DRAPER, Utah (NBC News) – Wanda Barzee, the woman convicted for her part in one of America’s most famous kidnappings, is now a free woman.
Barzee, 72, was released from a Utah prison Wednesday, five years before her sentence was officially set to end.
In 2002 Barzee and her then-husband, Brian David Mitchell, kidnapped 14-year old Elizabeth Smart at knifepoint from her salt lake city bedroom. Smart was held captive, abused and raped over a nine-month period before she was rescued.
Mitchell is serving a life sentence. Barzee will be on probation for the next five years.
“You can be assured that Wanda Barzee will be closely monitored, and if she falls off track of what her requirements are, that’s a very short leash. says U.S. Attorney John Huber.
That “short leash” includes medication, mental health counseling, a job and zero contact with Smart or her family.
Smart, who is now a child safety advocate, says she believes Barzee is still “a danger and a threat.”
Read more: https://nbcnews.to/2ptmGvX
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