Suspect in Disappearance of Utah Teenager Dies

SALT LAKE CITY —  A suspect in the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart died Friday at a hospital three days after suffering from a brain hemorrhage and collapsing in his jail cell, doctors said.

Earlier Friday, doctors said Richard Albert Ricci, 48, had an irreversible injury to the brain stem after the hemorrhage Tuesday.

He had not been listed as brain dead because he could breathe on his own, although he was on a ventilator, Dr. Richard J. Sperry said.

Ricci’s family, including his wife, Angela, and his mother, brother and sister, decided to take Ricci off life support, doctors at University of Utah Hospital said.

Police said Ricci’s death could make it difficult to find Elizabeth.

Ricci, a former handyman for the Smart family, was not charged in the disappearance and denied involvement. He was in prison for a parole violation.

Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse reaffirmed this week that Ricci remained at the top of the list of potential suspects in Elizabeth’s abduction. But investigators were no closer to finding the missing girl than they were June 5, when a gunman took her from the bedroom she shared with her sister.

On Friday, Elizabeth’s family offered $3,000 in rewards for information on who picked up Ricci when he left his Jeep Cherokee at a repair shop June 8, three days after the abduction, and information regarding a July 24 attempted break-in at the home of Elizabeth’s aunt.

A $250,000 reward was posted in June for information leading to Elizabeth’s safe recovery. A separate $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to finding her or contributing to the arrest and conviction of her abductor. Neither has been claimed.

Elizabeth’s disappearance was one of several abductions of children this summer around the U.S. that have frightened parents.