Kelsey Smith's brutal murder - A detailed case overview

In 2007, 18-year-old Kelsey Smith set out on what should have been a simple errand—buying a gift for her boyfriend to celebrate their six-month anniversary. But when she did not return home, her family’s concern quickly turned to fear.

With no signs of her whereabouts, investigators had only one clue- surveillance footage showing Kelsey shopping inside a Target store. The chilling video also captured a mysterious figure shadowing her every move in the store.

This haunting case has been explored in Final Moments season 1 episode 4, A Fatal Shopping Trip, which aired on April 10, 2022. It is re-airing on Oxygen on September 18, 2025.

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Who was Kelsey Smith? What happened to her?

On the evening of June 2, 2007, Kelsey Smith went out to buy a scrapbook at a local Target store to celebrate six months with her boyfriend, John. She was last seen on Target surveillance video at 7:07 PM, checking out with her items and walking to the parking lot. The footage showed her loading her purchases into her Buick Regal and entering the driver’s seat.

Moments later, a blurred figure in a white shirt and dark shorts appeared from behind, seemingly forcing Kelsey into her car. Roughly two hours afterward, her vehicle was discovered abandoned across the street at Oak Park Mall. Inside, investigators found her purse, wallet, and the items she had purchased. Her phone and keys were not there.

When the police reviewed the surveillance footage from inside Target, they found that the same man in a white shirt and black shorts appeared in nearly every aisle she visited and left the store just as Kelsey headed to the cashier.

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A suspect identified

When an image of the suspect was released to the media, tips poured in. Multiple callers identified him as 26-year-old Edwin Roy “Jack” Hall of Olathe, Kansas. Police confirmed the match through his driver’s license photo.

When Hall was questioned, he initially denied involvement, even offering DNA and fingerprints to “clear” his name. When forensic teams checked her car, they discovered Hall’s thumbprint on the driver’s seatbelt buckle, directly linking him to the crime.

But the most crucial lead came from Kelsey’s cell phone. Investigators requested her phone records immediately after her disappearance, but Verizon Wireless took four days to release them due to then-existing privacy laws and company protocols.

Kelsey's body was discovered (Image via Getty)

Once the data arrived, the final signal placed her phone near Longview Lake in Grandview, Missouri, roughly 20 miles from the abduction site. Authorities began to search the area, and finally, on June 6, 2007, they discovered Kelsey’s body. She had been strangled with her own belt and sexually assaulted.

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Arrest and sentencing

Police arrested Hall later that evening as he prepared to leave town with his wife and young son. Although Hall had no adult criminal record, his troubled past included juvenile convictions for violent assaults, like holding a knife to a foster sister and attacking another boy with a baseball bat.

Authorities concluded that he had no prior connection to Kelsey Smith and had likely chosen her at random after seeing her arrive at Target alone. Hall was charged with premeditated first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, rape, and sodomy. Initially, prosecutors sought the death penalty for him.

In July 2008, however, Hall pleaded guilty to all charges to avoid capital punishment. That September, Johnson County District Judge Peter V. Ruddick sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Hall remains incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility in Kansas.

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Kelsey Smith Act

The investigation into Kelsey’s disappearance was hindered by delays in obtaining her cell phone records. At the time, service providers required either subscriber consent or a court order to release data, even in emergencies.

Outrage over this case prompted the introduction of the Kelsey Smith Act, which authorizes phone companies to provide location data to law enforcement when there is a reasonable belief that a subscriber is in danger.

Kansas was the first state to adopt the law, and in February 2021, Congress passed a federal version. In one Kansas case, owing to the law, authorities located a stolen vehicle with a baby inside by pinging the mother’s phone, preventing another tragedy.

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Oxygen's Final Moments: A Fatal Shopping Trip explores in detail Kelsey Smith's case on September 18, 2025.