:10fully aware of what he was doing.
51:12[music] And one moment in particular was
51:14stomach turning because when asked about
51:17what he'd done to Elizabeth, Brian
51:19described her experience as
51:21>> she's had she's had a glorious
51:22experience.
51:23>> A glorious experience
51:23>> with you.
51:24>> And you can practically see the
51:26detectives [music] in the room
51:27restraining themselves from lunging at
51:29him, which I don't blame them. And Wanda
51:31Bartsy's interrogation was no [music]
51:32better. And she pulled the exact same
51:35religious ramblings, deflection, and
51:37refusal to engage meaningfully with the
51:39questions. And the legal process that
51:41followed was agonizingly slow. And on
51:44July 26th, 2005, more than 2 years after
51:48their arrest, both Brian Mitchell and
51:50Wanda Bartsy were deemed unfit to stand
51:52trial and were confined to the Utah
51:54State Hospital. And it wasn't until June
51:572006 that they were forcibly medicated
52:00to stabilize them mentally and make them
52:02competent enough for legal proceedings.
52:04And once stabilized, their case was
52:06transferred into federal court system.
52:09But the delays continued and it wasn't
52:11until March 5th, 2008,
52:14nearly 6 years after the kidnapping,
52:17that Brian and Wanda were formally
52:19indicted on federal charges of
52:21interstate kidnapping and unlawful
52:23transportation of a minor across state
52:25lines. We got to fix that system. What
52:28the And the paperwork, the motions, the
52:30hearings, it just dragged on and on.
52:33Then on November 17th, 2009,
52:36someone finally cracked [music] and
52:38Wanda Bartsy pleaded guilty to her
52:40involvement in the kidnapping and in
52:42exchange for a reduced sentence as part
52:44of a plea deal. And she agreed to
52:46testify [music] against Brian. And she
52:48was sentenced to 15 years in federal
52:51prison. And in court, she offered an
52:53apology to Elizabeth, who was not
52:56present, [music]
52:56saying she was sorry for the pain and
52:58suffering she had caused and that she
53:00hoped Elizabeth could find it in her
53:02heart to forgive her. You Wanda. And
53:05Brian, on the other hand, continued to
53:07delay. And his defense team pushed for a
53:09competency trial, arguing he was too
53:11mentally ill to stand trial. And this
53:13was a critical moment, as if he was
53:16found incompetent, he might never face a
53:18proper sentence. But that's when
53:20Elizabeth Smart would be as brave as
53:22ever and take the stand to testify
53:24against him. She described in detail
53:27what he had done to her. And the
53:29prosecution methodically established
53:30that Brian was articulate, quick on his
53:33feet, and capable of adapting to his
53:35surroundings. All hallmarks of a
53:38competent man who was putting on an act
53:40for the cameras and to get the mentally
53:43unstable plea.
53:44>> Smart testified. He then put the knife
53:46up to my neck. He told me to get up
53:48quietly and if I didn't then he would
53:50kill me and my family.
53:51>> And during the trial, Brian reportedly
53:53even had a seizure in the courtroom and
53:56was wheeled out on a gurnie and loaded
53:58into an ambulance, which was behavior
54:00that many believe that was just staged.
54:03And on December 10th, 2010, now Brian
54:07David Mitchell was found guilty and
54:09convicted of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart.
54:12And on May 25th, 2011, he was sentenced
54:14to two consecutive life terms in federal
54:17prison with no possibility of parole. So
54:19Brian David Mitchell would never see the
54:21light of day again. And when asked about
54:23the verdict in interviews afterward,
54:25Elizabeth said,
54:26>> "I was happy for the opportunity to say
54:29what I felt that I needed to say,
54:32and I am thrilled it's over."
54:33>> Like, oh my, you imagine it dragging on
54:36so long. She finally got justice years
54:38and years and years after. And as for
54:40Wanda Bartsy, she was actually released
54:42from prison on parole on September 19th,
54:452018. A decision that outraged many
54:49rightfully so. But her freedom was
54:51short-lived. And on May 1st, 2025, Mercy
54:54was arrested again after wandering into
54:56a public park, which violated the terms
54:59of her offender registration. And her
55:01reported explanation was that the Lord
55:04told her to, but that I guess caused her
55:06to get arrested. So, good on you, Lord.
55:09I don't know. But after being reunited
55:11with her family, Elizabeth was thrust
55:13into a media frenzy and reporters wanted
55:16interviews and cameras were everywhere
55:18and the world wanted answers. But the
55:20Smart family was fiercely protective of
55:22their daughter and they shielded her
55:24from the worst of it, giving her time
55:26and space to adjust to normal life
55:28again. And her first major interview was
55:30with Katie Kurrick on the Today Show.
55:32And the questions were uncomfortable
55:35because interviewers asked her why she
55:37didn't run and why she didn't scream for
55:38help. And Elizabeth just answered
55:41honestly, explaining the thoughts and
55:42fears that run through a 14-year-old's
55:44mind when a man is holding a knife to
55:46her throat and threatening to kill her
55:48and her family. So, the tonedeaf
55:50questions were insane, but it was a
55:53sobering reminder that life's not a
55:56movie. There was no moment where she
55:58could have simply escaped. And
56:00eventually the interview slowed down and
56:02Elizabeth was able to focus on something
56:04she actually cared about, making a
56:06difference. And on April 30th, 2003,
56:09less than 2 months after her rescue,
56:11Elizabeth met President George W. Bush
56:14at the White House for the signing of
56:15the Protect [music] Act of 2003. And the
56:18act was designed to strengthen penalties
56:20for child abusers and sexual across the
56:24country. And Elizabeth's case had been
56:26one of the driving forces behind that
56:28legislation. And from there, Elizabeth
56:30founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation,
56:32which I will link below, which is an
56:34organization dedicated to bringing hope
56:35and empowerment to victims [music] of
56:37sexual violence. And she became a vocal
56:39advocate, speaking out about everything
56:42from harassment on airplanes to sexual
56:44assault in the military. And her message
56:46was powerful and consistent. What
56:49happened to you does not define you. And
56:51she also went on to publish a memoir
56:53titled My Story along with additional
56:56books about her experience [music] and
56:58the process of healing. And she became a
57:00public speaker and best-selling author
57:02and one of the most recognized voices in
57:04the fight against [music] child
57:05exploitation. And her personal life
57:07moved forward as well. And in February
57:09of 2012, Elizabeth married Matthew
57:12Gilmer, [music]
57:12a man she met during a church mission in
57:15Paris. And together they have had three
57:17[music] children. But Elizabeth has
57:19always been open to the fact that
57:21recovery is not a straight line. And she
57:23knew life would be difficult after her
57:25rescue. And the pain and trauma she
57:27experienced during those 9 months didn't
57:29simply vanish when she was found. But
57:31she made a choice early on. She refused
57:33to let what happened to her define who
57:36she was. And she had already been
57:37isolated and discarded during her
57:39captivity. [music]
57:40And she was not going to let that
57:42continue. And she's glad to be alive.
57:44And she's glad to [music] be an
57:45advocate. and she wants other survivors
57:47to know that life was still worth
57:49living. And that is the case of
57:51Elizabeth Smart. Just an absolute
57:54harrowing, inspiring, just brave woman.
57:59I like my heart breaks every time I
58:01think about this case. I'm so happy that
58:04she's living [music] her life now and
58:06advocating and doing all these wonderful
58:07things. Like I said again, I will link
58:09uh her foundation down below. And if you
58:11have any other cases you want me to deep
58:13dive into, let me know down below. I
58:15always read the comments. And until
58:16then, please stay safe out there. And I
58:18will see your beautiful face in the next
58:19one. All right.

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