1 of Smart’s captors freed from prison
DRAPER, Utah — A woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart and stood by as the Utah girl was sexually assaulted was released from prison Wednesday after 15 years amid concerns that she might still be a threat to other young people.
Wanda Barzee, 72, quietly left the state prison in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper, avoiding a throng of reporters gathered outside.
Court documents say she will stay in unspecified emergency housing chosen by her probation officer until another home is approved.
Barzee’s release followed a surprise announcement last week that Utah authorities had miscalculated her sentence and she would be freed earlier than expected.
Under the terms of her release, Barzee must undergo mental health treatment and not contact Ms. Smart and her family.
Ms. Smart, now 30, has said she was shocked and disappointed by the announcement. She recalled some of the horrors she experienced as a 14-year-old when she was snatched from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 by Barzee’s then-husband, street preacher Brian David Mitchell.
Ms. Smart said last week that Barzee saw her as a slave during the nine months she was held by the couple and encouraged Mitchell to rape her.
Trial focuses on wounds
CHICAGO — A doctor testifying in the trial of a white Chicago police officer charged with murder in the death of Laquan McDonald said Wednesday that it’s impossible to determine the exact order of the wounds the black teenager suffered from 16 shots that were fired.
Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, Cook County’s chief medical examiner, testified about each gunshot wound as jurors viewed autopsy photos of them. She said that when the entrance and exit wounds are added, there were “24 holes on Laquan.” That’s because eight of the shots left both exit and entrance wounds.
Officer Jason Van Dyke is charged with first-degree murder in Mr. McDonald’s death. Video from the October 2014 shooting shows Van Dyke opening fire as Mr. McDonald walks away from police with a small knife in one hand.
Dr. Arunkumar said it’s impossible to determine the order of the gunshots in such cases because the shooter and the person being shot are in “constant motion.”
Wildfires contained
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Mendocino Complex, a pair of wildfires that erupted in Lake County in late July and went on to become the largest recorded fire complex in California history, has been reported 100 percent contained, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The two fires burned a combined 459,123 acres, destroyed 280 structures including 157 residences, killed one firefighter and injured four others, the latest incident report says.
At 100 percent containment, there are still 22 miles of fire line to repair and some fire activity left to monitor. A news release by the Forest Service said the primary goal now is to “reduce erosion and other impacts from suppression activities.”
Some areas within Mendocino National Forest remain closed out of concern for public safety, as detailed in an order issued Sept. 2. The closures are in effect through Dec. 31.
A pair of wildland fires, both the 410,000-acre Ranch Fire and the nearly 49,000acre River Fire ignited July 27. The cause of each is still under investigation, officials say.