Woman pleads guilty in Elizabeth Smart case
source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33990578/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
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One of two people charged in the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges.
In a deal with prosecutors, Wanda Eileen Barzee entered the pleas to charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
The 64-year-old Barzee could face a life sentence for the kidnapping charge and up to 15 years for the other count. It's unclear whether Barzee may get a reduced sentence in exchange for her plea.
Both Brian David Mitchell and Barzee, Mitchell's estranged wife, were indicted on federal kidnapping charges in March 2008.
Smart was 14 in 2002 when she was abducted from her bedroom at knifepoint and whisked away to a campsite in the mountains above her Salt Lake City home. She was recovered nine months later after a motorist saw her walking on a suburban street with Barzee and Barzee's now-estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell.
Barzee's role in the alleged abduction has garnered less attention than Mitchell's.
Last month, Smart testified as part of Mitchell's competency hearing that she was raped repeatedly each day after she was abducted from her bedroom seven years ago. She said she was told she would be killed if she yelled or tried to escape.
She described Mitchell, her alleged kidnapper, as "evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.
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In a deal with prosecutors, Wanda Eileen Barzee entered the pleas to charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
The 64-year-old Barzee could face a life sentence for the kidnapping charge and up to 15 years for the other count. It's unclear whether Barzee may get a reduced sentence in exchange for her plea.
Both Brian David Mitchell and Barzee, Mitchell's estranged wife, were indicted on federal kidnapping charges in March 2008.
Smart was 14 in 2002 when she was abducted from her bedroom at knifepoint and whisked away to a campsite in the mountains above her Salt Lake City home. She was recovered nine months later after a motorist saw her walking on a suburban street with Barzee and Barzee's now-estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell.
Barzee's role in the alleged abduction has garnered less attention than Mitchell's.
Last month, Smart testified as part of Mitchell's competency hearing that she was raped repeatedly each day after she was abducted from her bedroom seven years ago. She said she was told she would be killed if she yelled or tried to escape.
She described Mitchell, her alleged kidnapper, as "evil, wicked, manipulative, stinky, slimy, selfish, not spiritual, not religious, not close to God.
More @ link
