Chapter 1: What led to the special interview with Elizabeth Smart?
Hi, crime junkies. It's Brit. If you're like me and you're ready to dive into even more cases, there's another podcast I think you're going to love. Park Predators. In Park Predators, host Delia D'Ambra dives into the haunting crimes that happen in some of the most beautiful and unexpected places across the globe.
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New episodes drop every week. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt, surprising you in your feed with a special interview. Back in 2021, Ashley and I released our episode, Survived Elizabeth Smart, where we walked you through Elizabeth's kidnapping and truly remarkable return.
If you haven't heard our original episode covering the case or just need a refresher, please be sure to go back and listen. We were so fortunate to be able to speak to Elizabeth about her experience, giving you all a chance to hear from Elizabeth herself. But that was just a small part of a much larger conversation that we had with her. And that is what you'll hear in this episode.
The full conversation between Ashley and Elizabeth back from 2021 to give us a more in-depth look at everything she survived and her life since. We originally released this in our fan club, but are bringing it out of the archives for everyone today. So now, on to our conversation with Elizabeth Smart. Hi, Crime Junkies.
For all of you who are interested, we wanted to give you a little peek behind the curtain. So we just released our regular episode called Survived Elizabeth Smart. But if you'd like, we are also releasing this episode, which is just the raw audio of Elizabeth and me sitting down, doing the interview, having the conversation that you hear part of in the episode.
So if you are interested in the whole thing, take a listen. And just so you know, I think there are moments where I say something like, oh, don't worry, this isn't for the podcast or we don't have to use this. We did get her permission to put everything out there that we have. And I'm glad because I think Elizabeth has so many important things to say.
So enjoy this audio extra and don't forget to listen to the regular episode that this is made for, Survived Elizabeth Smart. So, Elizabeth, where I'd like to have you start is really giving the listener again that where we kind of leave off is is you have been found and the public now for the first time actually gets to stop speculating and understand what actually happened.
So if you can tell us about the night of June 5th, 2002. Well, the night of June 5th, 2002, honestly, it started off just like every other night. I mean, there was nothing different about it. There was nothing. I guess it was the evening of June 4th. There was nothing different. I mean, it was a normal family atmosphere. dynamic, you know, we went to bed, everything was normal.
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Chapter 2: What were Elizabeth Smart's experiences during her kidnapping?
So then it also brought this spiritual layer of disgrace and trauma and just feelings of worthlessness back. To the feelings of worthlessness I already felt. So, I mean, it was devastating. And it made me genuinely feel that if my parents knew what had happened to me, that they wouldn't want me. And they would just be like, well, as unfortunate as this is, you know, we had six kids.
That's a lot of kids. Now we'll only have five. And five kids, that's still a lot of kids. Wow. That's something that, this isn't for the episode, but that's something that I grew up in like a very religious home. And it was so much of like your worth as a woman was like put around virginity and purity to your point.
Yeah.
And I don't know, like, is there do you think there's a different again? I don't think this is for the episode, but do you think there's a different way that people in the community? Because I think I think there's if people want to wait till marriage, if there is if there is like something pure and in waiting to make the choice to give that to someone. I totally respect that.
I think that's beautiful. But do you think there's a way in religion that almost we should talk about it differently? That's not your whole value. That's not everything you are. And if someone takes that from you, that's totally different than you choosing to give that to someone? 100%.
And honestly, I could talk about this all day because I feel very passionate about it because it was very hurtful to me and caused a lot of feelings of worthlessness and just...
unworthiness and unlovable just it made me feel a lot of things that nobody should feel um and i know that's common so i respect people's beliefs like whatever people want to believe or not believe like that that's fine with me as long as it it's not hurting another person or breaking the law like you believe what you want to believe that's just fine
But I think that it is important that we have these kinds of conversations where we talk about the difference between consensual, enthusiastic, consensual sex versus rape and sexual violence and talk about, you know, where did these come from? Because even still, you know, I've met survivors and, you know, it was their parents who raped them.
It was their dad who raped them or their brother who raped them. or a religious leader who raped them, or it was someone that they knew. And so they were like, oh, well, I knew them, so it's not rape. Well, most rapes come from people that you know. So I think just honestly, really laying out this groundwork is really important. And
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Chapter 3: How did Elizabeth cope with the trauma of her abduction?
And that was actually really difficult for me. All of a sudden, everywhere I went, people knew my name. People were pointing at me, whispering about me, trying to take sneaky pictures of me. And I had been very shy. I had been a wallflower and I hated it. I hated it. I just wanted to be who I once had been. So it took me a while to really Learn to become OK with it.
But my dad, who I mean, I think honestly, from the moment I was taken, he became an advocate. I mean, he has gone up to our state capitol so many times to lobby and advocate for education. safety bills for children against rape. And he, on occasion, would ask me if I wanted to go with him. And I would always ask him, well, will it really make a difference if I'm there?
And he's like, actually, yeah, because nobody knows better what it's like to experience this than you. You've experienced it. You know better than a lot of these legislators, but you've lived it. You understand it. So yeah, it will make a difference. And so little by little, I got more and more involved. And until now, I feel like I'm swimming out in the ocean about to be crushed by a tidal wave.
That's kind of how I got involved. And really what really kind of pointed me, it was actually my own case that made a pretty big impact. I remember my case, I mean, it was in the state courts for years. And when my dad told me the initial charges that they were being charged with, I was really angry because none of the charges included rape charges. Or, you know, sexual abuse of a minor.
And initially when I got home, I didn't want anyone to know that I'd been raped. I was very ashamed of what had happened to me. I didn't want people to know that I'd been forced to go naked. I just didn't want people to know that anything like that had happened because I... I just wasn't confident enough in the world to believe that I would still be worthy if everyone knew.
I felt like people would look at me differently, that I would somehow be less worthy than the girl sitting next to me to have friends or to be liked or even loved one day. And I wasn't ready to give that up. Now looking back, part of me is like, well, that was silly because I'm sure everyone already knew I was gone for nine months.
I mean, even when girls go missing for just a few hours or boys, you know, men and women for just a few hours, I think everyone automatically jumps to the conclusion that rape has been a part of it. But I just didn't want to publicly confirm that. But then, I mean, it took so long.
Everything took so long in my case that by the time it was like they were going to be charged with something, that wasn't one of the charges. And I was like, wait a second. That was so destructive to me. You're telling me that one of the most destructive things that they did to me, they won't actually get charged with? Of course, you know, my captors...
their cases were moved to the federal courts. And I mean, we could talk about that for a while, but they ended up being prosecuted in the federal courts instead of the state courts. But it was actually my own case that made me start to really feel like I needed to speak out and do more. And as I started speaking out, I've now been to all 50 states and I've done presentations and
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Chapter 4: What role did religion play in Elizabeth's captivity?
And so for me, I have the utmost respect and I'm so grateful to them for that and for the sacrifices that they do make, especially when you think about, I mean, my case alone is Going through what I've experienced, I am really hesitant to watch other documentaries on victims. I mean, I'm really hesitant to watch dark movies. I do not watch horror movies. I do not watch scary movies.
Even emotional rollercoaster kind of movies, I don't want to watch them because... I want to be able to go to bed at night and fall asleep being okay. So even if it's like a movie where the child dies, I mean, every time a child dies in a movie, I'm like a waterfall. And my husband's always like, it's okay. You know, it's just pretend. I'm like, I know what these things happened in real life.
I hate this.
Yeah.
And so like at night when, when my husband and I turn on the TV before going to bed or to unwind at the end of the day, it's always like comedy or lighthearted stuff. Or like, like probably my favorite all time show is the, is the British baking show. Like I have watched that so many times. I'm like, wow, they're so creative. How did they just do that? How did they just know that?
frosting and dough. Like, I can't do that on my best day. So... And also because I have so many people disclose abuse to me who have never disclosed it to anyone else, that at the end of the day, I don't want, I need to find a balance in my life as much as I can.
And so I don't typically watch whether they're documentaries or movies or shows that kind of go into that world just because I need to be able to sleep at night. And I don't want to live in fear. Yeah.
So I have so much respect for these people, whether they're police officers or FBI agents or they're advocates who work at advocacy centers or therapists or forensic psychologists or like these nurses who do these rape kits who keep coming back day after day after day after seeing heartbreak and tragedy and just the worst side of humanity.
And yet they keep coming back and there's still these good people trying to make money. difference in the world. So for that reason alone, I mean, I have the greatest respect and admiration for them. And I think that's really like admirable of you because, again, someone in your position, I think you had the right to be bitter if you want.
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