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Wanda Barzee denied parole in Elizabeth Smart kidnapping
By Ben Winslow, Fox 13 Salt Lake City, Ben Winslow, Fox 13 Salt Lake City
Published July 02, 2018
Wanda Barzee, left, is serving time for her role in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, right. (AP)
Wanda Barzee, convicted for her role in the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, has been denied parole.
The Utah Board of Pardons & Parole announced on Monday that Barzee would be given another parole hearing in 2023. It would be ahead of the termination of her prison sentence to determine if she has completed any mental health treatment.
Barzee, 72, was convicted of conspiracy to commit kidnapping in connection with the 2002 abduction of Elizabeth Smart. Barzee’s husband, Brian David Mitchell, was convicted of breaking into the Smart family home and taking then-14-year-old Elizabeth captive for nine months. She was found with the homeless street preacher walking down a Sandy street. Elizabeth was to be one of Mitchell’s polygamous wives.
The parole board said in its decision that it would consider an earlier parole hearing if Barzee were willing to cooperate with a mental health evaluation. Her sentence is scheduled to expire in 2024, meaning she would be released at that time.
Barzee, 72, refused to attend her parole hearing last month, instead informing corrections officers that she did not wish to be transported. Barzee is serving a one-to-15 year sentence in the Utah State Prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. She entered the prison in 2016 after serving a stint in federal system.
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