The abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City home on June 5, 2002, set off a frantic search that gripped the United States. Smart was finally found nine months later, and shocking details about her alleged captor, a religious zealot named Brian David Mitchell, began to emerge.
We know now that Mitchell, now 72, was responsible for Smart’s disappearance, as he was later convicted of kidnapping the teenager and sentenced to life in prison. The 38-year-old Smart is sharing new details of her terrifying ordeal with Mitchell and his ex-wife, Wanda Barzee, in the new Netflix documentary Kidnapped: Ellizabeth Smart, streaming on Netflix starting Wednesday, January 21.
While court testimony has offered details of Brian David Mitchell’s descent into religious fervor and torturous actions, very little has been shared about his life in the years since his conviction. Here’s what we know about his background and current status.
Who Is Brian David Mitchell, and How Did He Become a Self-Proclaimed Prophet?
Court testimony from family members has offered a glimpse into the tumultuous childhood and troubling backstory of Mitchell, born in 1953 in Salt Lake City.
His father, Shirl Mitchell, described Brian as “very intelligent,” but distant from other members of his family, according to the Deseret News. At age 16, he was sent to live with his grandmother after constant arguing with his mother, Irene Mitchell, led to a physical altercation. More disturbingly, when questioned by prosecutors about Mitchell’s prior arrest at age 16, Shirl confirmed the then-teenager exposed himself to a minor.
Mitchell was around 18 or 19 at the time of his first marriage to a woman named Karen, and the couple had two children before eventually splitting. “They were kind of messed up themselves. They were teenagers, they would party. They wanted to have fun,” Mitchell’s sister, Lisa Mitchell Holbrook, said of the marriage. Mitchell married again to a woman named Debbie, but their union also dissolved and his two children were placed in foster care.
Sometime around 1997, Brian’s brother, Tim Mitchell, wrote him a letter expressing concern that he was “becoming increasingly emotionally disturbed.” Brian also became obsessed with his Mormon faith, identifying himself as a self-described prophet named Emmanuel (sometimes “Immanuel”) and creating his own 27-page gospel pamphlet.
Brian married a third time to Wanda Barzee, a divorcee with six children—who carried her own disturbing past. Her children have alleged physically and emotionally abusive behavior, including preparing a pet rabbit for dinner.
The pair would seal their disquieting reputations when they abducted Elizabeth Smart.
What Was Brian David Mitchell Convicted of in the Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping Case?
On March 12, 2003, police officers discovered Smart in Sandy, Utah—less than 20 miles from her home—and took Mitchell and Barzee into custody. They were formally charged with kidnapping, burglary, and sexual assault, according to History.com.
Mitchell had history with the Smart family: They previously employed him for roofing work at their home.
Smart later described the horrors she endured while held captive with Mitchell and Barzee. She testified in court that Mitchell raped her three to four times per day, showed her pornography, and gave her drugs and alcohol. Smart also claimed Mitchell bolted a 10-foot-cable to her leg to prevent her from escaping, and threatened to kill her if she yelled or tried to run away.
While Barzee eventually accepted a plea deal with federal prosecutors and received a sentence of 15 years in prison minus time served in 2010, a trial for Mitchell was repeatedly delayed as he was twice ruled incompetent to stand in state court. In 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Mitchell and Barzee.
On December 10, 2010—more than eight years after Smart’s abduction—a jury found Mitchell guilty of interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor. Mitchell sang religious hymns about Jesus Christ during the reading of the verdict and held his hands in front of his chest in prayer, according to KSL.com.
What Sentence Did Brian David Mitchell Receive for Kidnapping Elizabeth Smart?
The following May, Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison with no opportunity for parole. “A sentence of life in prison for Brian David Mitchell is an appropriate, just, and long overdue result for this community, the Smart family, and most importantly, Elizabeth. Mitchell’s heinous criminal conduct and the evidence of his propensity to re-offend warrant nothing less,” Carlie Christensen, the U.S. Attorney for Utah, said in a statement.
Smart described Mitchell’s fate as “the ending of a very long chapter, and the beginning of a very beautiful chapter for me.”
After Mitchell served 1,861 days in the Salt Lake County Jail, he was transferred to a federal facility in Tucson, Arizona, for inmates with high security requirements, a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson confirmed in September 2011.
At some point prior to March 2023, Mitchell was transferred to the United States Penitentiary (USP) in Terre Haute, Indiana, a high-security prison adjacent to the medium-security federal correctional institution located there. Little has been made public about Mitchell’s time at the complex, but according to a news release from the Office of the Inspector General, FCI Terre Haute was cited for issues with “temperature regulation, sanitation, and infrastructure” in October 2025. These included abnormally high temperatures in housing units and cells, insects and evidence of rodent excrement in a food storage area, as well as “rusting and deteriorating” window frames.
Where Is Brian David Mitchell Now, and Why Was He Transferred in 2025?
In October 2025, Indiana Public Media reported that Mitchell was transferred out of Terre Haute following multiple attacks while in custody. Mitchell was the victim of at least two recent attacks in “protected” units meant to isolate inmates at higher risk of violence.
Sources who witnessed the alleged incidents told the outlet another prisoner assaulted Mitchell in a recreational area known as the west yard in May 2025. In a letter to WFIU/WTIU News, an inmate named Keith Gace claimed he found Mitchell bleeding from the head and convinced the assailant to walk away as prison guards looked on. “I wasn’t sure if he got stabbed or what,” Gace wrote.
While USP Terre Haute has not confirmed any details of the alleged attacks, three other witnesses confirmed Gace’s account. Others claim Mitchell was attacked again in a special confinement unit.
According to prison records, Mitchell was taken to the Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City before his transfer to the Federal Correctional Institution-Lewisburg, located in Central Pennsylvania. An official at Lewisburg confirmed Mitchell is “currently housed at our institution.”
How to Watch Netflix’s Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart
The new Netflix documentary, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, includes new interviews with Smart and individuals involved with the case investigation, Tudum has confirmed, which may shine new light on Mitchell’s behavior and life today.
Smart hopes other kidnapping survivors who see her story realize they aren’t alone and can feel unashamed of what happened to them. “And I hope that people who watch this can gain compassion and understanding for other families who are going through this,” she told Tudum.
“I also hope it brings comfort that there are happy endings—and that even after terrible things happen, you can still have a wonderful life,” she added.
Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart begins streaming Wednesday, January 21, on Netflix.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
