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Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart

February 17, 2026·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

Elizabeth Smart was seen at a wild Salt Lake City party just months after her kidnapping, hidden in plain sight.

This episode of True Crime Obsessed covers the Netflix documentary "Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart," detailing the 2002 abduction of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart from her Salt Lake City bedroom. Hosts Patrick Hinds and Gillian Pensavalle provide commentary on the case, focusing on the documentary's presentation and the family's experience. The hosts are known for their conversational and often humorous recaps of true crime documentaries. The episode recounts how Elizabeth's nine-year-old sister, Mary Catherine, witnessed the kidnapping but was paralyzed with fear. The documentary features interviews with Elizabeth, Mary Catherine, their father Ed, and an uncle described as "insane." Police initially focused on the family, administering polygraph tests and questioning over 40 relatives. A reward of $250,000 was offered, and the community mobilized with hundreds of investigators and 40,000 public tips. A key suspect, contractor Richard Ricci, was aggressively pursued by police despite Mary Catherine insisting he was not the kidnapper. Ricci had previously worked at the Smart home and was recommended through a Mormon church employment center. He died of an aneurysm in custody while police were offering him immunity for information. The hosts note the documentary effectively contrasts footage of a tearless Ed Smart pleading for help in 2002 with his modern-day interview. They highlight the immense pressure on Mary Catherine, who was kept in isolation to preserve her memory but felt her account was dismissed. A surprising moment involves an uncle giving a televised interview where he called the kidnapping "a wonderful story" about "a beautiful little angelic girl." The hosts criticize the police's fixation on Ricci even after a similar attempted break-in occurred at a relative's home while Ricci was in jail. They point out the documentary does not address the family's later dynamics, including Ed Smart coming out as gay and the parents' divorce. The tone is conversational and empathetic, blending recap with the hosts' personal reactions and critiques of the investigation. Listeners who enjoy detailed breakdowns of true crime documentaries with a mix of analysis and casual commentary will appreciate this episode. Those seeking a purely serious or straightforward narrative summary might find the hosts' digressions and ad reads distracting.

As heard by us

A fast, blunt true-crime recap that keeps the Richard Recy thread and the investigation's narrow theory in view.

This episode is a furious, fast-moving true-crime recap that keeps the story legible while treating the stakes with a blunt hand. The hosts stay fixed on the Richard Recy thread, where the cops' fixation and the immunity talk supply the sharpest tension.

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Why you'd press play

You want a blunt true-crime conversation that stays skeptical about a messy police theory.

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