Arrest Made In Kelsey Smith Murder

June 7, 2007 · Filed Under Crime, Legal News, U.S. News

this undated photo provided by the family shows missing overland park kan tee Arrest Made In Kelsey Smith Murder

OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — For four days, family, friends and strangers who had never met Kelsey Smith vowed to bring her home. Alive.

But Wednesday afternoon, authorities searching a 900-acre area in south Kansas City found what her family prayed they would not. In a wooded area near Longview Lake searchers think they found the 18-year-old’s body.

Late Wednesday, Overland Park police arrested a 26-year-old Olathe man in the kidnapping and murder of Smith.

Edwin R. Hall was expected to be charged today, Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass said. Johnson County District Attorney Phill Kline said Hall would face charges of premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping.

Just two weeks ago, Smith received her diploma from Shawnee Mission West High School in suburban Overland Park, Kan. She would attend Kansas State University in the fall and be in the marching band with her sister. Smith planned to be a veterinarian someday.

“She lived more in her 18 years than many do with a great deal more time,” her father said, choking up as he read a statement before a service. Greg Smith said some described his daughter as being “scrubbed with sunshine.”

[Houston Chronicle]