Handyman denies taking Jeep before girl abducted

Richard Albert Ricci

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CNN) -- The handyman being investigated in the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, 14, has denied removing his Jeep from a repair shop days before she was kidnapped, a senior law enforcement official said.

Richard Albert Ricci told investigators that if the Jeep Cherokee was removed from the shop, it was taken by someone else, the official said.

This account contradicts statements made by repair shop owner Neth Moul, who insists Ricci took the vehicle May 30 and returned it June 8 with 500 to 1,000 more miles on the odometer.

Elizabeth was kidnapped in the pre-dawn hours of June 5 from her home in the upscale Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City.

In a statement released by his attorney, Ricci denied any involvement in the Smart kidnapping and extended his concerns to the girl's family. (Full story)

The repair shop owner said there's "no doubt" Ricci took the vehicle, noting the handyman asked for the keys before driving away.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Ed Lavandera looks at Richard Ricci, the man Salt Lake City police are investigating in connection with the abduction of Elizabeth Smart. (June 28) Play video   MORE STORIES Utah handyman: I would not hurt a child    EXTRA INFORMATION Images of Elizabeth Smart  • Missing children facts    Web site: ElizabethSmart.com Tip lines: 800-932-0190 or 801-799-3000

Moul showed CNN a log in which he wrote notes indicating when the vehicle -- which the FBI has impounded -- was taken and returned. Moul said after Ricci brought the Jeep back June 8, he removed a post-hole digger, put two seat covers in a black bag and carried away another bag filled with unidentified material.

Moul said Ricci then walked across the street with the garden tool and the bags slung over his shoulder to meet an unidentified man, who had waved to him from a convenience store parking lot.

Moul could not say if the two men drove away together, but he said he saw the second man talking on a pay phone outside the convenience store.

The law enforcement official said authorities are seeking telephone records and said he believes Moul is a credible witness.

Moul said he testified last week before a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City investigating the kidnapping. He said he has no reason to make up a story that would harm Ricci, whom he said he liked.

The law enforcement source said Ricci, who is in state prison for alleged parole violations, remains the focus of the kidnapping investigation.

Ricci's wife, Angela, has said her husband was with her in their mobile home near Salt Lake City at the time Elizabeth was kidnapped, but senior investigators said that authorities have questioned the credibility of her account.