Former Emporian charged
Murder, kidnapping involved Overland Park teen
By Bobbi Mlynar
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Long before Edwin R. Hall, 26, stood accused of murdering an Overland Park teenager, an Emporia couple adopted him into their family circle. They had hoped that love and attention would help heal the hurts that had gone before in his young life.
Hall, who made a first appearance Thursday afternoon in Johnson County District Court, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Kelsey Smith, as well as aggravated kidnapping in connection with her abduction Saturday evening from a Target store parking lot. Hall's bond was set at $5 million.
Smith's body was found Wednesday afternoon in a secluded area across the Kansas/Missouri border.
In 1988, Hall was in the custody of what is now the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
At that time, an Emporia woman read a newspaper article about children who were eligible for adoption and were available for adoption.]
An interview with Hall's Emporia family will be published in The Gazette on Friday.