Shocking reason Wanda Barzee was released from jail ‘early’ after Elizabeth Smart kidnap

The new Elizabeth Smart documentary on Netflix mentions that one of her captors, Wanda Barzee, was released from jail in 2018, but leaves out the shocking reason she was let out early.

Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart follows the harrowing story of the 14-year-old who was kidnapped from her home in Salt Lake City and held hostage for nine long months, during which time she was sexually abused.

Her captors were Brian Mitchell and his partner, Wanda Barzee, who were both sentenced to many years behind bars. Mitchell was found guilty of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines for sexual activity, and sentenced to life in jail in May 2011, where he remains now.

However, Barzee was actually sentenced two years earlier. She pled guilty to the same charges, but was given a much lower sentence of 15 years in November 2009. Barzee was then released in September 2018, just nine years later. So, why did she only serve nine years of the 15-year sentence?

Credit: Netflix

Well, technically, she didn’t. Both Mitchell and Barzee had been behind bars since the day they were arrested in March 2003. That means by the time Barzee was sentenced, she had already been in jail for six years. She then spent another nine years in prison after being sentenced, bringing her total sentence to 15 years.

In the state of Utah, the time a criminal spends in jail before sentencing, known as pre-trial detention, shockingly counts as credit towards a prison sentence. So, on 11th September 2019, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole announced that Barzee could be released the following day as she was owed credit.

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She was on parole for another five years, until 2024, and is now completely free. Barzee is a registered sex offender and still lives in Utah. She was arrested again in May 2025 for going to a park, which broke a law on where sex offenders are allowed to go. Barzee told police she went to “sit on benches and feed the ducks”.

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Featured image by: George Frey/EPA/Shutterstock