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CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
Elizabeth Smart's Return Leaves Many Questions Unanswered; Family of Drifter Couple Say They Knew They Were Involved
Aired March 13, 2003 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CONNIE CHUNG, HOST: Good evening, I'm Connie Chung. Tonight, at times she could hear the searchers calling for her. What happened during her nine-month ordeal?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED SMART, ELIZABETH'S FATHER: It's real! It's real!
ANNOUNCER: Elizabeth Smart is home. Now the questions. What really happened during her captivity?
E. SMART: She said that she had spent months right up here in the mountains.
ANNOUNCER: Throughout the entire nine-month ordeal, her parents never gave up hope.
E. SMART: All of the children out there deserve to come home to their parents that way Elizabeth has come back to us.
ANNOUNCER: The suspects. The family of a drifter couple say they knew they were involved.
Cracking the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nine one one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, could you tell me is there where I call if I think I see that Emmanuel they're looking for?
E. SMART: It's the eyes of the public that helped us rescue her.
ANNOUNCER: The sharp-eyed tipsters that called 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I looked him in the face, he looked at me and I turned around, went back to my husband. I said, that's him.
ANNOUNCER: How they confronted the man wanted by the police.
And after the reunion, returning to a normal life after months as a hostage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT. Live from the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, Connie Chung.
CHUNG: Good evening. Tonight, the stunning details we're learning about the ordeal of Elizabeth Smart and the people accused of taking her and keeping her for more than nine months and there are questions about the investigation.
And there are questions about the investigation. Were there unnecessary delays, missed opportunities? Well at times the kidnapped teen was agonizingly close to those so desperate to find her. Close even, to have been able to hear her own name echo across those mountains.
Tonight, however, all those questions are secondary to the Smart family, dwarfed by their joy at having her back home. Just listen to her father, Ed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
E. SMART: It's real! It's real! Elizabeth is happy. She's well and we're so happy to have her back in our arms. I hate even leaving her. I'm sitting there hugging her the whole time. Is this real?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: And he provided details of Elizabeth's first hours back home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
E. SMART: Last night when we got her home we did a few things. Everyone was pleading with her to get on the harp and she struggled through a couple pieces. says, well it's been nine months. But it was absolutely wonderful to hear her play.
We spent some time together watching her favorite video which is "Trouble With Angels." And it's just -- it's unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Also, today the family released these photos. And a little later we'll speak with members of the family about the reunion. How Elizabeth is doing and some of the tougher questions we mentioned earlier.
It was just this week, in fact, that family members went public can complaints about the police. Just a short time ago police in Salt Lake city held a news conference and CNN's Jeanne Meserve was there.
Jeanne, what more can you tell us about what Elizabeth went through during those past five -- nine months?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Connie, we now know that she was taken from her home at knifepoint, not gun point. She was was taken up to the hills behind the Smart home. she was held there for approximately two months. They have found a camp site over there. The FBI is going over that now with an evidence team collecting what they can.
She was brought back down into Salt Lake City in August. She was seen at various locations including a party in October. She was taken to San Diego. Again, they have found a camp site there. They are going over that for evidence.
And then in March 12 she was brought back to the Salt Lake City area, just hours later she was captured.
the big question has been, if she was in so many places where there were other people, why she didn't try to escape? Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse answered that question this way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. RICK DINSE, SALT LAKE CITY POLICE: There is clearly a psychological impact that occurred during this abdication at some point. And, you know, we're not going to go into that...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: The chief also said that he knows, he believes whether or not Elizabeth was sexually abused during her time in captivity, but he won't share what he knows with us. He did say that Mitchell did view himself as a polygamist. Again, he carefully said he didn't want to draw any connection between that and Elizabeth -- Connie.
CHUNG: What's known about those two suspects?
MESERVE: Well, we know now that while they were in San Diego there was a burglary at a church and Mitchell was picked up for that. He was held in custody for six days by the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. He used a different name at the time. However, they have made a fingerprint match. They know it was the same guy.
What's kind of sad about this is that the family had gone public with the name Emmanuel and at the time of the arrest, the police had already made an I.D., they knew that this man was in fact going by the name of Brian David Mitchell, but they had not put out any sort of bulletin. San Diego didn't know and so when he pleaded guilty, they let him go.
CHUNG: So are authorities in both cities coming under fire for dropping the ball?
MESERVE: Authorities here are coming under fire. A lot of question about why they didn't take it more seriously when Mary Katherine, the younger sister who was in the room when Elizabeth was taken, came forward and said I believe this is the man that I know as Emmanuel. Family members tell me they think she was ignored because this was a 10-year-old kid.
The police said didn't go forward sooner because there was nothing in this man's past that indicated to them that he was a lively -- likely suspect. There wasn't a history of violent crime, he'd never arrested on any sort of sexual abuse charges, anything like that. But Chief Dinse did say today that perhaps mistakes were made.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DINSE: Let me tell you that in hindsight it's 20/20 vision. If we had to go back over it again, that decision by the investigators, I think every and each one of them would say, I wish we had gone public with that photograph sooner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: Interestingly enough the Smart family is not amongst those engaging in public comment about the police department today except to say they're overjoyed to have their daughter home and we all learn from our mistakes. Connie, back to you.
CHUNG: Jeanne Meserve in Salt Lake City, thank you.
In two families the Smarts and the Mitchells it was relatives who saved the day. Mary Katherine Smart identified the homeless street preacher and one-time handyman as a suspect. Mitchell's sister went to authorities when she realized it was her brother. Mitchell's stepsons provided police with photos of their stepfather to help in the search for him.
Stepdaughter Louree Gayler did as well. And she's come forward to explain why she ran from Mitchell as a teen, although he never abuse her criminally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUREE GAYLER, BRIAN MITCHELL'S STEPDAUGHTER: The way he touched me sometimes, the way he came in and kissed me and caressed me. Certain things like that that have happened. I don't know, just weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: She also made a chilling observation about the meaning Elizabeth may have held to her captors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GAYLER: She kind of looked like me at the age I left my mom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Today Ed Smart, Elizabeth's father, for the second time, publicly thanked Brian Mitchell's sister for turning her brother in. I spoke with her. She said the following.
When she discovered the police were looking for a panhandler named Emmanuel, she immediately knew they sought her brother, that turning him in was the right thing to do. That if her brother did abduct Elizabeth, she felt that was a good sign. That she was confident that Elizabeth was alive. That Wanda, Mitchell's wife, would take good care of Elizabeth, that the family is relieved and happy that the Smarts got their daughter back. That she loves her brother and cares about him and is very sorry.
About Brian Mitchell's history: That he married his third wife, Wanda, about 16 or 17 years ago, they had no children together, that Brian called himself "David" and later "Emmanuel", that he became more and more delusional over the years.
San Diego Sheriffs have confirmed that Mitchell was in their custody last month. A man resembling Mitchell was held from February 12 through the 18th after Utah officials identified Mitchell as someone with whom they wanted to speak.
San Diego's Sheriff's Department Captain Glenn Revell is with us now. Captain Revell, thank you for coming on with us.
You're welcome.
CHUNG: You have confirmed that in fact Brian Mitchell is the man that you had under arrest about a month ago, but did he give you a different name?
CAPT. GLENN REVELL, SAN DIEGO SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: He did, indeed, Connie. He identified himself as Michael J. Jensen. Said he was a transient, unemployed. And at the time of his arrest he was arrested for breaking into an area church, obsentsively (ph) to seek shelter. He subsequently was allowed to plead not -- rather, plead guilty to misdemeanor charge of vandalism.
CHUNG: How did you confirm the match?
REVELL: Today we spent a good portion of the day electronically trying to transmit copies of his fingerprints that were taken in February as being one in the same with Mr. Mitchell.
And I just received notice a little over an hour ago from the Utah State Crime Lab that in fact the man we knew as Jensen at the time of his arrest in mid-February is, indeed, one in the same, Brian David Mitchell.
CHUNG: Was anyone with him when he was arrested?
REVELL: No, he was alone at the time.
CHUNG: Did he mention his wife or a daughter?
REVELL: No, he mentioned no next of kin. He was booked subsequent to his arrest and the deputies did not notice him in the company of anyone, male or female.
CHUNG: Did he make any calls when he was in custody?
REVELL: Not that we're aware of.
CHUNG: Was he nervous at all?
REVELL: We understand he was completely cooperative. Much more concerned about what handful belongs he had than who might have been traveling with him.
CHUNG: I think the burning question is did Salt Lake City Police drop the ball or did San Diego Sheriffs drop the ball in not being able to make the connection?
REVELL: Connie, I think the connection really has more to do with the Salt Lake authorities, local and federal, at the time of his arrest in San Diego, had not focused or narrowed their investigation to the point where they were willing to put out a national bulletin indicating they wanted him for questioning or arrest.
And subsequently we weren't aware of that. We checked on the 18th to see if there was a national want or warrant for him and seeing none in the database released him subsequent to his plea.
CHUNG: You checked through your system as much as you could and the national system as much as you could, is that correct?
REVELL: Exactly.
CHUNG: Now the FBI was on in this, in the investigation. And it's believed that the sketch of Brian Mitchell was available at the time, perhaps even the picture, is not really clear. Do you know what was available to Salt Lake City Police at the time that you arrested this man?
REVELL: I'm not sure what the exact time frame, Connie, is between the "American Most Wanted" information that went out on the Internet and posted Mr. Mitchell's photograph and the actual posting of his information on the National Law Enforcement Database.
But, obviously, we missed him. We're sad about that and we're certainly elated for the family that Elizabeth is home with her family tonight.
CHUNG: If we look at this objectively, might it be the Salt Lake City Police and the FBI investigators in that area who were not letting this information out nationally so you would know that you should hold on to this man?
REVELL: Well I'm hesitant to say that, although I would suggest that probably those departments were taking close look at an awful lot of potential suspects.
And as they narrowed their focus and Mr. Mitchell became their primary focus, they appropriately placed him on the national database and at that point the federal authorities realized that prints of Mr. Mitchell matched the prints of Mr. Jensen which lead us to realized he had in fact been in San Diego.
CHUNG: Knowing what you know now, do you believe you have any information that might help the investigation that's ongoing right now into Mr. Mitchell?
REVELL: The sheriff's department continues to support the federal authorities. The FBI has been out in Lake Side area today and of course with our knowledge of the geographics of the area and so forth. We're attempting to assist them in locating people who might have had more intimate contact, who might have spent a significant time with Mr. Mitchell so we can understand what he was doing in the area, how he spent his time and whether or not he was involved in any criminal activity we're not aware of.
CHUNG: All right. Captain Revell, thank you so much for being with us.
REVELL: Thank you.
CHUNG: Joining us now from Salt Lake City are Elizabeth's uncles David, Tom and Chris Smart. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm so happy to see the three of you.
(CROSSTALK)
CHUNG: Good. Uncle Chris, first to you. I understand you spent the day with Elizabeth. Tell us how she is and tell us what you did and tell us what she said.
CHRIS SMART, ELIZABETH'S UNCLE: She's doing fantastic. You know, we had a bunch of the cousins up there, the younger cousins that are about her age and younger. And they had a pizza party, they went out in the cul-de-sac and had some balloons and let them go and just basically sat around and enjoyed one another.
The cousins all sang "Happy Birthday" to her and gave her presents because she was, you know, missing when she had her birthday and it was just a great time.
CHUNG: Do you think, Chris...
C. SMART: She seemed very happy.
CHUNG: Oh, good. Do you think, Chris, though, that she's having any trouble adjusting?
C. SMART: She just seems to be doing great, Connie. I mean I didn't see anything as far as any kind of trauma-type situation. But she looked super and glad to be home.
CHUNG: I understand last night she actually slept in her own old bed and her father said that there she was with Mary Katherine, her younger sister and that everything was fine.
C. SMART: Yes. She said that she was glad to be back in her bed.
TOM SMART, ELIZABETH'S UNCLE: With her little sister, that's a good sign, isn't it, Connie?
CHUNG: It really is, Tom, I can't believe it.
Tom, Elizabeth's father revealed today that Elizabeth was able to hear rescuers calling for her, even her uncle because she was right up the hill behind the house and she had been up there camping with these people. That must have been so wrenching knowing that she was there and she could hear the family but she couldn't respond.
T. SMART: It's just crazy. I mean, it's about three and a half miles back there, it's not like it's right in his backyard. But to have been so close so many times it's hard. But you can't look back, Connie. We're just so glad to have her here right now.
CHUNG: Did Elizabeth reveal why she couldn't answer back and why she couldn't escape?
T. SMART: No, we didn't really ask her about that.
(CROSSTALK)
CHUNG: Go ahead.
DAVID SMART, ELIZABETH'S UNCLE: We tried not to pry. We tried not to pry and ask any type of questions. The only thing we've done is just really giving her hugs and letting her know how much we love her and how happy we are to have her back and just trying to get her integrated back with all of her cousin and siblings.
And so we've tried not to press anything and that's really up to law enforcement to get that kind of information.
CHUNG: We haven't heard from Lois, Elizabeth's mom. How's she doing?
C. SMART: She is doing great. She is so thrilled to be able to have her girl back home. And, you know, she was out in the cul-de- sac, you know, with the balloons and just having a great time. She's very excited to have Elizabeth home.
CHUNG: Does the family have any thoughts about how to help Elizabeth through her ordeal? She will need some counseling, some help.
T. SMART: Well there's a lot of love in this family and this community and neighborhood and we're sure that everything's going to work out fine as far as that goes.
D. SMART: It's just important not to ask prying questions and just kind of let things go and work her back in.
C. SMART: We're just so grateful that the Montoyas were able to call in and report Brian and the police were able to get him.
D. SMART: And the Sandy police were excellent to get out very quickly and find these individuals as they were directed.
CHUNG: All right. I thank you so much, Tom, David and Chris Smart. It's just wonderful. We congratulate you. Please give Elizabeth our best and Lois Smart as well. Thanks so much.
(CROSSTALK) CHUNG: When we come back, you'll meet the people who first spotted Mitchell and the cops who nabbed him, saving Elizabeth. Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Next. cracking the case. The tipsters, the police and the criminal sketch that led to Elizabeth Smart's return. CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart is home today because people did the right thing. The Smart family got information out to the public. People paid attention, and in the case of Rudy and Nancy Montoya, they acted on that information. The Montoyas were the first to call police about sighting Mitchell.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
NANCY MONTOYA, REPORTED MITCHELL TO POLICE: I think he is right here across from South Towne Mall on State Street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, what business are you by?
N. MONTOYA: I'm right in front of Burger King -- no, I'm across from Target actually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
N. MONTOYA: 102nd South. And he's walking -- he's walking towards town, so he's walking north. And he's with two ladies.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHUNG: The Montoyas join us now from Salt Lake City. And in Sandy, we have the other end of the equation, the two police officers who responded to the call, arrested Mitchell and saved Elizabeth. Officers Karen Jones and Officer Troy Rasmussen.
Thank you so much for being with us.
Rudy, it must have been an incredible moment when you realized you had spotted the man who was identified in "America's Most Wanted." Tell me what happened.
RUDY MONTOYA, REPORTED MITCHELL TO POLICE: Well, when my wife pointed him out, she goes, Look over, there are some homeless people. At first I didn't spot them. I noticed some workers that were working the area where I thought she was pointing to. And then she goes, No, over there. And I seen the homeless people that she was referring to, and when I seen them I go, That looks like Emmanuel. She goes, Are you sure? I says, Yeah, it looks Emmanuel from "America's Most Wanted." I says, call 911. She goes, Are you sure? I says, Yeah. I says that the most that can happen is they talk to him. IF it's not him, they let him go and he goes on his way.
CHUNG: Now, Nancy, what were they wearing? Did they look strange?
N. MONTOYA: They didn't look really strange. He didn't. He was dressed pretty normally. He had on a green T-shirt and some white pants and a jacket tied around his waist with a big hat -- big brimmed hat with real flowers lying across the top of it.
And he was in a burqa like...
CHUNG: You mean his wife or Elizabeth Smart?
N. MONTOYA: ..attire. No, Elizabeth was. And she had -- it went down to her knees. And, you know, I really didn't spend a lot of time looking at two women, I was mostly trying to make sure that I was making a real call to the dispatch. I was really nervous. So I spent a lot of time concentrating on him and making sure I had all the answers to the questions they were asking me.
CHUNG: Let's go to Troy Rasmussen and Officer Karen Jones. It was that 911 call that caused you, Karen, to go to the scene. And when you got there, did you think you actually had spotted Elizabeth Smart and the man who might have kidnapped her?
OFFICER KAREN JONES, SANDY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, the initial call was not an Elizabeth Smart sighting. The original call was a man who matched the description of Emmanuel who was shown on "America's Most Wanted." So it was very obvious to me when I first came behind them that this was the group that we had gotten the two 911 hang-up -- or two 911 calls about.
CHUNG: Karen, when you began to question the three of them, what did you discover?
JONES: They were very adamant from the beginning that they had given up all worldly items and were messengers of the Lord Jesus Christ. They continued to say that they traveled wherever the Lord led them. So they really had no possessions except what they were carrying.
CHUNG: All right.
Officer Rasmussen, and did you believe that you had Elizabeth Smart right before your eyes?
OFFICER TROY RASMUSSEN, SANDY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Not right away. We were pretty certain that we had Emmanuel, at which point I turned to Officer Jones and said -- I said, You know, that girl looks a lot like Elizabeth Smart and she took a second look and said, Yeah, it does. And I went ahead with some questioning towards Elizabeth that confirmed that she was -- it was her.
CHUNG: How did you know? Did she say, My name is Elizabeth Smart? Did she acknowledge that she was the missing girl?
RASMUSSEN: No. At first they were being very -- giving us deceptive answers -- or answers to our questions. She had on a disguise which raised my suspicions. CHUNG: What kind of disguise?
RASMUSSEN: She had on a wig and a T-shirt kind of pulled over her head like a veil and she some sunglasses. At one point I asked her to remove the sunglasses and she told me, No. She said she had some eye surgery in San Diego and they were sensitive to the sun. I asked her some more questions about the eye surgery, the doctor, the hospital and so forth that she couldn't answer which increased our suspicions even more.
At one point I asked her to remove the wig -- you know, I asked her, why are you wearing a wig? And she became angry and she said, Well, it's really none of your business. At that point my suspicions really raised and I pulled her aside, away from the other two individuals, Officer Jones was there and Officer O'Neil and my sergeant at that point and I said, You know, I really feel like you're not telling us the truth and I think you're the missing teenager Elizabeth Smart.
She didn't acknowledge either way. I looked at her again and I said, Elizabeth, you know, your parents really need to know you're OK. There's a lot of people worried about you and it's OK, you're safe. It's time to put this to an end. You can walk away from this right now and we will help you.
At that point, she lowered her head and I could see her glasses slid down on her nose and I saw her eyes welling up with tears and even noticed her T-shirt moving because her heart was pounding so fast and so strong. And at that point I knew it was Elizabeth Smart.
My sergeant summoned a photograph from our police department and an officer responded with that photograph and we held it up to her and it was obvious that it was her.
CHUNG: Oh, my gosh. What an incredible story.
Did you feel as if she was giving you rehearsed answers?
RASMUSSEN: In part, and even so much that she messed up on her date of birth a few times. She told me she was 18 and she had to rethink the numbers of what years she was born.
CHUNG: Did she ultimately acknowledge -- say to you, Yes, I am Elizabeth or was the silence just confirmation in your mind?
RASMUSSEN: Her silence and her verbal -- or her nonverbal -- her body language told me, and then at one point, when we had all three of them in custody, I believe it was my sergeant said, You know, Elizabeth, it's over and she said something to the fact that, I'll say it is.
JONES: Thou say it....
RASMUSSEN: Thou say it, which he took as, Yes, I'm Elizabeth.
CHUNG: All right. Officer Jones, Officer Rasmussen, Nancy and Rudy Montoya, I thank you so much for being with us.
N. MONTOYA: Thank you.
CHUNG: And still ahead, in the eyes of the nation, he died a guilty man. Now, Richard Ricci has been exonerated of kidnapping Elizabeth and his widow is speaking out.
Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: Next, what happens to a teenager held against her will? A look at Elizabeth Smart's ordeal and other hostages trying to return to a normal life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came back different, very different and we had a rough time getting used to having him home.
ANNOUNCER: CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT returns in a moment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHUNG: Elizabeth Smart's father, Ed, said he thinks his daughter was somehow brainwashed by her abductor. How is not known.
What is clear, as CNN's Jaime Colby now reports, is that, no matter what Elizabeth endured and even though she may now be home, if the experience of some others who are abducted is a guide, Elizabeth isn't out of the woods yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
E. SMART: It's real. It's real.
JAMIE COLBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elizabeth Smart is home.
TOM SMART, UNCLE OF ELIZABETH SMART: We want her to have privacy. We want her to have the opportunity to be reunited with her family.
COLBY: In seclusion for now, the 15-year-old must pick up where she left off.
E. SMART: Last night, when we got her home, we did a few things. Everyone was pleading with her to get on the harp. And she struggled through a couple of pieces. She says, "Well, it's been nine months."
COLBY: In 1973, 13-year-old Martin Andrews was kidnapped, shackled,, repeatedly raped, and buried in a box until he was rescued eight days later.
MARTIN ANDREWS, KIDNAPPED AT AGE 13: I have always known that it happened and it's always a daily part of my life. COLBY: Seven-year-old Steven Stayner's abductor gave him a new identity. After seven years, Stainer escaped in 1980 with a younger victim in toe.
STEVEN STAYNER, KIDNAPPED AT AGE 7: When I disappeared, Steve Stayner died and Dennis Parnell was born, the name that I went by at the time. And then it's kind of like going back again, trying to switch from Dennis Parnell back to Steve Stayner again.
COLBY (on camera): He came back different.
KAY STAYNER, MOTHER OF STEVEN STAYNER: Very different.
COLBY (voice-over): For 16 days in 1992, 10-year-old Katie Beers was kidnapped and sexually abused by a family friend. Kept in an underground dungeon, she watched on closed-circuit TV as police searched her kidnapper's home in vein. Beers later said it was those pictures and hope that kept her alive. Katie has changed her name and gone to college.
(on camera): In the days to come, we'll learn more about Elizabeth's condition and what she experienced at the hands of Brian Mitchell and Wanda Eileen Barzee. The question that may take years to answer: Can Elizabeth put nine months of her life behind her under the watchful eye of her parents, law enforcement, the media, and the public?
Jaime Colby, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Psychologists are still studying the effect of captivity on hostages. Stockholm Syndrome, a victim's sympathy for his or her captors, is relatively well known.
Joining us now from Los Angeles is Robert Butterworth, child trauma psychologist.
Thank you, sir, for being with us.
ROBERT BUTTERWORTH, CHILD TRAUMA PSYCHOLOGIST: Hello, Connie.
CHUNG: Can you describe or identify what the emotional obstacles are going to be for this young woman?
BUTTERWORTH: Well, we can see from some of the pictures already that they were starting to peel her personality away and add their version of a personality. They were not calling her by her name. She was changing in her dress. They were probably stopping her access to music and the things that she would do as a normal girl.
But there are good signs to this. And the good signs are, the Stockholm Syndrome didn't really take effect. Remember, Stockholm Syndrome is really when you really...
CHUNG: Why do you think that? BUTTERWORTH: Well, Stockholm Syndrome is really when you identify with the people that capture you. And when you're rescued, you're really hesitant or ambivalent about jumping back.
Well, we didn't see this with this little girl. This little girl ran to her family and hugged them really tight and was smiling and wasn't lethargic. So, it shows that, even though this girl was held in a psychological captivity for nine months, she had the wherewithal, the will, to believe that there was hope that something else would happen.
CHUNG: A lot of people have wondered why she didn't escape or if she did try to escape. But isn't it, indeed, possible that someone could hold such control over another person, especially a teenager, with psychological torture?
BUTTERWORTH: Connie, the psychological bonds can sometimes be stronger than physical chains.
And by that, I mean, there are methods where people say: OK, leave. And if you leave, I'm going to come back and I'm going to hurt you and I'm going to hurt your family. In some cases, they'll take another child that's in the area and they will say: If you go, we'll kill this child. And even sometimes even with animals, saying: If you go, we'll kill the animal.
So the child is almost terrified of running and, as a result, something bad will happen to someone else besides themselves.
CHUNG: We heard from her father that she actually slept in her bed, the bed where she had been abducted from. There is some concern on the part of I think just ordinary people, who say, oh, my gosh, how was she able to do that?
BUTTERWORTH: Well, I think she was sleeping in her bed holding her sister's hand.
And that's true. When you think about safety as a teenager, you think about your parents, your room and your bed. But this place, this is associated with these tragic events. And, indeed, I think, right now, we're seeing dad, and dad is elated. And we're seeing the family all joining together. But I think the next phase -- and I hope their family is seeing this -- I've seen reports that they're saying, oh, they're not worried about therapists; the family together will overcome this.
As we move on from this euphoria, there are going to be periods where this child is going to need somebody that knows what she's going to be going through. You know what can help this child, going back to normal, going back to the way things were before. But we know, with her notoriety, she is never going to go back to the way things were before.
CHUNG: And, very quickly, the arresting officer described to us how she was giving him what he perceived to be false answers on her name, her age, and that these two people she was with were her parents. But then he took her aside and said, "You're safe now." And all he could see were these tears and her heart beating. Does that sound typical to you in a situation such as this?
BUTTERWORTH: Connie, she was so afraid. The bonds, as we said before, were not just physical. They were emotional. And she was so afraid of making a mistake. What we don't know, what would have been the consequences of that mistake?
But these are things we're going to need. And, as time goes on, I'm sure we'll all get a glimpse into those nine months. And I'm sure those nine months or this little girl will probably never be forgotten.
CHUNG: All right, Robert Butterworth, I thank you so much for being with us.
BUTTERWORTH: Thank you, Connie.
CHUNG: Still ahead: an update on the latest round of diplomatic wrangling over Iraq.
Stay with us.
ANNOUNCER: Coming up: the man who went to his grave as the prime suspect in the Elizabeth Smart case. Richard Ricci's wife speaks out on injustice and vindication.
CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT continues in a moment.
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CHUNG: Now, showdown: Iraq.
Despite President Bush's pledge to force a vote on the U.S.- backed resolution, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. said today there will be no such vote this week on authorizing a U.S. invasion.
The latest on the weapons inspections themselves tops tonight look at "The World in: 60."
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CHUNG (voice-over): Iraq plans to submit reports on its V.X. nerve agent and anthrax supplies later this week. Iraq has insisted it destroyed all such weapons after the 1991 Gulf War.
Meanwhile, U.S. war preparations continue. The Pentagon began deploying B-2 stealth bombers from their base in Missouri to the Persian Gulf.
North Korea's nuclear program may be far more advanced than previously thought. The U.S. said North Korea might only be months away from producing nuclear weapons using uranium.
In a victory for President Bush, the Senate approved a ban on a type of late-term abortion. The bill now goes to the Republican- controlled House, where passage is expected.
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CHUNG: Still ahead: When Richard Ricci died, he was considered the prime suspect in the Elizabeth Smart case. Now he's basically cleared, but he spent his last days in custody under a cloud. His widow joins us after this.
But first: All this month, CNN is looking back at some 80 days that changed the world. They were chosen by "TIME" magazine, which is owned by our parent company, to mark "TIME"'s 80th anniversary.
Tonight: a look at one day that marked an end to a chapter of one of the most controversial periods of American history.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: On April 30 of 1975, the North Vietnamese soldiers ran into the presidential palace and were greeted by a Vietnamese general known as Big Minh and others. The president of Vietnam had already left the country. And they took his surrender. And that officially brought an end to the South Vietnamese government. It was a day of chaos, a day of desperation, and a day of sorrow.
I remember very well seeing the pictures of the fall of Saigon. One was the tank hitting the gate and driving right into the presidential palace. The other, probably, in many ways, much more poignant, was the lines of people going to the top of the U.S. Embassy, scrambling to escape in the last hours before Saigon fell.
I think, as long as anyone in a position of leadership is alive, we will remember the important lessons of Vietnam. And we have to understand that the American people will not support a conflict for which they do not understand and they do not see a final goal.
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CHUNG: Less than two weeks after Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped, a prime suspect emerged, a former handyman at the Smart home named Richard Ricci. Two and a half months later, he suffered a brain hemorrhage while being held on a parole violation. He died three days later, in the eyes of much of the country a guilty man who had carried the secret of Elizabeth's fate to his grave. A half-a-year later, as far as Elizabeth's father is concerned, Ricci's name has been cleared.
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E. SMART: I feel sorry for Angela. I'm sorry that she lost Richard. We still have all these questions that were unanswered. Obviously, it was not Richard. So this is one thing that he was not responsible for.
And, Angela, I know you went through a lot. And I'm very sorry. And I hope that -- I hope this at least gives you a peace to know that he wasn't the one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: Ricci's widow, Angela, joins now from Salt Lake City, along with spokesperson Nancy Pomeroy.
Thank you so much for being with us.
Angela, you just heard Ed Smart speak. Do you feel vindication?
ANGELA RICCI, WIDOW OF RICHARD RICCI: Yes. That was the first I had heard it.
CHUNG: Oh, really.
RICCI: And it was like music to my ears. And I'm extremely happy for the Smart family. I'm just grateful.
CHUNG: It must be so hard for you, because, on the one hand, you're happy that Elizabeth Smart is back, but your husband was wrongly accused.
RICCI: Yes. It's what I would have to call bittersweet.
It's been a long, rough road, but I've always believed in Richard. I've always stood by him and I always will and that -- and knowing that -- knowing you have the truth behind you makes you a very strong person.
CHUNG: When you first learned that Elizabeth was found alive and well, what did you think?
RICCI: I was in shock and surprised and just joyous for the Smart family, and thinking, oh, yes, finally, Rick could be cleared. They can know for sure now.
CHUNG: Angela, do you think the police mishandled this case?
RICCI: I know they had to do a job. I know they had to do what they had to do. I believe there were mistakes made along the way. But I can't change anything that's happened.
CHUNG: Well, even the Smart family felt that too much attention and too much focus was on your husband.
RICCI: Yes, they put quite a focus on him for a long time. And when he died, I had hoped that from his death would come for them to look somewhere else.
CHUNG: Do you feel, in some way, that your husband's death was hastened because of all of this suspicion of him? And there he was in jail.
RICCI: Right.
I'm not a doctor, but I do know that he was under a great amount of pressure. And I know he was heartsick about Elizabeth being gone. And I can't even begin to imagine what someone would feel like being accused of such a heinous crime and not doing it, not having anything to do with it, not knowing anything, not being able to help, just helpless.
CHUNG: Angela, do you think that the police owe you an apology?
RICCI: I would truly appreciate that.
CHUNG: All right.
Nancy, you've been with Angela from the beginning. Do you believe that the police mishandled this?
NANCY POMEROY, RICCI SPOKESPERSON: I think they did the best they could, but I also believe that there were people inside local law enforcement that focused on Richard and Richard only. I don't think that's everybody. I think, overall, law enforcement did everything they could, as did the people of Salt Lake.
But I think there were a few who refused to look anywhere else except at Richard. And if you look at Bret Michael Edmunds, who was the initial suspect, who was chased all the way to the East Coast and then, OK, all the sudden, it's not him. Now it's Richard. And, oh, guess what? Now it's not him either.
You have to kind of look at how the investigation, I think, was done. Do I think that they were trying to mess things up or trying to hurt the Riccis? No. I just think they kind of narrowed their focus a little soon.
CHUNG: All right, Nancy Pomeroy, Angela Ricci, we thank you so much for being with us.
RICCI: Thank you.
POMEROY: You bet.
CHUNG: All right.
Still ahead: an amazing medical breakthrough for an injured movie superhero.
Stay with us.
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CHUNG: A judge today ruled that actor Robert Blake will stand trial for murder. He's accused of shooting his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley. And the judge agreed to set bail for his release at $1.5 million. Blake's bodyguard, Earl Caldwell, will stand trial on charges of conspiracy to commit murder.
Now tonight's "Snapshot" begins with good news for a silver screen superhero.
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CHUNG (voice-over): Doctors implanted electrodes in Christopher Reeve's diaphragm that could allow him to breathe without a respirator. It is the latest effort in his eight-year road to recovery after a horseback riding accident.
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JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: What kind of person can I be where his own mother wants him dead?
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CHUNG: Has HBO put out a hit on "The Sopranos"? The network has suspended production of the popular mobster show as a contract dispute with the show's star, James Gandolfini, drags on.
Prince Charles' closest aide resigned today. But the heir to the British throne and his servant household were cleared of any deliberate wrongdoing in a scandal. It involved accusations of rape and interference in a theft investigation.
A new heart for the 4-month-old son of a Marine deployed to the Middle East: Dillon Sellers was listed in stable, but critical condition after surgery. His story got national attention after his father was forced to decide whether to stay home with his family or go to perform his duties overseas.
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CHUNG: You know, usually, in this portion of our program, we select someone who's done something extraordinary or praiseworthy as our "Person of the Day." Today, that didn't seem to be the way to go.
After all, whom would we choose? There's Mary Katherine Smart, a 9-year-old girl who witnessed a traumatic, horrific event, but still managed to provide the information that saved her sister; Ed and Lois Smart, who took it upon themselves to disseminate the information that saved their daughter. There's the family of Brian David Mitchell, who came forward and identified him as the suspect.
There are the tipsters who knew that getting involved was the right thing to do. There's law enforcement who, mistakes or otherwise, worked this case and brought Elizabeth home. There are the thousands of people who searched for her.
And then there's Elizabeth Smart. She pulled off the toughest job of all. She survived.
Thank you so much for joining us. And for all of us at CNN, good night and we'll see you tomorrow.
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