‘A monster’: What Wanda Barzee’s children said about their mum after the Elizabeth Smart case

After Netflix released Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, loads of people have been revisiting the case that shocked the world. The documentary focuses on the 2002 kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart by Brian David Mitchell, aka, Emmanuel and his wife at the time, Wanda Barzee.

While most attention has been on the crime itself, In an interview with Oprah, Wanda’s children spoke out about what it was like growing up with them, and what they say is heartbreaking.

Wanda has six children, and four of them,  Rhonda, Andrea, Derrick and Louree, have spoken publicly about their experiences for the first time, describing years of fear, control, abuse, and psychological trauma.

Here’s what they’ve said.

‘She’s a monster’

via Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office

Andrea didn’t hold back when she spoke about her mum. She said, “I think the media portrayed my mother as being a victim of Brian David Mitchell, and I think one of the reasons I wanted to come on this show is to kind of expose her for the monster she is.”

Andrea described constant brainwashing and emotional abuse in the home. “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.’”

And for Andrea, the emotional damage was worse than anything physical. She said, “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.”

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She also said,  “She robbed us of our innocence. She robbed us of everything we stood to be.”

Andrea also spoke about realising how different her childhood was compared to other families. She said, “I would ask my friend, ‘You mean your parents don’t beat you?’ I remember her family inviting me up to a camping trip two weeks out of the summer, and it was like heaven.”

She explained the fear they lived with daily. “We were raised in the environment that we were just so worried about stepping out of line one little inch, and we never knew what was coming or when it was coming.”

‘I wanted my parents to love me’

via Netflix

Derrick spoke about growing up without love or guidance and how it affected his life. He said, “I wanted nurturing so badly. I wanted my parents to love me, you know? I wanted somebody to tell me it was all right. But I never got that.”

He added, “I got in a lot of trouble with the law. I wanted nurturing so badly.”

Later, he said, “We all knew she was sick, but she’s had a lifetime of not getting help for anything.”

Derrick also explained how Wanda eventually abandoned the family. He said, “In 1991, I heard my mom and Brian had hit the road, sold their possessions and began preaching.”

“They hung out at the bus station, at the homeless shelters, and that’s where they preached.”

Louree described her traumatic experience

via Netflix

Louree moved in with Wanda Barzee and Brian David Mitchell when she was 12. She said, “Brian and my mom would force me to pray with them for two to four hours a day.”

She also described deeply disturbing experiences in the home, including sexualised behaviour and psychological pressure. But the moment that made her leave was the rabbit incident.

She said, “I asked what we were having for dinner, and my mom said chicken.” Then she added, “I went to go feed my rabbit and the cage was empty, and I said, ‘What happened to Peaches?’ And she said, ‘You had her for dinner last night.’”

Louree said she moved out after that to escape the “mental torment.”

Both Derrick and Rhonda said they realised Brian was involved in Elizabeth Smart’s kidnapping while watching America’s Most Wanted. Derrick said, “I saw him profiled and everything just clicked.”

And he added, “Watching the episode, I knew my mother must have also been involved in the crime.”

Louree believes the kidnapping had a bigger motive, “Brian was very power hungry in the church, and he couldn’t really get any higher and he wanted control.”

As of now, Wanda Barzee is still under legal supervision as a registered sex offender, following her release from prison in 2018.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.