Richard Ricci
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Albert Ricci (December 20, 1953 – August 27, 2002) was an American handyman who was initially the main suspect in the disappearance of a 14-year-old girl, Elizabeth Smart of Utah, who was kidnapped from her house in the early morning of June 5, 2002. Smart was found alive by police nine months later in March 2003 in the company of a homeless man named Brian David Mitchell and his wife, who authorities have charged with her abduction.
Ricci had performed many jobs at the Smarts' home and, according to police and people who know the Smarts, knew the layout of the house very well. That, and the fact that Ricci's white Jeep Cherokee was found to have many extra unexplained miles on its odometer when it was taken to a repair shop on June 8, made Ricci a suspect.
Ricci, described by many that knew him as a "ladies' man", was booked for an unrelated parole violation a few days after the disappearance. He suffered a brain hemorrhage while in jail[1] and died in a Utah hospital.
On the one-year anniversary of Ricci's death, his widow, Angela Ricci, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Salt Lake City Police Department. However, it was eventually thrown out of court by a federal judge. Ricci's widow did, however, settle out of court in a case against the Utah Department of Corrections for $150,000.[2]
[edit] Nancy Grace
Based on his prior criminal record, and having worked at the Smart home for some time, Nancy Grace said Mr. Ricci "Was Guilty" repetitively on CourtTV and on CNN's Larry King. At the time that these nationwide proclamations were made there was little evidence against Richard Ricci that wasn't circumstantial.
Seven months after the apprehension of Brian David Mitchell Grace was asked if her proclamation of Ricci as "guilty" was "incorrect" to which she noted his previous record and proximity to the Smart residence and said "so who could blame anyone for claiming he was the perpetrator".
