Brian Mitchell spent years singing hymns in court, disrupting hearings, and faking insanity to avoid standing trial for what he did to Elizabeth Smart. It took nearly a decade to get him in front of a jury. When Elizabeth finally took the stand, she described nine months of daily assault, a cable padlocked around her ankle, and threats against her family that kept her silent even when rescue was within reach. The jury deliberated for less than a day.

This episode contains descriptions of kidnapping, child sexual abuse, and captivity. Please listen with care

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Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get all 3 weekly episodes of America’s Most Infamous Crimes ad-free and released on the same day.

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Ed Smart defied police orders and released his daughter's kidnapper's sketch to the public himself. Within four days, someone recognized the man in it. Brian David Mitchell had been hiding in plain sight the whole time, eating at restaurants, preaching on street corners, and sleeping one block from a police station. Elizabeth was right there with him, and nobody said a word.

This episode contains descriptions of kidnapping, child sexual abuse, and captivity. Please listen with care

Head over to our America’s Most Infamous Crimes YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericasMostInfamousCrimes

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get all 3 weekly episodes of America’s Most Infamous Crimes ad-free and released on the same day.

🎧 Need More to Binge?

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!

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• Instagram: @Crimehouse
• TikTok: @Crimehouse
• Facebook: @crimehousestudios
• X: @crimehousemedia
• YouTube: @AmericasMostInfamousCrimes

America’s Most Infamous Crimes is hosted by Katie Ring

• Instagram: @the.self.defense.girl
• TikTok: @the.self.defense.girl

In June 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was taken from her bedroom at knifepoint while her nine-year-old sister hid under the covers and watched. Her kidnapper knew exactly which door of the house wasn't wired to the alarm. For months, investigators zeroed in on the wrong man. And a sketch that could have broken the case wide open sat untouched in a filing cabinet.

This episode contains descriptions of kidnapping, child sexual abuse, and captivity. Please listen with care

Head over to our America’s Most Infamous Crimes YouTube channel to WATCH this episode: https://www.youtube.com/@AmericasMostInfamousCrimes

Join Crime House+ to binge a special limited series on Murder: True Crime Stories for America’s 250th: The Crimes That Built America. These are the cases that created the FBI, gave us Miranda rights, sparked criminal profiling, and gave us America’s Most Wanted. Join at crimehouseplus.com or if you’re listening on Apple Podcasts, tap “Try Free” at the top of this show’s page. You’ll also get all 3 weekly episodes of America’s Most Infamous Crimes ad-free and released on the same day.

🎧 Need More to Binge?

Listen to other Crime House Originals Clues, Serial Killers & Murderous Minds, Conspiracy Theories, Cults, & Crimes, Murder True Crime Stories, and more wherever you get your podcasts!

Follow me on Social

• Instagram: @Crimehouse
• TikTok: @Crimehouse
• Facebook: @crimehousestudios
• X: @crimehousemedia
• YouTube: @AmericasMostInfamousCrimes

America’s Most Infamous Crimes is hosted by Katie Ring

• Instagram: @the.self.defense.girl
• TikTok: @the.self.defense.girl