FED PRISON FOR ELIZABETH SMART'S KIDNAPPER

TOUGH JAIL

SMART

THE EVIL child snatcher who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart and repeatedly raped her will enter the Hellish world of Fedral prison this week.

Brian David Mitchell, held a knife to the then 13-year-old's throat after waking her up in her bedroom, before casually walking her out of her family's Salt Lake City, UT, home. 

Then along with his wife, Wanda Barzee, he drove her 18 miles to his Sandy home, where he held her hostage and subjected her to sickening abuse. 

Brian David Mitchell has finally left Salt Lake City for his new home: federal prison.

Mitchell, convicted of the 2002 kidnap and rape of then 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, was transferred out of the Salt Lake County jail Wednesday morning, said Lt. Michael Deniro, a spokesman for the jail.

It’s still unclear which federal prison the 57-year-old is heading to, but that information will likely become public Thursday. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not release where inmates are housed until they have been safely transported, said Edmond Ross, a spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons.

Ross previously told The Tribune that judges typically submit recommendations for where convicts should be housed, and an inmate is usually placed within 500 miles from his or her residence, if possible.

"We consider a number of factors," he said, including an inmate’s security and medical needs.

Mitchell has been awaiting transport from the Salt Lake County jail since he was sentenced to life in prison on May 25 by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball after a jury found Mitchell guilty of abducting Smart at knifepoint and keeping her captive for nine months.

Jim Thompson, U.S. Marshal for the District of Utah, confirmed Mitchell’s Wednesday transport but couldn’t provide details about the process, citing security reasons. He was able to say that Mitchell behaved during his move to prison.

"He was well-behaved and cooperative today. I would guess that he is filled with anxiety, like the other prisoners, about getting to his new detention facility and moving on with the next stage of their confinement," Thompson wrote in an e-mail. "Nothing stood out as unusual or unique about his behavior."

Deniro said last week that housing Mitchell in the county jail for the past few months hasn’t been a problem.

"The federal government pays for the costs on their prisoners. So Mr. Mitchell costs us very little to house," Deniro said. "With a high-profile case like this, I am sure they are being cautious as to where they place him and are waiting for the right location to be available. It is not a problem for us to house him until they are ready."

People close to Mitchell have been preparing to say goodbye to him in recent weeks, knowing his transport to federal prison was imminent.

Rebecca Woodridge, Mitchell’s former stepdaughter, who has visited the man weekly in jail, said she wished Mitchell well and encouraged him to write to her from his prison cell.

"He knows he’s in for very difficult times ahead," Woodridge said in a recent interview.

Mitchell’s eight-year court saga concluded in July when 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton signed an order dismissing state kidnapping and sexual abuse charges that were filed after Smart’s rescue in March 2003, when the girl was discovered in Sandy in the company of Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee.

The state case had been in legal limbo for years because of issues surrounding Mitchell’s mental competency.