The woman who helped kidnap Elizabeth Smart in 2002 has been released from prison.

A spokesperson for the Utah Department of Corrections tells Us Weekly that Wanda Barzee was freed from Utah State Prison around 7:45 a.m. local time on Wednesday, September 19. The Associated Press notes that reporters waiting outside the facility did not immediately see the 72-year-old leave, but the spokesperson confirms to Us that Barzee “is no longer on the premises.”

Smart, 30, took to Instagram just a few minutes after the news broke. “Without doubt the past few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotion, and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their kind words, support and concern. It has meant so much to me,” she wrote. “May we all remain vigilant in watching over our families, friends and community from anyone who would seek to hurt or take advantage. I truly believe life is meant to be happy and beautiful, and no matter what happens that will remain my goal for me and for my family.”

Barzee’s release came one week after the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole made a surprising announcement that it had miscalculated the amount of time she should serve behind bars. The board initially declined to include Barzee’s eight years in federal custody as time served on state charges, but then reversed the ruling on September 11 “upon further review and advice from legal counsel.”

The kidnapper, who was originally scheduled to be released in 2024, will be under federal supervision for five years.

Barzee pleaded guilty in 2009 to helping her husband, Brian David Mitchell, kidnap a then-14-year-old Smart from her family’s home in Salt Lake City, Utah. The couple held the girl captive for nine months until she was rescued by authorities in 2003. Mitchell, now 64, was sentenced to life in prison in 2011.

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For access to all our exclusive celebrity videos and interviews – Subscribe on Youtube! </s> DRAPER, Utah — Wanda Barzee, convicted for helping Brian David Mitchell kidnap Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City in 2002, has been released from the Utah State Prison.

The Utah Department of Corrections confirmed just after 8 a.m. Wednesday that Barzee has been released but did not provide any further details.

Earlier in the week officials said it was a possible Barzee would be bused off the property and then released, due to security concerns.

While Barzee has served her time and was not released early, she is still getting out several years earlier than many people expected.

Earlier this year, the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole said her sentence would end in 2024 with a parole hearing in 2023. However, the board later determined they would be required to give Barzee credit for time served in the federal system.

“On September 19, Ms. Barzee will have spent 15 years in custody, which is the maximum amount of time allowed by her state conviction and sentence,” Greg Johnson of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole wrote. “Ms. Barzee can not legally be held in the Utah State prison beyond the length of her sentence.”

Smart released a statement in the days after the announcement was made, and she made lengthier remarks in a press conference last week.

“I do believe she is a threat, she is a woman who had six children and yet could co-conspire to kidnap a 14-year-old girl, and not only sit next to her while being raped, but encourage her husband to continue to rape me,” Smart said. “So, do I believe that she is dangerous? Yes, but not just to me. I believe that she is a danger and a threat to any vulnerable person in our community, which is why our community should be worried.”

Under the conditions of her release, Barzee will be under federal supervision for a period of five years and is required to abide by the terms of the Sex Offender registry.

Mitchell was sentenced to life in prison for kidnapping Smart. </s> Wanda Barzee spent more than 15 years behind bars </s> BARRON, Wis. — The man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping Wisconsin 13-year-old Jayme Closs and murdering her parents has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The judge handed down the sentence after hearing statements from the Closs family, the prosecution, the defense, Jake Patterson, and Jayme Closs herself. There was no question that Patterson would receive life in prison, but the judge had to decide Friday in Barron County court whether he would ever be eligible for parole, after hearing from the people affected by his crimes.

"There are some things that Jake Patterson can never take from me," Jayme said in a statement that was read to the court. "He can't take my freedom. He thought that he could own me but he was wrong. I was smarter. I watched his routine and I took back my freedom. I will always have my freedom and he will not."

Patterson pleaded guilty on March 27 to the murders of James and Denise Closs and the kidnapping of Jayme.

Ahead of handing down the sentence, Judge James Babler said to the families, "I wish that the justice system could make you whole again. I wish we could go back in time to make sure that James and Denise Closs were never murdered nor Ms. Closs kidnapped. But I and the system can't do that for you. At best it is my hope that today's hearing will bring you a bit of closure to this awful nightmare and perhaps some return to a sense of safety and security."

He said the overriding factor in his decision was the safety of the public. "You are the embodiment of evil," he said to Jake Patterson. "You are one of the most dangerous men to ever walk on this planet."

The judge sentenced Patterson to two life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole for the murders of James and Denise Closs, and the maximum of 40 years for the kidnapping of Jayme Closs, all to be served consecutively.

Five months after escaping from her 88 days in captivity, Jayme had some words for the man who kidnapped her and killed her parents.

"Last October Jake Patterson took a lot of things that I love away from me," the statement read. "It makes me the most sad that he took away my mom and my dad. I loved my mom and dad very much and they loved me very much. They did all they could to make me happy and protect me."

Jayme described how she has to have an alarm on the house now, just to go to sleep. She said Patterson took away her love for dance, school, and going out with her friends. But he didn't take everything.

"Jake Patterson can never take away my courage," she said. "He thought he could control me, but he couldn't. I feel like what he did was what a coward would do. I was brave and he was not. He can never take away my spirit."

"I will go on to do great things in my life, but he will not," Jayme's statement continued. "Jake Patterson will never have power over me."

She said she thinks Patterson needs to stay locked up "forever."

RELATED: From missing to found alive: A timeline of the Jayme Closs case

Jayme's family members spoke at the hearing as well.

"Jayme no longer has her parents, which were her whole world, and she was their whole world. She no longer has her home," said Jennifer Smith, Jayme's aunt, addressing Patterson. "She lives in fear, doesn't have a normal 13-year-old life, and that's all from what you did."

"You took so much from Jayme. You took her parents, her home, her childhood and her happiness," said Lindsey Smith, Jayme's cousin.

"Thank God, after 88 days, we got answers," said Kelly Closs Engelhardt, James Closs' sister, after describing the ordeal. She credited Jayme for those answers.

"She saved our family, she put the pieces together. And now we need to move on," she said. "We have to go to sleep at night knowing that our niece is finally safe and that nobody else can be hurt."

Mike Closs, James' brother, said that James and Denise died trying to protect Jayme.

"Because of this monster Jayme won't have her mom and dad at her dance recitals, won't have her mom and dad at her prom," he said. "My brother won't be able to walk down the aisle at her wedding day."

After the family statements, Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright gave a graphic description of Patterson's crime in court, going step by step through the murders and kidnapping. He painted a picture of Jake Patterson's character, using Patterson's responses to a letter KARE 11's Lou Raguse sent him while he was in prison. In that letter, Patterson called his reasons for doing what he did "complicated." Wright said the letter shows no signs of remorse.

"Nowhere in the defendant's answers to Mr. Raguse's questions will you find him expressing any remorse for murdering James and Denise," he said.

"Jake Patterson is a cold blooded killer," Wright said. Patterson shook his head no.

"The impact of what he did will never go away for Jayme and for the families of James and Denise, some of whom you have heard from today," Wright continued.

Wright wrapped up his argument by saying, "Jayme should not have to spend one second of the rest of her life having to worry about the defendant being free."

RELATED: 'I can’t believe I did this' | Accused Jayme Closs kidnapper writes letter from jail

Jake Patterson's attorney Charles Glynn spoke to the judge saying, "Mr. Patterson severely over reacted to his loneliness."

"Mr. Patterson knows and has accepted that he is going to die in prison," Glynn continued. "And hasn’t asked us to argue for anything else.”

Glynn said that Patterson's isolation led to his crimes, and that he has rehabilitative needs. He said Patterson saved the families the "agony" of a trial, thanks to his guilty plea.

Jake Patterson did speak briefly in court, saying tearfully, "I would do absolutely anything to take back what I did. I would die. I would do absolutely anything to bring them back. I don't care about me, I just, I'm just so sorry. That's all."

RELATED: Complaint: Patterson chose Jayme Closs at random after seeing her get on bus

Ahead of his guilty plea, Patterson said in the letter to KARE 11's Lou Raguse that he planned to plead guilty. “I can’t believe I did this,” he wrote at that time.

Patterson took a plea deal in Barron County that included an agreement that additional charges would not be filed in Douglas County, where Jayme was held. An additional charge of armed burglary was also dropped as part of the deal.

The crimes to which Patterson confessed began early the morning of Oct. 15, 2018, when deputies arrived at the Closs home in Barron, Wisconsin, to find Jayme missing and her parents fatally shot. A nationwide effort to bring Jayme home commenced over the next three months, but after 88 days in captivity, it was Jayme herself who found a way out.

On the afternoon of Jan. 10, 2019, she escaped from the cabin where Patterson was holding her, found a woman walking her dog, and asked for help. The woman took her to a nearby home and asked the owners to call 911.

Patterson was arrested shortly after, driving around the area. He told deputies at that point, “I did it,” according to the criminal complaint.

He was charged in Barron County days later. The criminal complaint states that he told investigators he chose Jayme at random after seeing her get on a school bus in Barron. "He knew that was the girl he was going to take," the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Jayme told investigators that Patterson held her at a cabin in Gordon, Wisconsin for 88 days. She was kept underneath his bed, blocked in by plastic totes and weights, and threatened that bad things would happen if she tried to get away. She described Patterson striking her with an object once when he became angry.

One day, though, on Jan. 10, Patterson told Jayme he would be gone for five or six hours. She pushed her way out from under the bed, found a pair of Patterson’s shoes, and left the house to find help.

Jayme was recently honored as a “Hometown Hero” by the Wisconsin Assembly. She also received the reward money designated for her “rescuer” from Jennie-O, where her parents had been employed.

At a news conference after the sentencing, Jayme Closs' aunt, Jennifer Smith, said: "I can tell you she has made a great deal of progress… Jayme will likely have more to say in the future." </s> Wisconsin Man Sentenced To 2 Life Terms For Kidnapping Teen, Murdering Her Parents

Enlarge this image toggle caption Renee Jones Schneider/AP Renee Jones Schneider/AP

Updated at 6:43 p.m. ET

A judge in Wisconsin has ruled that 21-year-old Jake Patterson will spend the rest of his life behind bars by sentencing him to two life terms in prison without the possibility of release for kidnapping a teenager and murdering her parents last year.

Patterson pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide in the deaths of James and Denise Closs, who were killed at their home in Barron, a town in northern Wisconsin. He also admitted kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and keeping her captive for 88 days.

Patterson was also sentenced to 25 years in prison for abducting the girl.

The case drew national attention as an intense search for the teenager ended with her escaping captivity and leading authorities to her captor in January.

Jayme Closs did not appear in court for the sentencing, but her guardian read a statement on her behalf, saying Patterson "thought that he could own me, but he's wrong. I was smarter." She said she wanted to see Patterson "locked up forever," as quoted by the Associated Press.

Describing Patterson as "the embodiment of evil," Barron County Circuit Court Judge James Babler said the defendant's crime was "the most heinous and dangerous" he had seen.

As NPR reported in January, authorities disclosed the gruesome details of the Closs killings in a criminal complaint covering their murders; the discovery of their bodies; the conditions under which Patterson kept Jayme Closs hidden under his bed; and her eventual escape.

According to the complaint, Patterson, a cheese factory worker, told investigators that he had "put quite a bit of thought into the details of how he was going to abduct" Closs after seeing her for the first time getting on a school bus. The teenager escaped when Patterson left her alone for several hours, making it possible for her to find help. Authorities took her into custody and launched a search for Patterson. When he was pulled over shortly thereafter by police, he volunteered, "I did it."

According to the complaint, Patterson told investigators that, after seeing media reports, he had believed that he had escaped detection for the murders of Closs's parents. It was through those reports that he had learned the names of his victims. "The defendant stated he never would have been caught if he would have planned everything perfectly," it stated.

Wisconsin Public Radio reported that:

"Barron County District Attorney Brian Wright told a judge during Jake Patterson's sentencing hearing Friday that Patterson would never stop trying to find and possibly kill Jayme if he gets out of prison. "He said Patterson can never get another opportunity to kidnap another girl and kill her or anyone with her. "Patterson wrote that he had fantasized 'about keeping a young girl, torturing her and controlling her.' "

Prosecutors did not charge Patterson with any other behavior toward Jayme during her captivity as a way of sparing her more pain and scrutiny. </s> Wisconsin Man Gets Life for Kidnapping Jayme Closs, Killing Her Parents

BARRON, Wis. (AP) – A Wisconsin man will spend the rest of his life in prison for kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents.

Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson was sentenced Friday in Barron County. He pleaded guilty in March to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. He admitted to abducting Jayme in October and killing her parents, James and Denise Closs.

The teen was held captive in a remote cabin for 88 days before she escaped.

Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without release on each homicide count and 25 years in prison on the kidnapping count. The sentences will be served consecutively. </s> BARRON, Wisconsin -- The Wisconsin man who admitted kidnapping a 13-year-old girl after killing her parent has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.Patterson was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder of James and Denise Closs, and received the maximum sentence of 40-years for the kidnapping of Jayme Closs.Several family member made impact statements in memory of their loved ones, as well as a written statement from Jayme Closs."For 88 days he tried to steal me and he didn't care who he hurt or who he killed to do that. he should stay locked up forever," Jayme said in her impact statement.Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson is facing life in prison when he's sentenced Friday in Barron County Circuit Court for kidnapping Jayme Closs and killing her parents, James and Denise Closs, on Oct. 15 at the family's home near Barron, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Minneapolis."There's some things that Jake Patterson can never take from me. He can't take my freedom," Jayme said "I was smarter. I watched his routine and i took back my freedom. I will always have my freedom and he will not. Jake Patterson can never take my courage. he thought he could control me but he couldn't."Jayme escaped in January, after 88 days in Patterson's cabin near the small, isolated town of Gordon, some 60 miles (97 kilometers) from her home. Patterson told authorities he decided Jayme "was the girl he was going to take" after he saw her getting on a school bus near her home.Patterson earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree intentional homicide and kidnapping."I would do absolutely anything to bring them back. I don't care about me. I'm so sorry," Patterson told the court. </s> A Wisconsin teen is going to spend the next 40 years in a mental institution for nearly stabbing a friend to death to please the fictional Slender Man character.

Whoa! A judge in Wisconsin threw the book at a teenager who brutally stabbed a friend in order to please the fictional horror character Slender Man. Morgan Geyser, now 15, was just 12-years-old when she and pal Anissa Meyer, also 16, lured their friend Payton Leutner, 16, into the woods where Morgan brutally stabbed her 19 times. Morgan was sentenced on Feb. 1. to spend the next 40 years in a state mental institution for the horrific attack that left Payton near death. The teen pleaded guilty in Oct. of 2017 to attempted first-degree intentional homicide to avoid serving prison time, but now she’s still going to spend the next 40 years locked away, just not behind prison bars.

At her sentencing, Morgan broke down in tears and apologized for trying to kill her friend. “I just want to let Bella and her family know that I’m sorry,” she said, using a nickname for Payton. At the hearing, doctors treating the girl gave accounts of her mental health, testifying that as recently as September she was hearing voices in her head from someone named “Maggie.” Dr. Brooke Lundbohm has treated Morgan in the three years since the brutal stabbing and says that while she’s made progress, she believes that the teen is definitely a danger to herself and others. “This is not a close call,” she told the court.

Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren wasn’t moved by the fact that Morgan was only 12 when the attack happened and gave her the maximum penalty that prosecutors sought. “What we can’t forget is this was an attempted murder,” the judge said when handing down the sentence, saying that putting her away was “an issue of community protection.”

Judge Bohren was equally tough when sentencing Morgan’s parter in crime Anissa back in Dec. of 2017. She had pled guilty to second-degree intentional homicide as a party to a crime, but claimed she was mentally ill at the time. The teen could have got as little as three years in an institution but he sentenced her to the full 25 years that prosecutors asked for.

Back in 2014, the case made national headlines when the girls were just 12 and lured their pal into a suburban Milwaukee park where Morgan brutally stabbed Payton while Anissa cheered her on in order to please the fictional horror character Slender Man. They left her for dead but Payton managed to crawl out of the woods and was discovered by a passing bicyclist. Payton’s mom Stacie Leutner said in a letter during Anissa’s sentencing that the physical and emotional wounds from the attack “has defined our lives.”

HollywoodLifers, do you think the 40 year sentence was excessive? Or is it fitting of the crime? </s> The bodega clerk convicted for the 1979 murder of New York first-grader Etan Patz was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years to life in prison. Pedro Hernandez, 56, was convicted of kidnapping and murder in February, nearly 40 years after the 6-year-old disappeared on May 25, 1979.

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After serving fifteen years behind bars for her role in the kidnapping, Wanda Barzee, is released on probation from Utah State Prison. She will be on probation for five years. [1]