Lawyer: Woman Will Enter Guilty Plea in Smart Case

The wrenching saga of Elizabeth Smart's abduction and improbable recovery is showing the first signs of resolution seven years after it began.

Elizabeth Smart, left, and Wanda Barzee.

(Associated Press/Getty Images)
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On Tuesday, Wanda Eileen Barzee — one of two people charged in the case — will plead guilty to charges of kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, her attorney Scott Williams told The Associated Press.

Barzee's alleged role in the abduction has garnered less attention than that of her estranged husband, Brian David Mitchell, but her expected plea to the federal charges marks a major step forward in the separate cases that stalled when both defendants were ruled incompetent for trial.

Smart's abduction at knifepoint from the bedroom of her Salt Lake City home in 2002 riveted the nation as hundreds of people helped search for the blond-haired, blue-eyed girl who loved to play the harp.

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Her recovery in March 2003, when she was spotted walking suburban streets with Barzee and Mitchell, was an improbable defiance of the odds.

First charged in state court with multiple felonies, Mitchell and Barzee were both indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2008.

Williams would not comment on why the 63-year-old Barzee was entering the plea. She could face a life sentence for the kidnapping charge and up to 15 years on the second charge.

Ed Smart, Elizabeth's father, said he was asked by prosecutors not to comment on any possible plea.

"What I will say is that we stand behind Brett Tolman, the U.S. attorney, and we are pleased we're moving forward," Smart said.

Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said she could not comment beyond what was contained in the court papers filed Monday.

A decorum order for an expected arraignment issued by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball said Barzee "will be arraigned and is anticipated to enter into a guilty plea pursuant to an agreement with the United States."