Also we cannot assume that if and when they report finding a body, that all of the body will be found or is there. Please remember that killers may remove certain parts of the body so that it cannot be ID quickly, if at all. Hands, Feet, and Head (teeth) can be used to ID a body depending on how far along decomposition is.
BREAKING...
Ricci Neighbor is going in front of a Grand Jury today to tell them Ricci seemed to know too much the morning of June 5th at 8:30am about the case.
Utah is pure beauty. We love visiting. :o)
In regards to post #63 Fox News Channel just reported this at 9:30am central time. Ricci's neighbor says he talked to Ricci at 8:30am on the morning of June 5th and the neighbor says that Ricci knew too much about the details of Elizabeth's kidnapping at that time. So Ricci's neighbor is going in front of the Grand Jury today to tell them what Ricci said that morning to him. That all the details I have for now...
SALT LAKE CITY — A neighbor of handyman Richard Albert Ricci, the man at the "top of the list" of potential suspects in the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, says he will testify Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating the girl's abduction.
Andy Thurber said that he spoke to Ricci at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the kidnapping and that Ricci appeared to know more than he should have.
"He appeared to implicate himself that morning," Thurber said. "He said he would get questioned."
He said he did not know if the grand jury had subpoenaed anyone else in the case.
Ricci's wife, Angela, has said her husband was asleep in bed on June 5, the night Smart was kidnapped at gunpoint from her bedroom. "He's a wonderful man, there's no way he did this," she told The Salt Lake Tribune.
But detectives investigating the case say they aren't satisfied with the 48-year-old handyman's alibi. Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said on Tuesday that Ricci, who has a 29-year criminal record, has ascended to the "top of the list" of potential suspects.
Ricci worked at the Smart home as a handyman more than a year ago. Elizabeth's father, Ed, said Tuesday he wouldn't have hired Ricci if he had known about the man's violent history.
But Lee Mitchell, owner of Mitchell's Nursery, where Ricci worked, had nothing but praise for the man's work habits.
"He did an excellent job," Mitchell said. "He was very good with the customers, and the cashiers and fellow workers liked him very well."
Police on Tuesday handed out fliers with pictures of three cars Ricci has driven — a white 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass, a tan 1992 four-door Taurus and a white 1990 four-door Jeep Cherokee.
Investigators want to hear from anyone who saw Ricci in one of the vehicles from May 31 through June 8, around the time Smart disappeared.
Ed Smart said Ricci worked at the Smart home for two months last year. Smart said Ricci didn't have a car, so they worked out a deal where Smart would give Ricci his 1990 Jeep Cherokee in exchange for his labor. Smart said he signed the car over in September or October.
Smart said he honestly couldn't believe Ricci had anything to do with his daughter's abduction.
"He seemed to be fairly competent. I had absolutely no knowledge of his background or I never would have hired him," Smart said. "He seemed nice enough."
The Cherokee remains in police custody.
Police interviewed Ricci on June 6. They interviewed him again on June 11 and arrested him on an unrelated parole violation on June 14, nine days after Elizabeth was reported taken at gunpoint from her bedroom in an affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood. He is being held in Utah State Prison.
Ricci hasn't been charged in the Smart abduction. He has denied any involvement in the kidnapping to police.
Despite having had Ricci in custody for 11 days, police haven't been able to confirm his whereabouts on the morning of the abduction, Dinse said.
Investigators are "looking deeper into his alibi" for the night of the abduction, the chief said, refusing to say what the alibi is.
Ricci's house and car have been searched and he has voluntarily talked to police. Investigators also have spoken with Ricci's wife, Dinse said.
Ricci's lawyer, David K. Smith, told the Deseret News that Ricci was at home with his wife when Elizabeth was taken. Ricci's employer told the newspaper that Ricci was off June 5 but returned to work June 6 as scheduled and worked a full day.
Dinse said investigators haven't shown a photo of Ricci to the sole witness to the abduction — Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine Smart. Based on the sister's description, police said last week they think the abductor is 30-40 years old, nicely dressed and soft-spoken. Ricci is 48. A jail mug shot shows him wearing a thick mustache and long hair.
Ricci has been living in a trailer park in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns. His criminal history in Utah began with a burglary conviction in 1973. He was convicted of attempted homicide for the 1983 shotgun wounding of a Salt Lake City police officer. He has been in and out of prison for the past three decades, and was most recently freed on parole in 2000.
Ricci's convictions also include aggravated robbery and a prison escape.
Handyman's Neighbor to Testify in Grand Jury Probe of Smart Kidnap
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
SALT LAKE CITY — A neighbor of handyman Richard Albert Ricci, the man at the "top of the list" of potential suspects in the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, says he will testify Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating the girl's abduction.
Andy Thurber said that he spoke to Ricci at 8:30 a.m. on the morning of the kidnapping and that Ricci appeared to know more than he should have.
"He appeared to implicate himself that morning," Thurber said. "He said he would get questioned."
He said he did not know if the grand jury had subpoenaed anyone else in the case.
Ricci's wife, Angela, has said her husband was asleep in bed on June 5, the night Smart was kidnapped at gunpoint from her bedroom. "He's a wonderful man, there's no way he did this," she told The Salt Lake Tribune.
But detectives investigating the case say they aren't satisfied with the 48-year-old handyman's alibi. Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said on Tuesday that Ricci, who has a 29-year criminal record, has ascended to the "top of the list" of potential suspects.
Ricci worked at the Smart home as a handyman more than a year ago. Elizabeth's father, Ed, said Tuesday he wouldn't have hired Ricci if he had known about the man's violent history.
But Lee Mitchell, owner of Mitchell's Nursery, where Ricci worked, had nothing but praise for the man's work habits.
"He did an excellent job," Mitchell said. "He was very good with the customers, and the cashiers and fellow workers liked him very well."
Police on Tuesday handed out fliers with pictures of three cars Ricci has driven — a white 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass, a tan 1992 four-door Taurus and a white 1990 four-door Jeep Cherokee.
Investigators want to hear from anyone who saw Ricci in one of the vehicles from May 31 through June 8, around the time Smart disappeared.
Ed Smart said Ricci worked at the Smart home for two months last year. Smart said Ricci didn't have a car, so they worked out a deal where Smart would give Ricci his 1990 Jeep Cherokee in exchange for his labor. Smart said he signed the car over in September or October.
Smart said he honestly couldn't believe Ricci had anything to do with his daughter's abduction.
"He seemed to be fairly competent. I had absolutely no knowledge of his background or I never would have hired him," Smart said. "He seemed nice enough."
The Cherokee remains in police custody.
Police interviewed Ricci on June 6. They interviewed him again on June 11 and arrested him on an unrelated parole violation on June 14, nine days after Elizabeth was reported taken at gunpoint from her bedroom in an affluent Salt Lake City neighborhood. He is being held in Utah State Prison.
Ricci hasn't been charged in the Smart abduction. He has denied any involvement in the kidnapping to police.
Despite having had Ricci in custody for 11 days, police haven't been able to confirm his whereabouts on the morning of the abduction, Dinse said.
Investigators are "looking deeper into his alibi" for the night of the abduction, the chief said, refusing to say what the alibi is.
Ricci's house and car have been searched and he has voluntarily talked to police. Investigators also have spoken with Ricci's wife, Dinse said.
Ricci's lawyer, David K. Smith, told the Deseret News that Ricci was at home with his wife when Elizabeth was taken. Ricci's employer told the newspaper that Ricci was off June 5 but returned to work June 6 as scheduled and worked a full day.
Dinse said investigators haven't shown a photo of Ricci to the sole witness to the abduction — Elizabeth's 9-year-old sister, Mary Katherine Smart. Based on the sister's description, police said last week they think the abductor is 30-40 years old, nicely dressed and soft-spoken. Ricci is 48. A jail mug shot shows him wearing a thick mustache and long hair.
Ricci has been living in a trailer park in the Salt Lake City suburb of Kearns. His criminal history in Utah began with a burglary conviction in 1973. He was convicted of attempted homicide for the 1983 shotgun wounding of a Salt Lake City police officer. He has been in and out of prison for the past three decades, and was most recently freed on parole in 2000.
Ricci's convictions also include aggravated robbery and a prison escape.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This newstory is so boring, give it a rest. It's a local news event. Not a national event! sheesh
LOL...That was a quick double post by us... check the times!
As is, could a body in Salt Lake become badly decomposed between June 6 and June 25? Short answer, yes.
IGNORE POST #74... THEY JUST WANT TO GET A RISE OUT OF PEOPLE HERE.
I agree... the neighbor also may want Ricci out of neighborhood! I know I would!
