Posted on 07/02/2002 10:13:33 PM PDT by stlnative
It is a pretty safe bet that the Utah legislature will not have any problem passing such a law next session.
No one broke into the Smart home to abduct a male child. No one broke into the Smart home to abduct Elizabeth's younger sister. Someone who felt comfortable moving about the house in the dark had a singular purpose in mind. To abduct 14 going on 15 Elizabeth Smart, an exceptionally beautiful young girl by anyone's standards, and a girl who was "ripening" sexually into a young woman.
They didn't enter the house to kill her. They didn't enter the house to abduct her and then demand a ransom for her return. They didn't abduct her and kill her for the very simple reason that she was worth money. A lot of money.
Elizabeth Smart was abducted for the purpose of "selling" her to someone who used young girls for his own sexual purposes. These purposes may have included using her as a sex slave to him, or using her in the production of child pornography where her blond hair, angelic looks and pubescent body would have been highly sought after. She may even have been resold and taken out of the country for similar purposes.
The people who participated in the criminal scheme knew the Smart family, knew the layout of the Smart home, and must have felt, for whatever reason that a nightime home abduction was preferrable to a street abduction during the day from a risk standpoint. They were obviously correct.
These people had a criminal past, consorted with other known felons, probably used illegal drugs, and needed money. They also had reasons to dislike the Smarts, be that money, greed, jealousy or hatred.
The question of what became of her following the abduction is open to speculation. I think it reasonable to assume that unlike an abducted street urchin, Elizabeth Smart quickly became too hot to handle. Who ever possessed her after the abduction probably killed her and disposed of her body.
I believe it reasonable to assume that the authorities will never find her body. For all practical purposes she will have vanished forever.
Furthermore, my guess is the both the Ricci's were involved, that they had additional local talent assisting them, and that someone else acted as the buyer.
I believe the Jeep was used to transport the girl to the buyer where the payoff was made. The posthole digger would be useful in digging a small cylindrical hole sufficient to bury money or weapons and artifacts associated with the crime. Just about the diameter of a coffee can. The seat covers obviously had blond hairs or other DNA and had to be destroyed. Ricci obviously was counting on Angela's testimony that he was home asleep that night. But she is obviously lying and most likely participated in the abduction.
I still believe, according to what we have been led to believe, that Ricci was probably the inside man, for the reason that he would perhaps be better able to awaken the girl and assure her of her safety because she would instantly recognize him.
The idea of a midnight abducter unknown to the girl or wearing a mask or pantyhose over his face would have probably elicited one hell of a scream or struggle. If she struggled she might have forced him to pick her up and carry her out thereby providing her an opportunity to kick doors or furniture, or scratch or bite him. The story from the sister (granted we don't know the actual facts here) seems to support the idea that they actually hung around the house for a while, all the time which he would have had to control her. She could have tipped over a lamp, attempted to break free, etc.
Now granted, he supposedly had a gun, and if you've ever had a gun pointed at you it has a very unnerving affect upon your mind. She may have just had a panic attack and was totally unable to say or do anything.
I think the only way this case will ever be resolved is if someone breaks. Otherwise, this case may never be solved and the guilty will never be brought to justice.
I agree with your assessment about Moul. However, as I have been one of the people questioning him, I thought I'd explain. This is an unusual case and I have come to believe that appearances may be deceiving. I have begun to question everyone. While it appears that Ricci had something to do with this, I do not want him to be the sole focus. I believe that we have to suspect everyone. Racism has nothing to do with that.
I've revisited this thinking as well. She played for the Olympics, where she could have been seen by people from all over the world, I assume. Do you know if any pictures of her were in any published accounts? Even group pictures? Also, I wonder if charter flights for the days following her abduction were looked into.
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