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Elizabeth Smart

State seeks dismissal of Smart kidnapper charges

The Associated Press The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 11:32am

SALT LAKE CITY -- Prosecutors have asked a judge to dismiss state charges against Elizabeth Smart's kidnapper after the man was convicted in federal court and sentenced to life in prison.

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Smart kidnapper seeks more time to appeal sentence

The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, June 7, 2011 - 3:57pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- Attorneys for a former street preacher sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping and raping Elizabeth Smart are asking for an extra 30 days to decide whether to appeal.

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Elizabeth Smart, left, and her father Ed Smart talk to the media in front of the Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse Wednesday, May 25, 2011, in Salt Lake City. Smart's kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, was sentenced to life in prison. (AP Photo/Jim Urquhart)

Elizabeth Smart is interviewed after Mitchell's sentencing - 5/25/11

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - 5:39pm

Crime, Brian David Mitchell, Court, Elizabeth Smart, Kidnapping, Slideshow, Utah, Featured, Rape Read more Comments

Elizabeth Smart kidnapper set for sentencing

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, May 25, 2011 - 8:55am

SALT LAKE CITY -- Nearly nine years after she was taken at knifepoint, raped and held captive, Elizabeth Smart is set to publicly confront her kidnapper for the first time Wednesday when he is sentenced.

The sentencing of Brian David Mitchell will close a major legal chapter in the heartbreaking ordeal that stalled for years after Mitchell was declared mentally ill and unfit to stand trial in state court.

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Defense: Smart abductor needs mental health help

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - 10:39am

SALT LAKE CITY -- Defense attorneys for the man convicted of Elizabeth Smart's 2002 kidnapping say he should serve his sentence in a federal mental health facility, not a standard prison.

Brian David Mitchell was convicted of federal kidnapping and unlawful transportation charges in December.

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Parole denied for Smart kidnapper Barzee

The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, February 24, 2011 - 10:13am

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah parole board has denied parole to Elizabeth Smart kidnapper Wanda Barzee.

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(COLIN E. BRALEY/The Associated Press) Elizabeth Smart talks to the media outside the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City following the verdict in the Brian David Mitchell trial Friday. The jury did not swallow the insanity defense and instead found Mitchell guilty of the June 5, 2002, kidnapping of Smart, who told the court Mitchell plied her with drugs and alcohol, raping her almost daily during her nine-month ordeal.

Brian David Mitchell guilty; Ed Smart: 'It's real'

Jennifer Dobner, The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, December 11, 2010 - 1:19am

SALT LAKE CITY -- Elizabeth Smart waited more than eight years for the word she heard Friday.

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Elizabeth Smart addresses the media outside the federal court house following the guilty verdict in the Brian David Mitchell trail Friday, Dec. 10 2010 in Salt Lake City. Mitchell was found guilty for the June 5, 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. (Colin E Braley/Assocatied Press)

The Elizabeth Smart case - December 10, 2010

The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, December 10, 2010 - 5:21pm

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Jury convicts Smart kidnapper, rejects insanity

Jennifer Dobner, The Associated Press

Last updated Saturday, December 11, 2010 - 1:01am

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal jury found a rambling street preacher guilty Friday of the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart in a case that has tugged at hearts around the nation ever since the Utah teenager was snatched from her bedroom and resurfaced nine months later.

Brian David Mitchell could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced on May 25.

Elizabeth Smart gave a slight smile as she heard the guilty verdicts on charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for the purposes of illegal sex.

Smart then turned to her mother and both smiled. Elizabeth Smart later hugged prosecutors in the Salt Lake City courtroom.

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Mitchell jury returns with verdict

Jennifer Dobner, The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, December 10, 2010 - 12:25pm

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal jury convicts former street preacher of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart eight years ago.

The jury started deliberating just after 5:30 p.m. Thursday and court officials announced jurors had reached a verdict just after 10:30 a.m. Friday. The verdict was read in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.

The facts of the case are undisputed: Even attorneys for Brian David Mitchell say there's no question he kidnapped Smart and raped her almost daily until she was found months later, walking a suburban street with Mitchell and his now-estranged wife.

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(COLIN E. BRALEY/The Associated Press)
Elizabeth Smart arrives at the federal court house for the closing arguments in the trial of Brian David Mitchell on Thursday in Salt Lake City. A jury of five women and seven men began deliberations Thursday night in the case. Defense attorneys admit Mitchell kidnapped Smart when she was 14 and raped her almost daily for several months, but presented a defense of insanity. Smart is now 23.

Jury begins deliberations in Smart kidnapping case

Jennifer Dobner, The Associated Press

Last updated Friday, December 10, 2010 - 12:39am

SALT LAKE CITY -- A jury on Thursday began deliberating the fate of a nomadic street preacher charged with the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, after hearing federal prosecutors call him a "predatory chameleon" and defense lawyers say he's too delusional to be convicted.

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Testiomony nears end in Smart kidnapping trial

The Associated Press

Last updated Thursday, December 9, 2010 - 9:34am

SALT LAKE CITY — Testimony in a federal trial for the man charged with kidnapping Elizabeth Smart is nearing its end.

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Doctor: Suspected Smart kidnapper not mentally ill

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - 12:18pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- A forensic psychiatrist says a former street preacher charged with the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart was not suffering from severe mental illness at the time she was taken from her Utah home.

New York City-based Dr. Michael Welner testified Wednesday at the trial of defendant Brian David Mitchell.

Weiner was hired by federal prosecutors to evaluate Mitchell in 2009 in what authorities call the most complete evaluation of Mitchell ever conducted.

Mitchell is on trial in U.S. District Court for kidnapping and other charges. The case could go to the jury later this week.

Defense attorneys don't dispute that Smart was kidnapped and held captive when she was 14 but contend Mitchell is mentally ill and can't be held responsible.

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Prosecution wrapping Smart kidnapping case trial

The Associated Press

Last updated Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - 8:43am

SALT LAKE CITY — Federal prosecutors are expected to call their final witness in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping trial on Wednesday.

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Psychiatrist: Mitchell not mentally ill

The Associated Press

Last updated Tuesday, December 7, 2010 - 2:08pm

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah psychiatrist who once evaluated a street preacher charged in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart testified Tuesday that the defendant does not suffer from a mental disease or disorder.

Dr. Noel Gardner said he disagreed with defense experts who have diagnosed suspect Brian David Mitchell with a rare delusional disorder and with schizophrenia.

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