Woman pleads guilty in Elizabeth Smart case
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 | 4:46 PM ET
CBC News
Elizabeth Smart leaves the federal courthouse after testifying at a competency hearing for her alleged kidnapper, Brian David Mitchell, Oct. 1, 2009, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Colin Braley/Associated Press) A woman charged in the 2002 abduction of Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart has pleaded guilty to federal charges.
In a deal with prosecutors, Wanda Eileen Barzee pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
Barzee apologized in court, saying she was "humbled as I realize how much Elizabeth Smart has been victimized and the role that I played in it."
Elizabeth Smart was not in court, but her father, Ed Smart, made a statement there. "I just hope that Wanda realizes what she did and that it was absolutely wrong and absolutely horrible," he said.
Wanda Barzee pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in the case of Elizabeth Smart. (Douglas Pizac/Reuters) Barzee could face life behind bars for the kidnapping charge and up to 15 years for the other charge.
Barzee and her estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell, were charged by the U.S. government in 2008.
Smart was 14 when she was abducted from her bedroom. She was found nine months later by a motorist who saw her walking down a suburban Salt Lake City street with Barzee and Mitchell.
Smart testified last month that within hours of her abduction, Mitchell held a ceremony to marry her as his polygamous wife and then raped her.
Mitchell has been ruled incompetent to stand trial on state charges and a judge has refused to force him to take medications.
On Nov. 30, Mitchell is to undergo a 10-day competency hearing on his federal charges.
With files from The Associated Press
