In June 2002, homeless street preacher Brian David Mitchell kidnapped Smart from her parent’s home, abducting her at knifepoint from her bed, which she shared with her younger sister. She spent nine months in captivity, during which he raped her repeatedly and also forced her to wear a disguise in public while wandering with him and his wife, Wanda Barzee. After a passerby identified Smart after seeing the three walking on a street in the Salt Lake City area, police were called, she was freed and her captors were arrested.
Mitchell is serving two life sentences for kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activity. Barzee was sentenced after she pleaded guilty to kidnapping a minor and illegally transporting one. Barzee was released after spending nine years behind bars and is now a registered sex offenders.
The singing reality series was last year’s winner. The Masked Singer, Smart talked to CelebHomes News about how she has begun to share her story with her eldest daughter.
Chloe said, “Even now she has kind of asked questions.” She said that she sometimes doesn’t understand what I do when I give a presentation, or when I am on Zoom calls. I asked her, “Why?” “That is how I know how much to tell my daughter.
Elle continues “With all my kids, really, I never want to conceal what happened in our pasts, because each one of us have a past. Each one of us have had some kind of life event in their lives. You can’t imagine that everyone will have an idyllic life. All of us will have to deal with hardships, struggles and whatever other forms they take. So I started to chat to her and asked questions. It’s not easy, but it doesn’t happen all at once. To the best of our ability, it is age-appropriate.