Elizabeth Smart's Kidnapper Declared Competent

The man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart has been declared competent to stand trial during the first day of what was supposed to be a three-day hearing. Brain Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee are both charged with kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated burglary and attempted aggravated kidnapping.

Barzee has been twice deemed incompetent to stand trial in previous hearings, and is undergoing treatment at a state mental hospital. She will be re-evaluated in August 2005. In Utah, legal incompetence means a defendant is prevented by mental illness or other ailment from understanding the charges against them or aiding in their own defense.

Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom told reporters that he and Mitchell's attorneys had been in negotiations for some time to waive the competency hearing. Yocom would not say if plea bargain negotiations were on-going.

Mitchell and his wife kidnapped the 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart at knifepoint from her bedroom in 2002 and kept her for nine months. They were captured on a Utha street with Smart in March 2003.

See AP Report: Mitchell Declared Competent for Trial in Smart Kidnapping