NEWSHow Elizabeth Smart's Kidnapping Survival Shaped Her Approach to Parenting: 'Not Everyone Is a Good Person'
Elizabeth Smart’s survival story from a kidnapping incident two decades ago has shaped her parenting skills.
April 11 2025, Published 9:00 p.m. ET
Elizabeth Smart opened up about her journey from a harrowing kidnapping survivor to a devoted mother-of-three, dedicated to teaching her children about safety in a world that can be terrifying.
"It is a struggle because I don’t want them to be scared of the world," the 37-year-old mother shared in an interview with In Touch.
She added: "But at the same time, I want them to realize that not everyone is a good person."
Elizabeth Smart empowers her kids with lessons on safety, boundaries and consent.
Remembering her own traumatic ordeal — abducted at knifepoint from her UT home at just 14 years old on June 3, 2002 — Smart’s experience shaped her parenting approach. After nine grueling months in captivity at the hands of street pastor Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, Smart was rescued on March 12, 2003, when astute witnesses recognized her captors from an episode of America’s Most Wanted.
Fast forward to today, Smart is a fierce safety and empowerment advocate, raising her kids — Chloe, 10, James, 8, and Olivia, 6 — with husband Matthew Gilmour. In their family, it's essential to have open conversations about body autonomy, boundaries and consent.
"I’m always talking to them about how there is nothing wrong or bad or ugly about your body," she emphasized. "And nobody has the right to touch it."
Elizabeth Smart's perpetrator kidnapped her and repeatedly assaulted her when she was just 14.
Smart also stressed a chilling reality: children are often hurt by those they know.
"If it was someone close to you, and your daughter came to you and was like, 'Mom, he scares me' or 'He gives really weird hugs,' do you have a plan in place?" she asked.
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Elizabeth Smart's kids are aware of what happened to their mother.
"Is that person welcome at your home anymore? Are you comfortable leaving your child alone with that person? These are things that are really important to talk about with your partner or spouse and your children," she continued.
The risk is all too real for Smart, whose captor had briefly touched her life, working as a roofer at the Smart family home prior to the abduction. During her nine months of unimaginable horror, Mitchell repeatedly assaulted her and made it clear he would kill her if she attempted to escape.
Brian David Mitchell worked as a roofer at Elizabeth Smart's family home before abducting her in 2002.
Following her harrowing rescue on March 18, 2003, Mitchell and Barzee faced justice, with charges of aggravated kidnapping, burglary and sexual assault.
Fast forward to November 2009, Barzee pleaded guilty and received a 15-year sentence, released early in 2018. Meanwhile, Mitchell now serves two life sentences after being convicted of his crimes in May 2011.
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, please reach out to the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) for confidential support and resources essential to healing.
