Wanda Barzee has been declared incompetent to stand trial on charges of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart, but what mental illness does she have?
Not even the experts can agree. Both doctors who evaluated Barzee, however, agree there's something wrong with the woman who with her husband, Brian David Mitchell, is accused of kidnapping Smart.
One evaluator determined Barzee was a paranoid schizophrenic. The other said she suffered from shared psychotic disorder.
Shared psychotic disorder is also known as shared paranoid disorder, folie deux and double insanity. It's characterized by a transfer of delusions from one person to another.
Dr. Richard Spencer, clinical director of the Utah State Hospital, said the disorder is most commonly found in people who live together for a long time, such as a husband and wife. There is usually a "primary" person with the disorder in the relationship and a "secondary" person.
One person who has the disorder is often chronically ill and is the influential member of the partnership, Spencer said, reading from "Synopsis of Psychiatry, 9th edition" by Kaplin and Sadock.
The secondary person in the partnership is often more gullible, more passive and lacks self-esteem, he said. The disorder is also often accompanied by social conflict with family members and social isolation, he said.
Jed Ericksen, with Valley Mental Health, called it a "rather severe mental disorder of psychotic proportions." Those who have the disorder are usually very paranoid and have feelings of extreme suspiciousness, he said.
Those who have the disorder are generally resistant to treatment and do not complain of having any psychiatric problems, Spencer said. In order to treat a person with the disease, the book says the two parties must be separated and have no contact with one another.
Barzee and Mitchell have not had contact with each other since being booked into the Salt Lake County Jail.
Mitchell, 50, and Barzee, 58, are accused of kidnapping Smart in June 2002 and holding her captive for nine months before the three were found in Sandy on March 12, 2003.
According to research, 50 percent of those diagnosed with shared psychotic disorder have recovered, Spencer said.
Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocom said Friday he fully expected Barzee's competency to be restored and for her to stand trial at some point in the near future. He also said he disagreed with the shared psychotic diagnosis and did not expect that evaluation to affect co-defendant Mitchell's case.
"They're two individuals. They're evaluated differently," he said.
Doctors assigned to evaluate Mitchell have split on the issue of whether he's competent.
Those who are currently committed to the state hospital because they have been ruled incompetent to stand trial have been there an average of 660 days, Spencer said. For an incompetent person whose competency is later restored, the average stay is 320 days, he said.
If a patient is determined to still be incompetent after 18 months, the patient is civilly committed to the hospital.
A number of high-profile cases have involved the issue of mental competency.
De Kieu "Lisa" Duy was committed to the state hospital in 1999 after allegedly shooting and killing an AT&T employee inside the Triad Center. She was declared incompetent to stand trial. In August 2002 a judge recommitted Duy to the state hospital for 36 months. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2.
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