ok I am having a problem with the new charges why didnt this girl and her family go after him for this before this happend? why do they pick now to stand up for what happend 4 years ago? i mean if it was your daughter you wouldnt wait 4 years I think its bull. I hope the court throws this new charge out and sticks to what happened to Smith thats the case at hand. and I am in no way sticking up for Hall.

Hellfire,

I agree. 4 yrs ago, what is up with that? I wouldnt wait four years either. I have a 14 yr old daughter and I wouldnt wait, if that was my child he would have been in jail four years ago. Maybe if they had, maybe Kelsey would be alive now.

I agree if he had been charged four years ago, poor Kelsey may be alive today. This seems a litte strange to me. If that were my child he would have been in jail or dead four years ago.

Not that it matters, but can none of you count? This is 2007, not 2008, it is 3 yrs. Whatever it takes to keep this guy behind bars...I agree that this should've come out 3 yrs ago, but the girl might not have ever said anything to anyone before now. The way the system works is they usually have to have charges to plea bargain with, they usually drop a charge or two. The more charges this guy has the longer he'll do time and the worse he'll look in front of the judge.

Wasn't Hall married at the time these new
charges took place? Add adultery to his resume.
If anyone is following this case as close as I am, go to justcara.com & click on Edwin Hall. It has pages & pages of comments from the very begining.

There could be quite a few reasons this is all coming out now. You are 14 and having sex with a 23 year old. Do you go home and tell your parents? We have no idea what this girl endured. 14 years old is a CHILD!

This would make the girl 17 now, and maybe when all this news with poor Kelsey Smith came out the girl finally told. I'm sure LE questioned many people and that girl effectively was raped. We can't blame the victim for not telling at the time. This is a predator. He manipulated a CHILD! It's unfortunate we willnever know if indeed that would have goten him time up until Kelsey's abduction. That will be no solace to her family.

The thing now is how many more? This isn't the only CHILD! No way. If we really look at it maybe if they locked him the hell up for whatever went down with his sister and kept him locked up alot of people would have been spared.

As far as him being married and all that. This cat didn't give a rat's tail he was married. He's a predator and that kid his supporters claim he loved so much just because he was so cute with him he didn't think of him either. He's a manipulative, predator. That's his title and his work. So very sadly murderer will probably be added to that. Too bad they have to give him his insulin in prison. Sympathies to this poor girl too who was hurt by him. Imagine having to face this creep after all he's done? Poor girl.

Im not blaming the victim but why wait 3 years to come forward, 15 minutes of fame maybe. Maybe she said she was older than 14,alot of 14 year olds look 17-18, there are alot of 14 year old not so innocent girls out there as well that are out to have fun, i dont agree with having sex with a minor but something isnt right with this one.

I think the da is try to lessen Halls creditability in court with actions like this.

Wondering,

You could be right. Not only that but I remember a case in my home town. I use to be friends with the guy until I found out but he was dating this 14 yr old and she had a fake ID with a birthdate up there that said 18. He broke up with her when he found out her real age and she went crying to her parents. Her parents went to the DA and he was charged with rape. Even if the sex was concentual it is still considered rape because of the age difference. That guy did time and is listed as a sex offender. He didnt learn his lesson and I quit being friends with him.

I have to agree with Tabitha. Can you imagine the horror that poor girl must be feeling? Rarely does a 14 year old make sound decisions on their own. I am sure that she kept her secret for a reason. I know this may sound odd but.....the child is lucky. She very well could have lost her life. It took alot of courage on her part to finally come forward. I wonder how many more victims are still out there. Let us hope that they can find the courage to come forward as well. I also wonder if there are any other victims that met the same fate as Kelsey. What a chilling thought! I would be interested to see a time line of Hall's where abouts from the time his adoptive parents removed him from their home in Emporia forward. Are there any missing persons in the areas he has lived in?

I do understand innocent until proven guilty. But....it is very hard to keep an open mind when our hearts have been ripped open by Kelsey's death. The evidence that Hall is a ruthless predator seems to keep mounting up. We can only wait to see what the DA will present on Aug. 15th.

God rest Kelsey's soul. My prayers continue to be with her, her family and her friends.

Tuesday, 10 Jul 2007
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. -- Johnson County District Attorney Phil Kline said Tuesday he has filed a capital murder charge against Edwin Hall for the June 2 kidnapping and murder of Kelsey Smith. In addition, Kline has added the charges of rape and aggravated sodomy. With capital murder charges, Hall could face life in prison or the death penalty. District Attorney Phil Kline must decide within five days of Hall's arraignment which punishment he will seek. Hall will be in court Tuesday to face the new charges against him.

Where was Hall May 4, 2007 when Kara Kopetsky disappeared? Just a thought.

here is a link.. read this... I heard witnesses show him around Kara at the time she disappeared.

http://tinyurl.com/36sbhp

Bone chilling article. Just more evidence being mounted against the monster!

First of all, I'm not taking up for Edwin Hall in any way, shape or form, however, am I the only one out there that thinks that by being abandoned 2 different times may have messed him up to a point of no return? The Hall's should have had him removed from their home & placed somewhere where he could receive extensive help, counseling, medication etc. By sending him back to the state & disowning him completely is FAR worse than if he never had been adopted in the first place. By not honoring their commitment & making him someone else's problem was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!!!!!!What good did they think could have come from giving him back to the state, or did they care? They had him for over half his life, its all he knew. Then they dumped him like he was trash. Thats enough to screw anyone up. He was not valued, therefore he has no value for himself or for anyone else. I feel if they had they loved him unconditionally then we wouldn't have the monster we do in jail right now. Once you're a Mother, you're a Mother, period. Right wrong or indifferent, by birth or adoption you are their Mother. Be their Mother from a distance, but for God's sake, be their Mother. (& or Father) Shame on the Hall's!!!!!!!

Dell,
While I do agree with you, I also have to say Hall knows right from wrong and he decided to do something very wrong, he has no one to blame but himself. That is what is wrong with the world today everyone wants to blame everyone for the things they do wrong.

I agree with you Dell this guy was never helped he was passed around again and again i think he was acting the way he did when he was a kid to see who really cared about him its a test some abused and neglected kids use. (if i make it hard on you will you love me anyway?) i think the system and his paternal parents are to blame for the way this guy turned out.

Here is a link for public search of Johnson County Kansas Court Division. Put in Edwin's name and his cases will come up.

http://www.jococourts.org/

June 19th he has a preliminary hearing before the judge.

That is for the new charges. He has a preliminary hearing on Aug 15th for the Murder, Aggr. Rape and Aggr Sodomy

Are you guys kidding me? Have you seen this guy? He looks like he's 16 now! The chances that HE lied about his age and then raped this girl is a much more likely story. FYI, MOST victims of child sexual abuse don't report because they're scared to death. Look what this guy is capable of doing. Is there any doubt that he could have kept a 14 year old quiet? God forbid if we find out that the parents DID report it and no charges were filed or that she was one of the minors who received an abortion at Planned Parenthood.

Yes that is a possibility. Boys lie about their age too.

agg. kidnapping in ks constitues some kind of sexual assault that leads to foul play; he's def. getting the death penalty

i think the 14 year old girl wanted this relationship with Hall i dont think it was push on her and i think her parents knew about it i think that the da will stick anything on this guy they can so he gets more time i think that when this is done a lot of the people involved with this case and Hall will sell the story. the only people that are playing straight are Smiths parents.

I wonder to if there are more victims. From the bio that was on his wifes myspace, they moved around a lot more than the average person. I wonder what the reason for that was.

I hope so... What is did is horrible and he deserves death. I dont mean let him sit in prison for 3- 20 yrs before they execute him. They need to take him straight to the chambers and execute him on the spot after sentencing unfortuantely that wont happen because he has a right to an appeal if he is found guilty and sentenced to death.

Dell, people are abandoned every day, but that dose not turn them into killers. We dont really know the magnitude of how bad this kid was. I think it must have been pretty bad considering the threat with the knife. He made a decision to do what he did. He was not to messed up to know what he did was wrong, and try to hide her body. Being abandoned is no excuse for MUDER!!!!

Do you have kids? A 14 year old who "wants" to have sex with a 23 year old is a perfect example of why it's illegal. A 14 year old is still a child and cannot be expected to make rational decisions. I still doubt that to be the case, but if it was, what's the excuse for the 23 year old man? Please don't try the "he tricked her" line. Who would argue that a grown man who tried to stab his stepsister and stands accused of kidnapping and raping an 18 year old was fooled by an 8th grader into having sex? I don't want my kids around you.

why the hell would this 16 year old girl that was 14 at the time pick now to tell her story? all these people are comming out with a story about meeting up with this guy like the women who was walking and she said he told her she had a nice butt she is a older female why didnt she report him if she found he was following her? she wasnt a kid and i sure as hell dont buy that he and Kelsey didnt know each other some how how did he know her car? when she was going to that store? and what store she was go to? murders dont pick a victim out of the blue i think they somehow met and (now dont get on my ass about this)she blew him off or something Hall doesnt seem like a scared guy he seems bold in his approach with females she was maybe the girl he could get and so was his sister thats why the knife. he is the kind of person that will not take no from a female. thats his m.o

I think you answered your own question. If he's the kind of guy that doesn't take no for an answer, then waiting until he's in jail and can't hurt you before you say something makes sense. Also, you are assuming that she came forward just now and we don't know how the DA found out.

As for the woman....if women reported every guy that made a sexual comment to them, well suffice it to say, we'd spend all our time at the police station and get nothing done. I'm sure it never crossed her mind he was a crazed psychopath.

Blame the victim, blame his family, blame the State, and heck while we're at it let's blame his biological parents. Where's bio mom at? Let's rip her a new one for abandoning him like his mom did.

The fact is there's many people who have gone through far worse and never hurt a flea. There's also people that were privledged to have a wonderful family and ar filthy predators like him. He's to blame.

The mere fact he had sex with a 14 year old girl right there I want him kept locked up. Weather she lied or not is not the point. A MAN of that age even if she said she was 18 has no business having relations with a child. His myspace was the first thing struck me. KIDS. He had young girls he was communicating with and partying with on there. RED FLAG!!!!!!!! HUGE RED FLAG!

Hellfire, why would someone who was 14 at the time having sex with a grown man tell now? This dude most likely murdered more than one girl. He's a predator. He's a con.
Come on his own sister? He's a scourge. Oh and yeah I guess that would make him an adulterer as well. So if this girl lied, and he lied about his age too. Was that still O.K. when he had a wife at home? Yo, I feel for this girl big time. Imagine seeing that face and having to know that he abducted someone, and most likely murdered her. A 14 year old is a victim.

As always prayers for the Smith family. That pain and anguish has to be unimaginable.

i am in no way on halls side at all i hope he goes to prison for the rest of his life for killing that girl. yes his past doesnt give him any right for doing what he did i guess i am just sick of seeing some females play the poor me card and i am a female myself. you know SOMETIMES females use their gender to screw men over we are still thought of as the weaker sex that could do no wrong. there is a case where a under age girl had a sexual relationship with a older guy and her parents knew about it and let her keep seeing him. have you not heard that some females at 14 or so are mentally older then lets say a guy of 23?

WTF, I didn't mean to imply that the Hall's were the cause for him becoming a murderer. He very well could have turned out the same or far worse (if thats possible). I think my main point was, don't give up on your child. I am the Mother of 3 children, ages 14-26. There is absolutely NOTHING any of them could do that would ever prevent me from loving them with all my heart. Thats referred to as "unconditional love". EVERYONE needs that from someone. I realize that in itself doesn't make or break a murderer/rapist etc. I also realize there are lots of murderers/rapists that got plenty of TLC.(And for the record its about 80/20, but thats neither here nor there.) I still think the Hall's were wrong for abandoning him. I would feel that way even if he had turned out to be a missionary.
Yes he knew right from wrong. Yes, he is an evil evil man, and yes, the Hall's have a bit of his blood on their hands.

i think some peaple are predispositioned to become killers while some people with hard childhoods go on to lead successful lives.

Hellfire, Indeed many women "screw" men over. It ain't right. Same vice versa.

A 14 year old mentally more mature than a 23 year old? If so then the man would obviously have some issues or medical reasons for having SEX with a 14 year old.

No way. That's just my opinion. No way in hell should any 23 year old male or female be having sex with a child.

Tabitha,

Females do mature at a faster rate than males. But of course that isnt an excuse for what Edwin did. I dont know what happened in the case. We can sit here all day and speculate. But I do know this, there are boys and girls everyday that lie about their age, I am in no means saying the 14 yrs old lied about her age cause no-one knows but her and Hall. I have a daughter who is 14 yrs old and body wise she looks like a full grown woman. Not saying that would excuse a grown man to touch her. I would cut his d*** off. But it is a fact that there are some teenage girls who lie about there age and are more developed than a grown woman that have sexual relations with grown men. Tell me, how can you tell a persons correct age if they look like and act like an adult. It is sick for a grown person to have a sexual relationship with a child. Yes they do deserve to be locked up but I think we need to have consequences for teenages who lie about there age and willingly have sex with an adult.

Uh You guys are a bunch of idiots. He didn't have sex with the girl, and your prejudgement on the subject shows your complete ignorance. Are you guys this ignorant in life as well. The DA is reaching. And some 16 year old chick has a chance to be on tv. Wow, I am actually commenting to this...

dreamon,

You are the one reaching. Just hoping that this loving TED BUNDY wanna be is innocent. So you are reaching for every excuse for why he didnt do this. Oh the DA is reaching, he didnt have sex with this girl. What were you in the room with him and this female? Your the idiot here. Too blind to see the truth. Obviously you the one who is ignorant. It take a real dumbass to ignore the truth.

well now i have my theory who dreamon is it sounds like Darlene, Halls 1# wacko LOL that chick never stops she thinks with her hermones and thats about it. sick

you know Darleen just becuse others dont agree with your views is no reason to start calling people idiots note how i have not called anyone on the blogs names and a few of them dont agree with my views on this case and thats alright with me you are a verbally abusive person you need to grow up or shut up.

btw.. dont come on here with a diffrent name by the way you talk its not to hard to tell its you.

Yep, Hellfire dreamon does sound like darlene. I guess she never got her medicine. LOL. Wonder what she is dreamon about now.

The thing is nobody except hall and this young lady know what really happened. So dreamon unless you were in the room SHUT UP!!!!

Has anybody seen this girl on tv? because I have not. Although the fact that it is some three years later I dont think this has anything to do with having fifteen minutes of fame.

sure if i felt like just being on tv i"d make up that happened to me too. i would want to go into a court and lie because i was a young girl with nothing better to do and put my family through hell over a person being held on murder charges. sure.

You all are wasting too much time over the 17 year old girl. I doubt you will ever here her name or see her on T.V. because she is underage. Its sounds to me like some of you are arguing for the sake of arguing.

Dell,

Or maybe we all are just trying to figure out what is going on here. And why now after 3 yrs is this finally being brought up. This is a way to sort out what is going on with this whole case or should I say cases now.

His wife looks worn and tired, this must really be taking a toll on her as well. I truly feel for her as well as the Smith family, neither asked for this especially Kelsey. I wonder if she really thinks that he is innocent.

I could not imagine waking up on day and my husband being accused of such a horrible crime. Its maks you wonder how well you really know the person you sleep next to each night.

I hope that some how his friends and family can understand the way people feel. Unless we are given someone else to suspect of this we always agree that he is quilty and we will be angry. However I dont think we should be angry with anybody but the person that choose to make the decision he did.

God bless the Smith family as well as the innocent wife and child that have been dragged into this.;

Anonymous,
I understand that we are all just trying to figure out whats going on, but I don't think we should be mean & hateful towards each other. Afterall, we are all on the same side, right???? With the exception of maybe one, but thats OK, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Anonymous,
where did you see a picture of his wife? Tell me!!!! I am dying to see what she looks like. I live in Oklahoma & they don't cover the story here anymore at all. So where do I go to get the most current information, & where is that picture?

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/
click on the arrows to find the tape of his court appearance on friday you can see his wife in the court room.

better yet here
http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/MyFox/pages/sidebar_video.jsp?contentId=3767165&version=1&locale=EN-US

Oh my god. Shut up. 14 is young, but it's not a child. Stop fucking talking about her like she's 6. And stop fucking assuming she's doing it for 15 minutes of fame, because I got to tell you, being a molested preteen is not a cool way to get famous. Morons. And she might've tried to go after him before but didn't know his name, his location, anything. And when she saw his pictures when it was plastered ALL OVER KANSAS she recognized him. How about some common sense, folks?

And, as one of Kelsey's friends, old friends..... whatever. I think the death penalty is a horrible punishment. I think the bastard needs to stay in jail for the rest of his fucking life. Death is too simple, too easy. He needs to rot.

Kaity,

I think the death penalty would definitely fit this horrible crime, if he had to die the way she did. Maybe just a little more torture for him though. But do you really think life in prison will not be simple for him. Come on, he has no remorse for what he has done. Prison will be nothing for him, just a place where he will always call home, instead of moving constantly like his was doing. He gets a roof over his head, free, he gets feed better than people in society does, he gets to watch TV, lift weights, finish his education. For some, life in prison is better than living in society.
I know you are hurting, and I am sorry you lost your friend but he needs to pay for what he did to her. He g sentenced her to death, so why shouldnt he be sentenced to death.

i agree with kaity, the death penalty would be an end to his personal hell on earth. and too easy. he needs to sit in jail and think about he's done--not just to kelsey but to his wife and son. he needs to think about his son everyday & know that he chose to succumb to EVIL OVER HIS FAMILY.

My guess is that Aletha thinks that her husband is guilty, but fucked in the head. He obviously has a history of violence, possibly due to being a victim of abuse/abandoment at an early age, so she probably feels sympathy for him. His supporters seem to be jaded, and I can see them all placing the blame on the system that 'failed' him as a child. It will be interesting to see what the defense has to say...

I was thinking about how they found Kelsey using the cell phone pings... what if they can place Edwin Hall there as well based on HIS cell phone? Does anyone know if he had a cell phone??

my guess is that guy was to dam poor to have a cell phone.

Beyond Aletha sympathizing with Edwin, I think she is a "mothering" type of person. We have all surmised that Edwin's life must have been pretty awful his first 4 years before he was placed into state custody. She loves him unconditionally and will fiercely protect him, no matter what. She is probably everything his bio mother was not and obviously everything his adoptive mother was not/could not be.

He had a cell.

And how do we know this?

He sure did- Sprint! One more piece of damning evidence if he was carrying it.

http://www.intelius.com/phone-summary-out.php?ReportType=33&

How do you he had Sprint?
that link doesnt show me anything.

Didnt show me anything either?????

http://www.jococourts.org (Need to search for his name, then Case History/ROA).

07/17/2007 FILE STAMP 7/16/2007, ENTRY OF APPEARANCE, CARL CORNWELL
07/16/2007 DEFENSE ATTORNEY CORNWELL, CARL E ASSIGNED

A second defense attorney, Carl Cornwell?? I don't see anything about him dropping Cramm. How is this guy affording 2 attorneys?

For the cell phone, just go to http://www.intelius.com, go to the cell phone search, by name.. type in Edwin Hall, Olathe, KS. Shows Sprint Spectrum LP as the carrier.

Might be the attorney for the new charges.

Isn't Hall using court appointed attorneys? I wouldn't think he could afford one himself, isn't that why he moved around so much, because he was constantly getting evicted?

some attorneys will do highly publicized cases cheaply because its good P.R for them.

Good P.R.?????????? I sure wouldn't want to be known for defending such a person. His attorneys must not have any daughters. And since Kelsey's dad is a police officer, it seems like they might cross paths in the future. You'd think that would bother them as well. I wonder how they keep from getting hate mail & phone calls at home, not to mention their poor wife & kids on what they have to go through.

a line in the movie the money pit
"Blood Sucking Lawyers"

Kelsey's dad WAS a police officer. He is now at a security guard at a community college here.

can anyone attend the trial in August?

iam sure they will restrict people able to attend I just hope court tv carries it or parts of the court case.

OK Hellfire, I'm counting on you to let me know when & where to tune in since I'm out of the loop in my state.

LOL if i know you'll know cuz i'll post it :P

The grand jury is in baby. Who said they didnt have any evidence??????? His ass is going to fry as he should.

If anyone else is wondering what exactly being indicted by the grand jury means, this link explains it in layman's terms:

http://www.ohiobar.org/pub/lycu/index.asp?articleid=61

"The grand jury's decisions are not held to the much higher standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt that must apply to convict a person at a trial. Further, the nature of the evidence the grand jury may rely on is quite different, and little if any defense information is presented. One can expect, therefore, that the grand jury will charge many more people than will be convicted. That is its function--to initiate and, to a limited extent, screen cases to determine which should go forward."

Hall pleaded not guilty today in court, and he also claimed his innocence during a phone call to the Pitch. Check out more here.

What the heck does "lawyerese" mean?????? Not only does he need a couple crooked, heartless lawyers, he also needs a spokesperson.

next thing you know, he'll be saying his DNA got on her because he sneezed, without covering his mouth, right when she walked by. Sorry Eddie Boy, wrong kind of DNA!!!!!!!!!

So when will they announce the trial?

They seized a computer from the Hall residence, could it be possible that there was pictures or information about this 14 yr old girl and the police then contacted her? Guys that do these types of crimes sometimes keep personal things around of the victims. Or is it possible that this girl at the time told her parents something happened and she had a rape kit done at the hospital and after DNA of Edwin Hall was put in the system it triggered a connection. I really find it hard to believe that a 17 yr old would just come forward all the sudden for attention, thats not the kind of attention a 17 yr old would want.

He is not using court appointed lawyers and Carl Cornwell isnt cheap, $25000-$50000 per case like this! I doubt Hall has that kind of money.

I just want to start off by saying anyone that faults the Hall's are IDIOTS! I was a childhood friend of Edwin's and his foster parents did EVERYTHING for him and thier own kids! I read all this crap that everyone just conjours up not knowing any facts. I moved when I was 13 and had no further contact with him but had heard that he stuck a knife to his sister's throat and I think that the Hall's did the right thing....by protecting the other 2 children (regardless of the fact that they were both biological or not) still remaining in the household.

I found out about the case from my mom who called me while I was here in Germany and asked me if I had heard.

I'm not sticking up for him by any means. Although we were childhood friends, the fact that he could kill someone or have sex with a child is messed up. He did some messed up things when we were kids, but I just figured that was because he was just an angry child. I hope he gets the death penalty, eventhough that won't bring Kelsey back nor will it fix any of the wrongs that he's done.

here is truth for all of you that are so quick to judge the hall's are even the biological mother for none of you have the truth about edwin and the hand he was handed in life not that that is any reson for what he has been assumed of doing for one edwin was cocived in a maner that no girl should have a child his mother was only 16 when she was raped and she tryed to keep the baby and then at the age of 6 years this child witch is called edwin was raped by a man and when she found out about it she tryed to get help but she was told to move away from her family or she could not get her son back so yes his mother gave up but is that any reson for him to do this no and if he did do it yes he should have to pay for his crim.