Elizabeth Smart Tells Story, Reveals, ‘I Was Broken Beyond Repair’ [Video]
Elizabeth Smart told her story again on Friday in an interview with NBC News’ Meredith Vieira, as the pair walked the woods where the former kidnap victim was chained to trees and raped daily for nine months.
Smart, then 14, was taken from her home in the dead of night by psycho preacher Brian David Mitchell on June 5, 2002. Mitchell forced her to hike the mountainside behind her home for hours until they finally reached a makeshift campsite.
In the interview, which aired on Friday, Smart and Vieira went to the scene where the campsite once was. Smart recalled her first experience at the site, which included meeting a strange woman in long robes, who ordered her to undress. The woman was Mitchell’s wife, Wanda Barzee.
Mitchell then performed a strange marriage ceremony while Smart begged and cried. The now-25-year-old recalled, “I remember thinking, I know what comes after a wedding. And that cannot happen to me. That cannot happen.” Unfortunately, the unthinkable happened.
Elizabeth Smart recalled the horrific incident, saying:
“I remember him forcing me to the ground [and] fighting the whole way. And then when he was finished, he stood up, and I was left alone, feeling absolutely broken, absolutely shattered. I was broken beyond repair. I was going to be thrown away.”
The awful abuse Smart suffered happened every day for nine months as Mitchell raped her, tortured her, and brutalized her. She recalled her captor treated her “like I was an animal.”
Elizabeth Smart’s uncle came close to rescuing her that time, and the young girl heard his voice calling her name. However, she was unable to respond, because Mitchell threatened to kill her and anyone who stepped into the campsite.
After her near rescue, Smart recalled going into survival mode. She stated, “There was a point that I stopped crying. It’s not just because I didn’t feel pain anymore, not because I didn’t feel sorrow. It was just to keep going. I mean, it was just to survive, to live.”
After Mitchell and Barzee started taking her on public outings, Mitchell was recognized from a police sketch provided by Smart’s sister, Mary Katherine. Mitchell was convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping and was given two life sentences. Barzee was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for her part in Smart’s kidnapping and captivity.
Elizabeth Smart’s memoir, My Story, is scheduled for release next week. The 25-year-old is now married and keeps herself busy with the Elizabeth Smart Foundation, which works to prevent crimes against children and help sexual abuse victims.
[Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com]
