Mitchell, Barzee charged with kidnapping, sexual assault

SALT LAKE CITY — Self-proclaimed prophet Brian Mitchell and his wife were charged with aggravated kidnapping, and sexual assault today in the abduction of Elizabeth Smart, the teenager taken from her home last summer.

Bail for each defendant was set at $10 million.

Mitchell, a drifter whose writings promoting polygamy had raised questions about whether Elizabeth was sexually abused during her nine-month ordeal, has told his attorney that he considers Elizabeth his wife and wants her to be renamed “Remnant Who Will Return.”

Attorney Larry Long said Mitchell — whom he referred to as “the perpetrator” — considers the girl’s nine-month disappearance a “call from God,” not a kidnapping.

Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, were expected to be arraigned later today or tomorrow. They also were charged with burglary.

Mitchell, 49, and Barzee, 57, and Elizabeth were found Wednesday in Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb.

Elizabeth was abducted from her bedroom at knifepoint on June 5.

The charging documents allege Mitchell entered the Smart home after using a knife to cut a window screen.

The teen, dressed in pajamas, was forced at knifepoint to walk four miles up a mountain trail behind the home to a concealed campsite.

Mitchell threatened to harm or kill the Smart family if she resisted, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors say that when they reached the campsite, Barzee tried to remove Elizabeth’s pajamas. When the girl resisted, Barzee threatened to have Mitchell forcibly do it.

Elizabeth complied and Mitchell attempted to sexually assault her, with Barzee’s help, the documents say.

The couple held Elizabeth against her will at the campsite until Oct. 8 with little or no shelter, plumbing, water or food.

The maximum sentence for conviction on both the kidnapping and sexual assault charges is life in prison.

Smart family spokesman Chris Thomas said Mitchell was wrong to believe he had any kind of relationship with the girl.

“Elizabeth was taken against her will at knifepoint, she’s a minor, and whatever rationale Mitchell used to believe that she was his wife and loved him is grossly mistaken,” Thomas said. “The definition of love is not degradation, humiliation, or robbing someone’s life of control and respect.”

Mitchell, an excommunicated Mormon, wrote a rambling manifesto last year espousing the virtues of polygamy. The Mormon church has long distanced itself from polygamy and excommunicates those who practice it.

Before today’s charges, no details had been released about any abuse Elizabeth might have suffered while captive. She had been interviewed several times by police but her parents had not asked her for details, Thomas said.

Thomas has denied speculation the girl could be pregnant: “Unequivocally, she is not pregnant and was never pregnant.”

“She has been thoroughly examined and tested,” Thomas said Saturday.

Family members have said repeatedly that Elizabeth was brainwashed during the nine months, and that her loss of free will prevented her from escaping despite several opportunities to do so.

The family had called on prosecutors to make sure they do not traumatize the girl during questioning and involve Elizabeth only as much as they need to for a successful prosecution, Thomas said.

“They have expressed their concerns for Elizabeth’s well-being, and will hold the D.A.’s office accountable for any actions that might victimize her a second time,” Thomas said.

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said yesterday he would name an independent commission to examine police handling.

Investigators were criticized for concentrating on potential suspect Richard Ricci even after Elizabeth’s younger sister told authorities in October that Mitchell could be the man that took her sister.