WOMAN WHO HELPED KIDNAP SMART FREED AFTER SERVING 15-YEAR SENTENCE

DRAPER, UTAH A woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart and stood by as the Utah teen was sexually assaulted was released Wednesday after spending 15 years in prison.

Wanda Barzee, 72, quietly left the state prison near Salt Lake City, avoiding a throng of reporters gathered outside, spokeswoman Kaitlin Felsted said. She did not disclose where Barzee was going.

Smart, now 30, has said she was shocked and disappointed by the move.

Smart was 14 when she was snatched from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 by Barzee’s then-husband, street preacher Brian David Mitchell. She said last week that Barzee encouraged Mitchell to rape her.