Teen Went Shopping for an Anniversary Gift by Herself. A Predator Was Lurking in the Parking Lot

On the evening of June 2, 2007, Kelsey Smith, 18, told her father, Greg Smith, she had plans to shop for an anniversary gift for her boyfriend, according to Investigation Discovery. That was the last time anyone would ever hear from her.

The recent high school graduate left her house at about 6:30 p.m. and drove to the Target store in Overland Park, Kan., knowing she’d only have about an hour to shop before her special date. After the hour passed, Kelsey still wasn’t home and her calls and texts went unanswered, per ID.

Concerned, Kelsey’s parents and 18-year-old boyfriend, John Biersmith, went to the store to search for her but found no sign of her or her car in the parking lot, ID reported. Soon after, her father, who worked with police, contacted authorities to see if his daughter’s car had been involved in any car accidents, but there were no reports.

According to Oxygen, Kelsey’s loved ones continued to search the area surrounding the store. Hours later, they found Kelsey’s car parked across the street in a lot outside the Macy’s store — but she wasn’t inside. Police who were called to the scene noted that her keys and phone were missing and scrubbed the car for fingerprints.

As the investigation continued, her immediate family members and boyfriend were ruled out as suspects and authorities checked Kelsey’s phone records to determine her whereabouts, Oxygen reported. But police weren’t able to immediately obtain those records.

In the meantime, police reviewed surveillance footage that showed Kelsey walking into the Target and being followed by an unidentified man in a white shirt and dark pants throughout the store, according to ID. While the man wasn’t seen in the footage approaching her in the store, he was later seen forcing her into her car after she walked out. Hours later, the same male figure was then seen getting out of Kelsey’s car in the Macy’s parking lot.

After reviewing the footage, authorities decided to release a photo of the suspect to the public in the hopes of identifying him. As tips began coming in, investigators were able to narrow down a name: Edwin Hall.

Four days after Kelsey vanished, her body was found in a wooded area near Longview Lake in Missouri, where her cell phone was last pinged, KSHB-TV reported, citing authorities.

Authorities said she was found naked with her own belt around her neck, adding that her clothes, which were nearby, were stained with bleach, according to The Kansas City Star. An autopsy determined that she’d been sexually assaulted and strangled to death, per the outlet.

Hall was soon found by police and taken into custody. Authorities linked him to the fingerprints found on Kelsey’s steering wheel, according to The Kansas City Star. Authorities also said Kelsey’s DNA was also found on Hall’s shorts, and a bloodstain of her’s was also found on his shoe, per the outlet.

In July 2008, Hall, then 27, pleaded guilty to capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, rape and aggravated sodomy, KMBC reported. Due to his guilty plea, he avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

“I can’t find the right words to say today,” Hall said at his sentencing hearing, per KMBC. “I am so sorry for what I have done. That’s it. That’s all I can say.”

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According to The Kansas City Star, Hall admitted he zeroed in on Kelsey that evening at Target after believing she looked like a 12-year-old girl who had “nice legs.” Hall was charged in a separate case involving a 14-year-old girl with whom he claimed he had a consensual relationship in 2004. But prosecutors agreed to drop the charges after his guilty plea in Kelsey’s case, the outlet reported.

Since her death, Kelsey’s family has created The Kelsey Smith Foundation, to “honor their daughter by empowering families, friends, and communities to proactively protect one of its most precious resources, namely its youth and young adults,” its website reads. 

Additionally, in 2009, the Kansas legislature passed the Kelsey Smith Act, which requires cell phone companies to quickly provide phone location information to law enforcement in emergency situations, such as a kidnapping.

“I’m happy her story gets out there, because it’s done a lot of good,” Kelsey’s brother, Stevie McLeod, told KSHB-TV in 2022 on the 15th anniversary of his sister’s murder. “It’s just mixed emotions on everything. I’m happy that it helps other people, but it’s still the worst thing we ever went through.”

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.