Where is Wanda Barzee now? What happened to the ‘most evil woman’ Elizabeth Smart ever met
Elizabeth Smart was the victim of a terrifying kidnapping case back in 2002
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is another gruesome yet fascinating true crime documentary from Netflix. It tells the grizzly story of Wanda Barzee and Brian David Mitchell’s nine-month-long abuse of a 14-year-old girl.
No streaming service does true crime quite like Netflix. The platform has a knack for picking out the most hair-raising stories out there and packaging them into enthralling documentaries.
The latest new film on Netflix in this realm is Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart. This feature-length documentary details the disappearance of the titular teenager, who was taken from her family home in Utah and held captive by Mitchell and his wife while being tortured and sexually abused.
Here, we take a look at where all three of these people are now and what happened to them in the wake of the case being solved.
Wanda Barzee was granted early release after just 9 years in prison
Shockingly, Wanda Barzee was only sentenced for her crimes in 2009. She received 15 years in federal prison for the part she played in the abduction and abuse of Elizabeth Smart.
However, she was granted early release in 2018 on the grounds that she had spent time in prison between her arrest and being sentenced.
Since then, Barzee has naturally been registered as a sex offender. But, in May 2025, she was arrested after visiting two public parks in Utah. This is a clear violation of her status as a sex offender but she was ultimately released soon after.
The fact that Barzee is free to walk the streets of Utah has been condemned by Smart time and time again.
Barzee also claimed she was “commanded by the Lord” (via an affidavit secured by People) to visit those parks in Utah. Interestingly, that’s something Smart says her captor used as reasoning for the vile acts she committed against her.
When Barzee was released from prison in 2018, Smart described the decision as “appalling” and “incomprehensible”.
She also spoke at length about the “depths of depravity” that Barzee exhibited, claiming she was just as active in her torture as Brian David Mitchell was and is “the most evil woman” she has ever met.
Elizabeth Smart is now a vocal victims’ rights advocate
In spite of the abhorrent crimes committed against her, Elizabeth Smart has used her experience to fight for other people who have found themselves in a similar situation.
She founded the Elizabeth Smart Foundation and is a very vocal and passionate advocate for victims’ rights.
Viewers of the new Netflix documentary will be happy to hear that Smart is now a married mother of three. Clearly, she has not let her ordeal define her, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t severely impacted her life since.
Speaking to People back in 2024, Smart said: “I have great days. I have not good days. I’ve got three kids that I love and drive me crazy… they’re the best part of life.”
Smart met her husband in Paris in 2009, but they moved back to Utah and have raised their family there ever since.
To raise awareness around what happened to her and to try to help others like her, Smart has helped produce a Lifetime movie about her story, has written two books, and has now worked with Netflix.
Meanwhile, the Elizabeth Smart Foundation offers education, advocacy, and support, including self-defence training, sharing survivors’ stories, and pushing for better child protection laws.
Brian David Mitchell is spending life in prison
Rather unsurprisingly, the man who orchestrated the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart was sentenced to life in prison. However, it took a long time to reach that conviction.
Brian David Mitchell was diagnosed as having antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders and there were lengthy disputes over whether he was mentally competent to stand trial.
Eventually, in 2010, he was deemed mentally capable and justice was served.
In 2011, Mitchell was sentenced to life imprisonment and has no chance of parole. He is held in Terre Haute, a high-security federal prison in Indiana.
Mitchell was heavily involved in the Latter Day Saints Church and even took on the name of Immanuel David Isaiah. He believed he was a prophet of God, and claimed to experience visions that motivated him to do what he did.
Both he and Barzee were excommunicated from the church in June 2002, around the time they kidnapped Elizabeth Smart.
Talking about Mitchell, Smart described him as a “master of manipulation” who put her through “nine months of hell”. When he was sentenced to life in prison, Smart directly told Mitchell, “You will never affect me again.”
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