Trivia

Son of Shirl Mitchell and Irene Sidwell.

Younger brother of Kayleen Hil. Older brother of Lisa Mitchell Holbrook.

Father of Travis Mitchell and Angela Mitchell.

He was the third of six children born into a strict household of mainstream Mormons.

He kidnapped Elizabeth Smart from her home at knifepoint the night of June 5, 2002. She later testified to being raped three to four times daily, tied up and threatened with death if she attempted escape. Later he would unsuccessfully attempt to kidnap Olivia Wright, a cousin of Elizabeth Smart, for which he was indicted in Utah on aggravated burglary and conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping charges. Later he also attempted to kidnap a 12-year-old girl near San Diego, California, but was unsuccessful. After this second failed kidnapping attempt Mitchell would claim that the Lord revealed that they were not yet ready to receive more wives.

Mitchell's criminal trial on federal kidnapping charges began on November 8, 2010. The jury ended up deliberating for only about five hours, a relatively short time given the amount of evidence they needed to cover. The jury rejected the insanity plea and returned guilty verdicts on both counts early on Friday December 10, 2010.

Mitchell is currently serving his life sentence at the United States Penitentiary, a high security federal prison in Tucson, Arizona.

According to family members Mitchell's paternal grandfather suffered from mental illness and was hospitalized for a time at the Utah State Hospital as a mental patient.