Elizabeth Smart went to sleep in the comfort of her home on June 5, 2002. She never dreamed that when she woke up, she would be in a living hell.
Smart was abducted from her bedroom, that night, by Brian David Mitchell and his wife Wanda Barzee. She was held captive for nine months at only 14-years-old.
Mitchel and Barzee held Smart in a make-shift campsite outside of their home. While Smart was there, she was repeatedly raped and tortured. Smart told NBC News’, Meredith Vieira, that she did not feel human.
“How could I? I mean, here I was, a 14-year-old girl, ripped from my family, from my friends, from the people I loved. Being raped every day, not knowing when I’d be able to eat next, not knowing when I’d be able to drink next. And being chained to a tree — I didn’t feel human.”
Now, eleven years later, Smart is opening up about her ordeal and is advocating for others against child abuse. In her interview with Vieira, she described how her captors viewed her. “To her, I was a slave, and to him, I was an object,” she said. “I don’t think there’s anything worse you can do to a child.”
The NBC exclusive, “Elizabeth’s Story- A Meredith Vieira Special”, will premier on NBC Friday, October 4 at 10 p.m. Smart’s memoir, “My Story” is set to debut on October, 8.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
