Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping - Daily News/Chat Thread - Day 25

06/30/02 - Sunday | Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping - Daily News/Chat Thread - Day 25

[TheDon]

So was varina davis just yanking our chains last night with the claim that FoxNews was stating Ricci was off the hook? I didn't see anything about it on their ticker. Also, MSNBC was stating that Angela Ricci was possibly going to be called up again before the GJ tomorrow.

[TheDon]

Looks like someone on FR has no sense of humor... ;^)

[Faith]

Heavenly Father,

We know that You are Elizabeth's refuge and her dwelling place. Thank You for sending Your mighty angels to guard and keep her. Thank You that You walk with her in the midst of trouble. We pray that You would deliver her from this snare, Lord, and that You would surround her with songs of assurance. We know that You are her hiding place and her strong tower. Thank You that You will not leave her nor forsake her. Father, we are confident that You love Elizabeth with an everlasting love, and that You know even the number of hairs on her head. We again commit this child into Your loving arms, Lord, knowing that You will protect and keep her until these calamities have passed. We ask for strength and courage for the Smart family, and for patience to wait for Your perfect timing. We ask for extraordinary vision for the investigators, that they may be led directly to Elizabeth. Shine a light upon her, Lord. Have mercy on Your beloved child. We believe in Your faithfulness and trust in Your promise to answer our prayers. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

[TheDon]

MSNBC is stating that Angela Ricci is going to be called up again before the GJ tomorrow. They got word of this from her lawyer. The ticker also mentioned the police are looking for the man who picked up Ricci from the auto shop. Further, Ricci is denying he picked up his vehicle from the shop during the abduction of Elizabeth Smart. I guess the police have caught him in at least one major, incriminating lie. The good news is that if there was a conspiracy, there is some hope ES may be found alive.

[luvbach1]

An amoral (and immoral) character like Ricci could well have felt admiration for the Smart family even as he burglarized them. I believe this would cause such a person little conflict.

[luvbach1]

Maybe the mechanic used the vehicle. Unlikely, but conceivable?

[luvbach1]

Yeah, and took a day off on the same date as Ricci.

[luvbach1]

I never buy excuses for murder, particulary 1st degree murder, because I know that countless numbers of others have suffered comparable trauma and disappointment in their family life without becoming killers.

[PoisedWoman]

I wonder what other things Ricci might have been doing with that Jeep...perhaps he's growing marijuana somewhere out in the boonies, went to put a fence around it to keep deer out. Could explain the secrecy factor. Perhaps the seatcovers were just too filthy to keep them in the Jeep any longer.

[IamHD]

This is an excerpt from ABC news interview on GMA, the 28th.

Lost Keys and a Mystery Mrs. Ricci

However, Moul denies having the Jeep and said he remembered seeing Ricci bring it back two days after Elizabeth's abduction and hurriedly removing several items — including its seat covers and two bags.

When told about the mechanic's allegations, Angela Ricci maintained that she was sure her husband did not have the Jeep on the night in question.

"I'm sure it wasn't … it wasn't there," she said.

On ABCNEWS' Good Morning America today, Angela Ricci went a step further, suggesting that someone else could have taken the Jeep.

"He lost his keys. Someone stole his keys in April," she said. "For some reason the FBI won't question this person that was with him when his keys were stolen, so he is not the only person that had keys to that Jeep."

Moul told ABCNEWS that a woman called the garage a couple days before Elizabeth's disappearance and, identifying herself as Mrs. Ricci, said her husband was coming to pick up the Jeep.

"I have no idea who that woman was. That was a surprise to me," Angela Ricci said on Good Morning America, when she was asked about the mechanic's claim. "We owe him money, so I wouldn't have done that without paying them."

-SNIP-

Did anybody see this interview with Angela Ricci? I had heard about the alleged 'wife' calling the mechanic, but had not heard these statements coming from Mrs. RICCI.

Personally, I sincerely believe that if there is a woman involved with this, ES has a greater chance of still being alive.

[Utah Girl]

I watched the crawl on Fox News before I fell asleep last night, and then I watched Tony Snow's show this morning. The same crawl was crawling across the screen, it said that Angela Ricci had testified that Richard Ricci was in bed with her all night long, that she testified before the grand jury last week. Then the crawl said that the SLPD were still looking for a suspect, but are focusing on Ricci. The crawl gave the description of the abductor and talked about the reward. I don't know where the "Ricci has been officially declared not a suspect" came from...cetainly not from the same crawl I've seen on Fox.

[TheDon]

Possible, personally I think 'fessing up to some mileage use would be a much lesser crime than lying to the LEOs, especially in a case of this nature. I'm sure the mechanic's where abouts will be looked into during this period. I'm thinking the mechanic is getting an unexpected anal exam about this time.

[TheDon]

Possible. Unfortunately, the more he attempts to hide, the more suspicious he looks, and the more resources the LEOs have to spend trying to find the truth. Which is time wasted in looking for ES, if he is not involved.

It is funny, you can make plausible explainations for all of the coincidences in Ricci's case individually, but when you look at the totality of them, you can't help but be suspicious. This does not mean he is guilty, that does not appear to have been determined by the police, and obviously not in a court of law. After all, if the hat don't fit, you must acquit.

[crystalk]

I see no reason why Ricci might not have much admired the Smart family, and Ed Smart in particular. He gave him the benefit of the doubt, rehired him, always treated him with Christian charity and courtesy. Paid him with his own vehicle, a good deal for Ricci.

As for the things taken, they were impersonal items involving no sentimental value nor wanton property destruction ... ... simply a sort of income equalization like all Democrats believe in.

[TheDon]

Unfortunately for Ricci, the mechanic claims to have seen him return the vehicle, but I don't neccessarily recall the mechanic stating that he saw him take it out of the shop. The interview was much more focused on the state of Mr. Ricci and his vehicle when he brought it back. If Ricci is involved, he definitely showed some creativety in putting his car in the shop during this period, but removing it for a short time. Thus providing cover for himself, that he didn't have the vehicle at the time of the abduction. So many coincidences, does anyone believe in that many coincidences?

[TheDon]

simply a sort of income equalization like all Democrats believe in

A great line, and a good explanation of why Dems are so understanding of criminals.

[Utah Girl]

I think some hasty conclusions were jumped personally... :)

[EggsAckley]

Let me preface this comment by saying that I am by no means doing the "blame the victim" thing. BUT......Ricci has spent 30 of his 50 years in and out of prison. Maybe I'm overly cautious, but when I have an individual working on/around my premises, I make it a point to get at least a vague history on the person. And if it was a person who had spent that much of his life in stoney lonesome, I simply would not have them here.

I actually turned down an attractive building bid from a local contractor due to the fact that his "foreman" was a young man I knew, and I also knew that all his life he had been suspected of/several times busted for breaking and entering. Just before being hired by the contractor, he had been working at a locksmith's and had been busted for using keys he'd made to B&E peoples' homes. The minute I saw this man on the jobsite, I called the contractor and told him not to bother; I refused to allow that individual access to my house. Color me paranoid, but I have the right to avoid shady characters... Hmmmm....maybe that's profiling.......

I can't fathom why ES would hire an individual of this character, and even give him a vehicle, if he had known about this man's background. Or perhaps he didn't know, although it seems as if he should have known.