Brian David Mitchell



Brian David Mitchell, also known as Emmanuel, was the man responsible for the kidnapping of 14-year old Elizabeth Smart on June 5, 2002. For nine months, he and his wife, Wanda Barzee, kept her in captivity and forced her into following their religious extremism, while Brian repeatedly raped her. They kept her chained out in a small enclosure in the yard of their house and would often starve her, force her to drink alcohol, and drug her to make her more docile. They even forced her to change her name to "Esther".

Brian believed that he was a Davidian prophet as well as the reincarnation of the Davidian god and was destined to destroy the Antichrist. He wrote his own scriptures based on his warped beliefs and often forced Elizabeth to read them aloud. He would also pray for them to have sex before raping her and also forcibly "married" Elizabeth in a makeshift ceremony.

On March 12, 2003, Brian was spotted with two women in Sandy, Utah by a couple who had seen Brian's photos on the news. The women were Elizabeth Smart – disguised in a gray wig, sunglasses, and veil – and Wanda Barzee. Elizabeth was recognized by the officers during questioning, and both Brian and Barzee were arrested. Mitchell is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Federal Penitentiary in Tuscon, Arizona.