By ALAN BUTTERFIELD
In a dramatic turn of events, former kidnap schoolgirl Elizabeth Smart has forgiven her evil abductors four years after being kidnapped.
Pretty blonde Elizabeth, now 18, made her surprising declaration of forgiveness recently in Washington, D.C., where she successfully helped lobby U.S. senators to approve a national sex offender registry bill. “I forgave them — I just don’t think about them anymore. It’s over,” she told the audience.
Elizabeth was age 14 when she was abducted from the bedroom of her Salt Lake City, Utah, home on June 5, 2002.
She went missing for nine months, drawing attention from around the world, before being found with her alleged kidnappers on March 12, 2003.
Former street preacher Brian David Mitchell, 51, the bearded monster who kept Elizabeth as his second wife, and his estranged wife Wanda Barzee, 59, continue to be held on charges of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated sexual assault and other charges including burglary.
Last July, Mitchell was found mentally incapable of standing trial; Barzee was ruled incompetent to stand trial in January 2004. In D.C., Elizabeth admitted that she’s finally come to grips with her horrifying kidnap ordeal. The Mormon girl said she’s found strength through her Latter-day Saints (LDS) religion to forgive the crazy couple.
Pick up this week’s issue for more in Elizabeth Smart.
