Emotional Wanda Barzee says Brian David Mitchell used family, religion, music to manipulate her

SALT LAKE CITY — It was an emotional day of testimony Friday for Wanda Barzee who said her estranged husband, accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, is a great liar and manipulator.

Barzee took the witness stand for the second day on Friday. For nearly five hours, Barzee was asked tough questions about her involvement in kidnapping Smart. At several points during her testimony she choked up and wiped away tears as she talked about how she went along with the plan to abduct Smart, view pornography, drink alcohol and have sex in front of Smart even though she didn't want to.

But she also felt pressure not to be disobedient to what her husband said was God's will.

Dora Corbett, Barzee's 89-year-old mother, sat in the front row of the courtroom gallery Friday and also was seen wiping away tears at times. After court was over, Corbett walked over to Smart and briefly chatted in private.

Barzee's appearance in court Thursday and Friday marked the first time Smart had seen her since she, Barzee and Brian David Mitchell were found walking along State Street in Sandy in 2003, ending Smart's nine-month nightmare ordeal.

During a lengthy cross-examination Friday, prosecutors attempted to convince the jury that Mitchell took note of what meant the most to Barzee — family, religion, music — and used those items as tools to manipulate her.

Each time Mitchell wanted to get Barzee to do something, he would tell her that he had a revelation from God, according to prosecutors. Because being obedient to God's commands was very important to her, Barzee said she went along with the revelations, even when she personally didn't feel it was right.

"Is it your feeling you were manipulated by the defendant?" asked assistant U.S. attorney Felice Viti.

"Yes," Barzee replied.

"Would you ever have done those things you did without those manipulations?"

"No."

"He's a good liar, isn't he?"

"He's a great deceiver," Barzee said.

Barzee, who was found competent to stand trial in 2009 and quickly reached plea deals in both her state and federal cases shortly after, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in Fort Worth, Texas, earlier this year. She returned to the stand Friday in a striped Davis County Jail uniform and shackles. She is being held in the Davis facility while back in Utah.