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Police
Work on Plausible Kidnapping Theories
Police
still don't know what happened to Elizabeth Smart, but they're
working the most plausible theories. She may have been kidnapped
for ransom. Abducted in a bungled burglary. Or taken by a sexual
predator.
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November 3, 2002
Police say Smart investigation has consumed 4,250 man hours
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Capt. Cory Lyman was at a family
gathering when his cell phone rang the night of Aug. 27.
Richard Ricci, the top potential suspect in the mysterious
kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, had a brain hemorrhage and wasn't
expected to recover.
Lyman, who
heads up the Elizabeth Smart Task Force, hung up in
utter disbelief.
"I just thought, 'What else can go wrong?"' Lyman
recalled.
"This case has been fraught with unusual occurrences."
It's been almost five months since Elizabeth disappeared from
her bedroom on June 5. Her family marked her 15th birthday on
Sunday in seclusion.
Theories of how and why the girl was taken still divide members
of the task force, made up of three Salt Lake police detectives
and two FBI investigators.
"We've got people there that believe strongly different
things,
and from my perspective, that's extremely healthy," Lyman
said.
The three most plausible theories are that Elizabeth was
kidnapped for ransom, abducted in a bungled burglary or whisked
away by a sexual predator.
Ed and Lois Smart say any of those scenarios could be possible.
They're also certain the kidnapper knew the layout of their
house. But the family is haunted by the "why issue,"
Ed Smart said. "Why would anyone take her? What for?"
While Lyman said investigators never received any legitimate
ransom requests, "realize that a kidnapping for ransom
can be bungled. That could have been the intent. We don't know."
Investigators are working off a list of three to five possible
suspects including Ricci, Lyman said. Police refuse to identify
the others.
Some law enforcement sources have speculated Ricci's death effectively
ended the investigation, but Lyman demurs.
"No, the case did not die with Ricci," Lyman said.
"It certainly set back some of the theories of the case.
Mr. Ricci had information, either culpable or exculpable that
only he knew."
Before his sudden death, Ricci denied any involvement in
Elizabeth's kidnapping, but court documents show he admitted
to stealing jewelry, a perfume bottle and wine glass filled
with sea shells from the Smart house.
And in an eerily similar case, court documents state Ricci
admitted to breaking into another house in the Smart neighborhood
last April and stealing jewelry and $100 cash. Ricci also worked
in that house doing remodeling.
Ricci crept into a bedroom where a house guest was sleeping,
court documents show. The woman awoke, believing Ricci's darkened
profile was that of a family member, and told him he could turn
on a light. The intruder responded with only a cough, and the
woman rolled over and went to sleep.
When the burglary charges were filed, Salt Lake Police Chief
Rick Dinse said Ricci's thefts showed a "pattern of conduct"
that "considerably raised our interest." Lois Smart
calls the
similarities "highly suspicious."
Police remain skeptical of the 48-year-old ex-con's claims of
innocence. Investigators still doubt Ricci's alibi -- that he
was
home in bed with his wife, Angela -- the night Elizabeth
disappeared, but they refuse to say what evidence they have
to discredit that alibi.
"Our conclusion is, no, he wasn't home in bed with her
that
night," Lyman said.
Through a spokeswoman, Angela Ricci maintained her husband's
innocence.
"She hopes that Elizabeth is found alive and well,"
Ricci
spokeswoman Nancy Pomeroy said. "She doesn't believe that
Richard took anything to the grave with him, and she believes
in his innocence."
Salt Lake City Police Capt. Scott Atkinson said his department
has spent more than 4,250 man hours investigating, with detectives
traveling about 10,000 miles running down leads in multiple
states.
Family members have cooperated throughout the investigation,
Lyman said.
"We looked at the family extremely hard early on,"
Lyman said, "While we do continue to look, there's been
nothing that's changed our focus recently."
Ed Smart also has spent time and energy pushing for a national
Amber Alert system. Yet he doesn't want the trauma to consume
his family.
"I want so much for my children not to be scarred by this
event," Smart said. "I want them to have normal lives
and enjoy it. I don't want them to be seeing psychologists and
having issues."
But with Elizabeth still missing, it's hard for the family to
move on.
"I want to find closure in the worst possible way, but
I don't
want to cripple my children for life," he said. "It's
hard to get
a balance of life again."
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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