Kansas man pleads guilty in teen's kidnap-slaying

OLATHE, Kan. -- A man pleaded guilty Wednesday to snatching an 18-year-old girl from a store parking lot, raping her and strangling her with her own belt before dumping her body in a park. Edwin Hall, 27, will be sentenced to life in prison without parole in the case of Kelsey Smith, whose abduction last year from outside a Target store in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park was captured by security cameras. Her body was found naked four days later near a lake about 20 miles away in Missouri. Police arrested Hall the same day. Hall's plea deal with prosecutors averted a trial and a potential death sentence. He pleaded guilty to capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, rape and aggravated sodomy. Prosecutor Phill Kline said in a courtroom packed with Smith's parents and other loved ones that Hall told authorities he thought... [read full story]