Smart Case Defense Discounts Competency Report
Defense attorneys for the man charged for his involvement in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart say that a psychiatrist’s report deeming him competent for trial is an act of advocacy, not an objective interpretation of facts. Defense attorneys criticize Dr. Michael Welner in a filing released Thursday, saying that his research did not rely [...]
Florida Girl to be Laid to Rest
The slain girl in Northern Florida will be buried privately after a funeral. Funeral services for Somer Thompson, who was seven, have been scheduled for Tuesday. They will be held at the First Baptist Church of Orange Park. Mourners will release thousands of purple balloons into the air after the service. Somer will be buried [...]
Investigators Think Landfill Body is Missing Fla. Girl
Authorities currently believe that a body discovered in a Georgia landfill is that of seven-year-old Somer Thompson, who went missing as she walked home from school. Rick Beseler, the sheriff in charge of her case, said on Thursday that the identification was based on her clothing and a birthmark that matched Somer’s. Detectives said they [...]
Missing Florida Girl Baffles Investigators
Investigators are still at a loss three days after the disappearance of a seven-year-old girl in Northern Florida. Somer Thompson’s mother went on all three network national morning news shows on Tuesday with an emotional appeal for the child’s return. She said she assumes that her daughter was kidnapped. Sheriff Rick Beseler appeared with the [...]
Woman in Smart Case’s Competency Hearing Set
Officials from Utah plan to provide information to a state judge regarding the mental competency of the woman charged in the 2002 kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart. Wanda Eileen Barzee, aged sixty-three, has been receiving court-ordered psychiatric treatment since May 2008 in an effort to restore competency. She has been deemed mentally incompetent on two different [...]
First Photo of Woman Kidnapped for Eighteen Years
The first photo of Jaycee Dugard since her reunion with her family after having been kidnapped and held for eighteen years has been released. It shows a smiling woman with long, light brown hair. Dugard, who is now twenty-nine, told People magazine that she is “so happy to be back with my family” after their [...]
Elizabeth Smart Testifies
Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped in 2002, has recently testified publicly for the first time about her experience. Her account begins with being abducted from her bedroom at age fourteen, and being taken to a mountainous campsite by Brian David Mitchell, a street-preacher. Mitchell was arrested in 2003, but because he was on two occasions [...]
Search for Tennessee Baby Snatched by Fake Agent Continues
Police are searching for an infant taken from the house of his mother in Tennessee, reportedly by a woman pretending to be an immigration agent. Nashville Police have stated in a recent news release that they have targeted a person of interest in the case, though the child was not with her at the time. [...]