Wanda Eileen Barzee -- who has admitted in federal court that she helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart -- pleaded guilty Monday in state court to the attempted kidnapping of Smart's 15-year-old cousin on July 24, 2002.
Barzee pleaded guilty and mentally ill to a charge of conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping, a second-degree felony. That plea could affect whether Barzee spends her sentence in a hospital or a prison.
A sentencing hearing was set for May 21 before 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton.
Prosecutor Alicia Cook said after the hearing that she will recommend that Barzee's state sentence of one to 15 years be served concurrently with her federal time, as long as Barzee continues to cooperate with authorities.
Defense attorney Scott C. Williams told reporters that Barzee had emerged from the cloudiness of mental illness to her present state of clarity with an accompanying desire to "mend fences" and take responsibility for her actions.
Barzee, 64, and her husband, Brian David Mitchell, 56, were charged with kidnapping then-14-year-old Elizabeth Smart on June 5, 2002, from her Federal Heights home.
Barzee and Mitchell were arrested in March 2003 in Sandy with Smart.
Mitchell had entered the Smart home by cutting through a kitchen window screen with a knife, according to prosecutors.
The next month, Mitchell allegedly used the same technique while attempting to enter the Salt Lake County home of Elizabeth Smart's 15-year-old cousin, according to Barzee's plea statement.
Mitchell fled, however, when the person in the bedroom -- who was actually the 15-year-old's 18-year-old sister -- awoke, according to court documents and police reports.
Police have said Mitchell believed God intended for him to take seven wives in addition to Barzee.
Atherton has ruled Mitchell cannot be forcibly medicated to try to restore his mental competency, but she ruled Barzee could be forcibly medicated, a process that began at the Utah State Hospital in May 2008.
Attorneys on Monday agreed Barzee was mentally ill at the time of the crime but that she has been restored to competency.
Williams told the judge that Barzee is taking the anti-psychotic medication Zyprexa; Lexapro, which is used to treat depression and anxiety; and Ambian, as needed to sleep.
Two years ago, after the state cases had stalled, the U.S. Attorney's Office obtained a federal grand jury indictment charging Mitchell and Barzee with kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor.
Barzee pleaded guilty to the federal charges on Nov. 17 and agreed to testify against Mitchell in exchange for a 15-year federal prison term.
Her sentencing in that case is scheduled for May 19.
Negotiations that led to the guilty plea also covered her case in 3rd District Court, where Barzee and Mitchell were charged with two counts each of aggravated sexual assault, and one count each of aggravated burglary and aggravated kidnapping in connection with Smart's abduction.
Mitchell is still charged with aggravated burglary and attempted aggravated kidnapping for allegedly trying to abduct Smart's cousin.
Prosecutor Cook said Monday that Barzee's case "encourages us that these cases can work out."
"She is restored [to competency], has pleaded guilty and some closure has been brought to this case."
