Sunday, 01 Jun 2025

Wanda Barzee, one of Elizabeth Smart's captors, arrested on alleged sex offender violation

Wanda Barzee, who was convicted in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, was arrested in Utah for violating the terms of her sex offender status by going to a park.


Wanda Barzee, one of Elizabeth Smart's captors, arrested on alleged sex offender violation

After several hearings, Barzee was sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping. She received the sentence after cooperating with the FBI and the state of Utah to convict Mitchell, who was sentenced to life in prison. In 2018, Barzee was released from prison and placed under five years of federal supervision in addition to being registered as a sex offender. She was ordered not to contact Smart's family.

"I don't think Wanda is a threat to Elizabeth. Would I want her around kids? Absolutely not. The comment 'God told me to' leaves one with a wide-open excuse to do anything," Ed Smart told KUTV.

However, Barzee's attorney, Scott Williams, told KUTV that he was "confident" that his client did not know that she was violating the terms of her sex offender status. When asked if Barzee poses a threat to anybody, Williams reportedly said "absolutely not." 

 Stephanie Nolasco, Louis Casiano and Katherine Lam contributed to this report.

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