More than two decades after Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped as a 14-year-old by Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee, she is opening up about the experience in Netflix’s documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart.
In the film, Elizabeth is joined by her sister, Mary Katherine Smart, and their dad, Ed Smart, to discuss the 2002 case and how it impacted their family. Along with interviews from detectives that worked on the case, the documentary gives a new look into the case that has left people shocked for more than 20 years.
Us Weekly breaks down the biggest bombshells from Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, below.
The Smart Family Members Were Considered Suspects After Elizabeth Smart Went Missing
After Elizabeth was kidnapped out of her bedroom in Salt Lake City, Utah, Detective Cordon Parks explained that officials were suspicious of Smart family because “statistically, more often than not, the perpetrator of this type of crime is a parent or a family member.”
During interviews with the family, Parks said there “were a couple things” that came up that made them further suspect they were involved in Elizabeth’s disappearance. “I was told that the alarm had been inadvertently left off. And the window. When I looked at it the first morning, there were no scuff marks on the outside wall,” he recalled. “Even if you step up on a chair, you’re going to make a scuff mark. I did not see any. My initial assessment was that maybe this wasn’t the point of entry. Maybe it was a staged one.”
In the documentary, Ed reflected on being considered a suspect. “To have your daughter go missing is horrendous,” he said. “And then to be a possible suspect, I was beyond words.”
Ed proved his innocence by taking a polygraph test, though the public blame shifted to his brother Tom Smart when his polygraph test came back as inconclusive. The focus on Tom only became worse when he made some questionable comments during interviews regarding Elizabeth’s disappearance.
In the documentary, Tom said it was “dumbfounding” how long it took for the police “to clear the family” of any involvement in the kidnapping. “And as the finger was pointed at us, we saw a real drop in people that were … were coming to help us search,” he said.
Elizabeth Smart Emotionally Recalled the Night She Was Kidnapped
Elizabeth got emotional while recalling the night she was kidnapped by Mitchell in the documentary. “That night, I remember a man’s voice. ‘I have a knife on your neck. Don’t make a sound. Get up and come with me,’” she said. “I was terrified.”
She said she was led through her backyard and up a hill by Mitchell. “I was so worried that I was missing my chance for escape. I asked him if he was gonna rape and kill me cause I thought that must be what he’s going to do,” she said. “I wanted him to do it as close as he could to my house so that my parents could find me.”
Elizabeth and Mitchell eventually made it to a campsite, where they were greeted by Barzee. “She took my shoes off and then she started washing the dirt off my feet,” Elizabeth recalled. “And then she started to try to undo my pajamas.”
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After Elizabeth pulled her pajamas to keep them on, Barzee said that she would have to cooperate or else Mitchell would “rip the clothes off” of her.
Brian David Mitchell Declared Elizabeth His ‘Wife’ on the Night of the Kidnapping
Elizabeth eventually changed into a robe and went to see Mitchell. “I hereby seal you to me as my wife before God and his angels as my witnesses,” he told her. She said she screamed, and he responded, “If you ever scream out like that again, I will kill you. If it will help you to not scream out, I will duct tape your mouth shut.”
While Elizabeth argued that the marriage wasn’t legally binding, Mitchell said it was time to “consummate the marriage” and he raped her.
“It didn’t matter what I did. Ultimately, he raped me. And I remember being in a lot of pain. I remember begging him to stop,” she said. “And then when he was finished, he got up and he kind of smiled like it wasn’t a big deal to him and he walked out of the tent. And I just was left on the ground.”
Brian David Mitchell Planned to Kidnap 7 Girls
Elizabeth recalled Mitchell – who told her his name was Hephzibah Eledah Isaiah – telling her that “God commanded them to kidnap seven young girls.”
“I was the first of the seven. He said my sister would probably end up one of his wives and my cousin Olivia. I was horrified,” she said.
Mary Katherine Smart Connected Brian David Mitchell to the Kidnapping
Because Elizabeth and Mary Katherine shared a bedroom, she was the only witness of the crime. Detectives initially hoped she would be able to identify the kidnapper, though she was not able to identify Mitchell until later in the investigation.
Ed explained that the family previously met Mitchell while he was homeless and they hired him to help around their house, which was why Mary Katherine recognized him. However, police were skeptical if Mitchell was really involved since it took Mary Katherine a while to connect him to the crime.
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Sketches were eventually released of the suspect, and Mitchell’s brother-in-law called Tom to say it might have been him.
Police quickly learned that Mitchell “believed himself to be a prophet of God.” One detective said, “In the last few years, he seemed to be spinning into a violent state of mind.”
Elizabeth Smart Convinced Her Captors to Return to Salt Lake City
After Mitchell was identified as the suspect and the search for Elizabeth continued, he decided to leave Salt Lake City with Elizabeth and Barzee. However, Elizabeth managed to convince him to go back to her hometown by telling him that God told her so and that he was a prophet.
“And he just turned to me and was like, ‘Oh, well God is finally starting to work with you. Now that you recognize your own nothingness, we are supposed to return to Salt Lake,’” she recalled.
When they returned to Salt Lake City, someone spotted the trio on the street and reported it to police. As they were walking on the sidewalk, police cars pulled up to them and officers started questioning the adults. Elizabeth was then separated from the adults, and she eventually confirmed to the cops who she was. She then returned to her family nine months after she was kidnapped.
Elizabeth Smart Reflected on the Aftermath of Her Kidnapping
“Seeing my family again, it reminded me that everything that had happened, it didn’t take away my value or my worth. Like, those monsters could never take that away,” she said in the documentary. “I just remember being so excited to be home. I woke up a few times during that [first] night and both my parents were, uh, standing above me making sure I was still there.”
Elizabeth added that she was “scared of men” when she returned home. “I was scared of a lot of things and I still didn’t hear anyone speak about, like, being raped or being abused,” she said. “I felt, like, a lot of shame and embarrassment around what had happened even though I knew it wasn’t my fault.”
She went on to say that her mom played “a huge part” in helping her process what happened. ”I feel like the things that really helped the most were spending time with my family,” she said.
Elizabeth Smart Decided to Testify Against Brian David Mitchell
Mitchell didn’t go to trial until 2010, which made it hard for Elizabeth to move forward.
“It felt like the system was rigged against me and I thought, ‘This has gone on for almost a decade. It needs to end. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care if I have to sit in the courtroom every day for months on end. If this is gonna bring it to a close, then that’s what I’m going to do,’” she said of her decision to testify.
Elizabeth added that she “didn’t want to face him” in court, but felt it was important to testify so that he wouldn’t be released and “go after another young girl.”
“When the verdict finally came in as guilty, I mean, it was … It was just like, ‘It is about time. Thank goodness. It’s done and I can leave it in the past now,’” she concluded.
Mitchell was found guilty of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor and was sentenced to life in prison. Meanwhile, Barzee was found guilty of kidnapping and other offenses. She received a 15-year federal prison sentence in 2009 and was released early on September 19, 2018.
