Elizabeth Smart Goes to Court

On Thursday, Elizabeth Smart will testify against self-avowed prophet Brian David Mitchell, who allegedly kidnapped her for nine months and wanted her as a plural wife. People magazine reports that Mitchell allegedly abducted Smart from her Salt Lake City bedroom at knifepoint late on the night of June 5, 2002 from the bed she shared with her younger sister Mary Katherine. During her time in captivity, Smart was forced to wear a white robe and veil and forbidden to bathe. Since his arrest with alleged accomplice Wanda Barzee, Mitchell has spent most of his time in competency hearings, the latest of which is scheduled for Nov. 30. Smart, who is now 21, will testify about her interactions with him earlier, as she is preparing to leave on an 18-month mission to Paris for the Mormon Church in early November. "She's ready to tell what she knows and show that Mitchell knew exactly what he was doing," said Elizabeth's father Ed, who also called it "frustrating" to see the case "drag on for so many years."