Murder of Kelsey Smith
Encyclopedia
Kelsey Ann Smith was an Overland Park, Kansas
teenager who disappeared on June 2nd, 2007 and was murdered that evening. The story was featured in the international media, including on America's Most Wanted, before her body was found near a lake in Missouri on June 6, 2007.
store at 97th and Quivira, behind the Oak Park Mall
in Overland Park, Kansas
. Police, other authorities and the national media launched an extensive publicity campaign and search for Smith.
Surveillance video from Target showed Smith purchasing a present for her boyfriend to celebrate six months together. She then left the store before she disappeared. Approximately two hours later, her car was found abandoned outside of Macy's in the Oak Park mall parking lot across the street. Her purse and wallet were left in the car.
Target stores use a large number of video cameras, and these can often be enhanced internally through their Target Forensic Services division. There was strong evidence that Smith had been abducted; surveillance video from Target appeared to show someone forcing Smith into her car. Target video evidence identified a suspicious 1970s-era Chevrolet truck.
that originated from the area on June 2, and a number of search areas were identified. Despite efforts by local law enforcement and eventually the FBI, it took Verizon Wireless
three days to hand over the cell phone records to investigators. There is much controversy on why it took Verizon so long to cooperate with law enforcement. A Verizon technician pinpointed a cell phone tower and told investigators to search 1.1 miles north of the tower. Within 45 minutes, on June 6, 2007, at 1:30 p.m. local time, searchers discovered Smith's body in a wooded area near Longview Lake in southern Jackson County, Grandview, Missouri
, 18 to 20 miles from where she had been abducted. Upon report of her death, www.findkelsey.com went offline, and was quickly remade into a dedication site. Through subsequent investigation, the cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
. Hall was charged on June 7, 2007 with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping
. Hall had no adult criminal record, but had a juvenile record of assault
. Hall who had been adopted at age seven, had been returned to state custody at age 15 after threatening the family's daughter with a knife. Hall also assaulted another boy by striking him in the head with a baseball bat, which may account for the juvenile record of assault. Police do not believe Hall knew Smith. At the time of his arrest, Hall was married and the father of a four-year-old son.
On Wednesday, August 1, Hall was indicted by a Johnson County grand jury for murder, rape
, and aggravated sodomy
, making him eligible for the death penalty. Johnson County prosecutor Phill Kline had decided to seek the death penalty for Hall.
Hall was arraigned via video hookup on June 7, and bond was set at US$5 million. The next court date was the formal arraignment on June 14, and following that a preliminary hearing set for August 15. Former Kansas Attorney General and then appointed Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline
was in charge of the case. Because the body had been found in a different state (Missouri), some argued for federal jurisdiction, but because Hall was arrested and in custody in Johnson County, that jurisdiction had the legal authority to pursue the case. Hall is currently incarcerated in the Hutchinson, Kansas, Correctional Facility.
On July 23, 2008, at 1:30 p.m., Edwin Hall pleaded guilty to all four charges brought against him as part of a plea agreement. Hall's plea came during what was supposed to be a change-of-venue hearing. The courtroom was jammed with Smith's parents and other family members, friends and reporters. The hearing was carried live on all four of Kansas City's network affiliates.
The hearing came a day after a judge ruled that prosecutors could still seek the death penalty for Hall after a judge denied a defense motion seeking dismissal of the case on a technicality.
On September 16, 2008, Johnson County District Judge Peter V. Ruddick sentenced Hall to life in prison without parole for the kidnapping, rape, and murder. In court, Edwin Hall apologized to Smith's family for his actions.
news affiliate
coverage, the case has received prominent national media attention, including coverage by national news services Fox News Channel
, CNN
, MSNBC
, Nancy Grace
, and the Today Show.
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
teenager who disappeared on June 2nd, 2007 and was murdered that evening. The story was featured in the international media, including on America's Most Wanted, before her body was found near a lake in Missouri on June 6, 2007.
Overview
Smith was last seen at 7:09 p.m. CST on June 2, 2007 in the parking lot at a TargetTarget Corporation
Target Corporation, doing business as Target, is an American retailing company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart. The company is ranked at number 33 on the Fortune 500 and is a component of the Standard & Poor's...
store at 97th and Quivira, behind the Oak Park Mall
Oak Park Mall
Oak Park Mall is a super-regional shopping mall located in Overland Park, Kansas, containing 200 stores in a covered area of . It is the largest mall in the Kansas City Metro Area as well as the entire state of Kansas, and is split into two levels and contains five department stores.It was...
in Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
. Police, other authorities and the national media launched an extensive publicity campaign and search for Smith.
Surveillance video from Target showed Smith purchasing a present for her boyfriend to celebrate six months together. She then left the store before she disappeared. Approximately two hours later, her car was found abandoned outside of Macy's in the Oak Park mall parking lot across the street. Her purse and wallet were left in the car.
Target stores use a large number of video cameras, and these can often be enhanced internally through their Target Forensic Services division. There was strong evidence that Smith had been abducted; surveillance video from Target appeared to show someone forcing Smith into her car. Target video evidence identified a suspicious 1970s-era Chevrolet truck.
Search
Police detectives reportedly found the body because of a cell phone pingPing
Ping is a computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host on an Internet Protocol network and to measure the round-trip time for messages sent from the originating host to a destination computer...
that originated from the area on June 2, and a number of search areas were identified. Despite efforts by local law enforcement and eventually the FBI, it took Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless
Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, is one of the largest mobile network operators in the United States. The network has 107.7 million subscribers as of 2011, making it the largest wireless service provider in America....
three days to hand over the cell phone records to investigators. There is much controversy on why it took Verizon so long to cooperate with law enforcement. A Verizon technician pinpointed a cell phone tower and told investigators to search 1.1 miles north of the tower. Within 45 minutes, on June 6, 2007, at 1:30 p.m. local time, searchers discovered Smith's body in a wooded area near Longview Lake in southern Jackson County, Grandview, Missouri
Grandview, Missouri
Grandview is a city in Jackson County, Missouri, United States. The population was 24,475 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Grandview is located at , along U.S...
, 18 to 20 miles from where she had been abducted. Upon report of her death, www.findkelsey.com went offline, and was quickly remade into a dedication site. Through subsequent investigation, the cause of death was determined to be strangulation.
Perpetrator
On the evening of June 6, police arrested 26-year-old Edwin Roy "Jack" Hall of Olathe, KansasOlathe, Kansas
Olathe is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. Located in northeastern Kansas, it is also the fifth most populous city in the state, with a population of 125,872 at the 2010 census. As a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, Olathe is the fourth-largest city in the...
. Hall was charged on June 7, 2007 with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
. Hall had no adult criminal record, but had a juvenile record of assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
. Hall who had been adopted at age seven, had been returned to state custody at age 15 after threatening the family's daughter with a knife. Hall also assaulted another boy by striking him in the head with a baseball bat, which may account for the juvenile record of assault. Police do not believe Hall knew Smith. At the time of his arrest, Hall was married and the father of a four-year-old son.
On Wednesday, August 1, Hall was indicted by a Johnson County grand jury for murder, rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, and aggravated sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
, making him eligible for the death penalty. Johnson County prosecutor Phill Kline had decided to seek the death penalty for Hall.
Hall was arraigned via video hookup on June 7, and bond was set at US$5 million. The next court date was the formal arraignment on June 14, and following that a preliminary hearing set for August 15. Former Kansas Attorney General and then appointed Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline
Phill Kline
Phillip D. "Phill" Kline is the former district attorney of Johnson County, Kansas, USA. From January 2003 to January 2007, he was the Attorney General of Kansas. Kline, a member of the Republican Party, lost re-election as attorney general to Democratic challenger Paul Morrison on November 7,...
was in charge of the case. Because the body had been found in a different state (Missouri), some argued for federal jurisdiction, but because Hall was arrested and in custody in Johnson County, that jurisdiction had the legal authority to pursue the case. Hall is currently incarcerated in the Hutchinson, Kansas, Correctional Facility.
On July 23, 2008, at 1:30 p.m., Edwin Hall pleaded guilty to all four charges brought against him as part of a plea agreement. Hall's plea came during what was supposed to be a change-of-venue hearing. The courtroom was jammed with Smith's parents and other family members, friends and reporters. The hearing was carried live on all four of Kansas City's network affiliates.
The hearing came a day after a judge ruled that prosecutors could still seek the death penalty for Hall after a judge denied a defense motion seeking dismissal of the case on a technicality.
On September 16, 2008, Johnson County District Judge Peter V. Ruddick sentenced Hall to life in prison without parole for the kidnapping, rape, and murder. In court, Edwin Hall apologized to Smith's family for his actions.
National media attention
Beyond local Kansas CityKansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
news affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
coverage, the case has received prominent national media attention, including coverage by national news services Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, Nancy Grace
Nancy Grace
Nancy Ann Grace is an American legal commentator, television host, television journalist, and former prosecutor. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a victims' rights standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation...
, and the Today Show.