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The day after Brian David Mitchell was ordered to spend life in prison for kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, the man claimed to have no idea what had happened during his federal court sentencing hearing.
Rebecca Woodridge told The Salt Lake Tribune she was visiting Mitchell, her former stepfather, at the Salt Lake County Jail on Thursday when Mitchell asked, "So, what did I get?"
Woodridge said she answered, "You got life."
Mitchell replied, "Oh, OK."
Woodridge said Mitchell "wasn't listening to anything that was going on" because he was singing hymns throughout the Wednesday sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court.
She thinks Mitchell's lack of reaction to the harsh sentence is due partly to his belief that "the world will end or God will set him free" before he spends much more time behind bars.
Mitchell's wife and co-defendant, Wanda Eileen Barzee, 65, testified during Mitchell's December trial that he told her God wanted them to kidnap seven young girls to become plural wives as a way of restoring the true church to Earth during an end-of-times battle with the Antichrist.
Mitchell's defense team claims he is mentally ill. But a 12-member jury said Mitchell knew right from wrong and didn't suffer from a serious mental illness. They convicted the 57-year-old man of felony kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor across state lines for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.
In June 2002, Mitchell abducted Smart, who was then 14 years old, at knife point from her Salt Lake City home. He raped her almost daily during nine months of captivity, which included a journey to California and back to Utah. Smart was rescued, and Mitchell and Barzee were arrested, after the three were spotted on a Sandy street in March 2003.
Woodridge, who has been visiting Mitchell twice weekly at the jail, also was sexually abused by Mitchell beginning when she was 7 years old, according to trial testimony. Woodridge claims Mitchell sexually abused her multiple times during the four years her mother was married to Mitchell in the early 1980s.
Woodridge — who went public with the story of her abuse following Smart's rescue — said Friday she has been waiting for the right time to confront Mitchell.
She said she told Mitchell on Thursday: "This is what you did to me and I've never forgotten and it made my life very hard and I made very bad decisions based on what I endured at your hands."
"He listened," Woodridge said. "He didn't have a response towards it, but he listened. It was a big sigh of relief, after all these years, that I could finally say that to him. I glad I did it."
Woodridge says she does not condone Mitchell's crimes but believes he is mentally ill and hopes he ends up in a prison facility that offers treatment.
Mitchell's defense attorneys could not be reached for comment Friday.