Smart snatcher skips hearing
DRAPER, Utah — A woman convicted of helping a former street preacher kidnap then-Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 refused to attend a hearing Tuesday before the state parole board that could have helped her get out of prison earlier.
Wanda
Barzee, 72, also recently refused to take a psychological evaluation she would need to undergo to get out before her scheduled release in January 2024, said Angela Micklos, a member of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole.
Smart’s abduction from her bedroom at knifepoint by a man who came in through an open kitchen window triggered waves of fear among parents everywhere. The frantic search for Smart and the mystery about who took her captivated the nation.
She was found nine months later while walking with Barzee and the former street preacher, Brian David Mitchell, on a street in the suburb of Sandy by people who recognized the couple from media reports as a suspect in Smart’s kidnapping.
Smart, now 30 and married with two children, has since written a book about the harrowing ordeal and recently helped make a Lifetime movie and documentary about the crime and her life. She is now a child safety activist who regularly gives speeches.
She didn’t attend the hearing Tuesday. But her father, Ed Smart, said his daughter has moved on and will accept Barzee’s eventual release. His daughter will leave it up to mental health professionals to make sure Barzee isn’t a menace to society, he said.
Mitchell is serving a life sentence after being convicted of kidnapping and raping Smart.