The Netflix documentary Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart dives into the 2002 abduction of a teenage girl in Utah that shocked the country—and details the two people responsible: self-styled religious “prophet” Brian David Mitchell and his wife and accomplice, Wanda Barzee.
At just 14, Elizabeth Smart was taken from her Salt Lake City bedroom and held for nine months, enduring repeated sexual violence, threats, and psychological abuse, before being spotted out in public with Mitchell and Barzee.
Here’s what we know about Wanda Barzee and where she is now.
Who is Wanda Barzee?
Wanda Barzee was Brian David Mitchell’s wife and an active participant in the kidnapping and captivity of Elizabeth Smart, fueled by warped religious ideology.
Prosecutors and Smart have described Barzee not as a passive observer, but as someone who helped to enforce the harrowing conditions of Smart’s confinement. According to court testimony and reporting, Barzee was waiting at a remote campsite after Mitchell abducted Smart from her home and took her on a forced march into the wilderness.
In Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, Smart recounts that Barzee initially washed her feet and pressured her to change out of her pajamas into a robe, telling her what she had to do and implicitly reinforcing Mitchell’s control.
Barzee faced years of legal delays tied to competency evaluations before ultimately pleading guilty in federal court in 2009 to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor. She received a 15-year federal sentence with credit for time served, and she also pleaded guilty in Utah state court to related charges in the attempted abduction of Smart’s cousin.
Who are Wanda Barzee’s children?
Her children include Rhonda, Andrea, Derrick, and Louree, among others, and several have publicly spoken about their difficult upbringing with Barzee, describing her as a “monster” who inflicted psychological and physical abuse and fractious family dynamics. One much-reported story involves Barzee serving up a pet rabbit for dinner.
Speaking on Oprah, Andrea said, “She would brainwash us relentlessly. We would be called up to her room, and she would sit there and drum into us, ‘If you weren't a part of this family, then the family would be fine’... So it was more the psychological, emotional constant abuse from her that, to me, was worse than the physical abuse. Because I felt like the physical wounds could always heal, but the scars of emotional abuse have remained.”
Her brother, Derrick, added, “I wanted nurturing so badly. I wanted my parents to love me, you know? I wanted somebody to tell me it was all right. I never got that.”
Barzee married Mitchell in 1985 and Barzee’s daughter, Louree, said she was forced to pray with them for two to four hours a day.
How was she involved in Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapping?
Elizabeth Smart has described Barzee as complicit: present during key parts of the nine-month captivity and not intervening to stop the violence. Reporting on the case and court testimony says Barzee helped maintain control over Smart during the ordeal.
Smart recalled in earlier interviews how, after the kidnapping, Mitchell declared he would make her his wife in a ceremony, repeatedly sexually assaulted her, threatened her with death, and manipulated her psychologically—all with Barzee’s presence and participation.
Following her rescue, Elizabeth Smart went on to form her own foundation to support survivors of sexual abuse and has spoken publicly about the heinous events she endured.
Where is Wanda Barzee now?
Barzee was released from prison in September 2018 after serving roughly nine years of her 15-year sentence, credited for time already served. Upon release she was designated a registered sex offender, required to check in regularly and prohibited from entering “protected areas” such as public parks.
In May 2025, Barzee was arrested in Salt Lake City for allegedly violating those sex-offender registration conditions by entering parks from which she is barred, as reported by Fox 13.
According to police and court records, she admitted to officers she had gone to the parks because she was “commanded to by the Lord.”
Barzee was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail under the name Wanda Mitchell and released on judicial orders pending prosecution; prosecutors charged her with two counts of violation by a sex offender of a protected area, misdemeanors under Utah law.
Court appearances followed in mid-2025, where she appeared before a judge on the new charges; local reporting notes the proceedings have been brief and focused on outlining the charges and next legal steps.
As of the most recent reporting, she remains free on pre-trial release but monitored and still subject to legal restrictions tied to her sex-offender status.
