The Student News Site of Buffalo High School

Bison Beat Online

The Student News Site of Buffalo High School

Bison Beat Online

The Student News Site of Buffalo High School

Bison Beat Online

Smart’s kidnapper released

Smarts+kidnapper+released

The woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart and did not help her escape but instead stood by as the Utah girl was sexually assaulted was released Wednesday. She spent 15 years in prison.

Wanda Barzee, 72, was released from the state prison Draper, a Salt Lake City suburb. There was a large crowd of reporters and press waiting for her, but she did not disclose where she was going.

Last week, Utah authorities announced that they had miscalculated the amount of time Barzee should spend in prison and that she would be released. Smart, who is now 30, was not happy about the news. She has expressed a hope that Barzee will be monitored closely.

Smart was kidnapped from her Salt Lake City home by Brian Mitchell, who was at the time Barzee’s husband. Smart was 14 at the time of the abduction. She says that Barzee not only treated her as a slave during the nine months she was held captive, but that she encouraged her husband to rape her.

As a condition of her release, Barzee was placed on the Utah sex offender registry; however, as of Wednesday afternoon, her address was still listed as the Utah prison.

More to Discover