Elizabeth Smart kidnapper waives preliminary hearing for park charges, is working on settlement

SALT LAKE CITY — Wanda Eileen Barzee waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Thursday on accusations that she was in a park as a registered sex offender. Her attorney said a settlement in the case is likely.

Barzee is charged with two counts of being a sex offender in a protected area, a class A misdemeanor. The charges claim she visited Liberty Park and Sugar House Park, which she is forbidden to do. She admitted to going to the parks to sit on benches and feed ducks, saying she was "commanded to by the Lord."

The 80-year-old woman had trouble hearing the judge's questions that she needed to answer to waive her right, but affirmed she was thinking clearly and understood the purpose of a preliminary hearing. She wore a blue dress and a blue jacket to court and held a purse.

Her attorney, Scott Williams, said he advised her to waive her right and said that, in making that decision, they considered that a settlement in the case is likely.

Barzee is a registered sex offender after being found guilty of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart in 2002 with her husband, Brian David Mitchell. She pleaded guilty in federal court to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor, and later pleaded guilty and mentally ill in state court to attempting to kidnap Smart's cousin.

After completing her federal prison sentence, Barzee was returned to the Utah State Prison in April 2016. The Utah Board of Pardons and Parole gave Barzee credit for her time served in federal prison and released her on Sept. 19, 2018, after serving her full sentence.

Barzee's next hearing will be held on Jan. 15, 2027.

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