All language subtitles for American Greed s14e10 The.Imposter.eng

In this episode of American Greed, Ed
Shin is a family man, a churchgoer,

a tech entrepreneur, and an all
-American type living the California

I could tell that Ed was driven.

But when his business partner suddenly
vanishes, a P .I. takes a closer look

finds a liar, a thief, and maybe even a
killer.

The blood tells a story.

Tonight, for the first time, the full
story of Ed Shin's dark past, straight

from the victims themselves.

He was such a scary guy.

For too long, their warnings go
unheeded.

They just keep getting away with it, and
they keep getting more bold.

But when detectives find evidence of
bloodshed... Blood is getting flung onto

the ceiling.

The real Ed Shin is finally revealed.

I mean, when does the insanity end?

In Orange County, California, in June
2011, private investigator Joe DeLue is

what seems like just another routine
case.

He's tracking a small business owner who
moved out of his office without paying

rent, left the place a mess, and is now
in the wind.

DeLue's client is the landlord of this
building right along Interstate 5.

They advised us that one of their
tenants, Ed Shin,

skipped out on their lease early and was
in the rears about $40 ,000.

So we helped them try to locate Ed Shin.

We want to find out as much as possible
who we're looking for.

And that might be just through database
searches.

You check out any property they may own,
social media.

Ed Shin, it appears, is a fairly typical
Orange County striver. He has a wife,

three kids, and a fourth on the way. He
plays golf.

And speaking of irons, he's got a lot of
them in the fire.

What we learned is there is a lot to
Ed's portfolio regarding property,

regarding vehicles, businesses, shell
corporations.

DeLue learns that Ed Shin is one of the
owners of 800 Exchange, a lead

generation business.

The type of TV commercial they create
may be familiar.

Are you drowning in debt?

Do you owe the IRS more than $10 ,000?

Call 1 -800 -555 -1212. Every down on
their luck consumer who picks up the

is money in Ed Shin's pocket as 800
Exchange sells the contact list to class

action attorneys and debt consolidators.

They were making hand over fist money
just coming in left and right.

DeLue is about two weeks into tracking
Ed Shin when he learns something

shocking. Shin's business partner in 800
Exchange, Chris Smith, hasn't been seen

in nearly a year.

It definitely raises the flag a little
bit. Absolutely.

Just because someone's missing, it's not
a crime to go missing, but it's

definitely going to raise some
questions. Yes.

Chris was very spirited.

He was a surfer, very close to his
family.

DeLue learns that last summer, Chris
Smith emails friends and family with

news. He's cashed out of 800 Exchange
for a cool million, and he's finally

what he wants, sailing around the world
on a 40 -foot yacht.

That free spirit, the way surfers are,
they just get up and go.

It wasn't uncommon for him just to be
off on a new adventure.

But what was uncommon was the phone
calls or the lack of phone calls.

Instead of calls home, there are emails,
lots of them, to his mom, dad, and

brother. And at first, Chris's tone is
upbeat.

I finally found what I love, moving
around and seeing the whole world.

I can't believe I almost trapped myself.

Chris writes that he's sailing to South
America around Cape Horn and then north

to the Caribbean.

That fall, Chris leaves the boat and
flies to Europe. And it's here that his

email's home turned darker.

Chris writes his dad, this last year has
been the worst year of my life. I even

contemplated suicide.

Chris's last email to his family is
December 26, 2010.

He says he's in South Africa, and he's
planning to sell a large amount of

Krugerrands, gold coins that he's
purchased.

He writes, just realized it's Christmas.
It's summer down here. I'm headed back

up through the Congo. I found a dealer
in Rwanda that will pay 30 % markup on

Krugs.

Rwanda? Gold deals?

Thinking that Chris has lost his mind or
worse, the Smith family reports him

missing to the police department in
Laguna Beach, where Chris lived in this

waterfront apartment building.

And that's how Ed Shin, Chris's former
business partner, comes to sit in a

cramped interrogation room with two
detectives. They tell Shin that Chris's

family is extremely concerned.

And then, you know, for me, I'm not as
worried because I have a cousin who did

exactly what Chris did. Oh, really?

High -pressure pen.

Unlike the case of his cousin, Shin says
it wasn't family but work that was

bothering Chris, and he wanted to step
back.

Shin says that he bought his partner
out, but they're still in touch by

And in fact, he's been sending Chris
some of the installments of the buyout.

I wired some money to India, so I know
if he was there

and he accessed it.

And he was there.

When I get the wire records, I'll give
them to you.

When Joe DeLue first sees this
interview, a year has passed since Chris

vanished. DeLue, who once worked as a
cop for Laguna Beach before becoming a

says his former colleagues dropped the
ball.

For example, they never verify Shin's
claim of wiring money to Chris Smith.

So as she's taking this, she should be
thinking, great, let's follow up on

But it's later on that there was no
follow through. She had the right

intentions, but for whatever reason, she
didn't follow through with that, which

would have been critical in his
statement.

Laguna Beach PD declined to speak to
American Greed.

This will be the last time they
interview Ed Shin.

But I can't fly the boat.

I like to, but I don't think the budget
is too bad.

But we try.

Yeah, we try. And we just can't be an
open case until we hear something.

Chris's parents, frustrated by the lack
of answers, hear about DeLue's

investigation into the deadbeat tenant,
Ed Shin.

The family decides they'd like to hire
DeLue, too, to crack Chris.

They believe that somewhere out there,
he is still alive.

In their mind, and still clinging to
hope, maybe he's sick. Maybe he's in

Maybe something happened.

Could be kidnapping. He's talking about
going to some pretty dangerous places.

DeLue pours over hundreds of emails that
Chris's dad, Steve, has shared with the

investigator.

When I asked Steve, well, are you sure
it's Chris?

He says, well, yeah, he's using words
that only Chris would use.

But at one point, Steve does harbor
doubts and he challenges Chris to prove

identity. And he said, son, if this is
you, tell me what boat pulled you skiing

and what lake you grew up on as a kid.

A few days later, the answer comes back.

Ha ha. If this is a test question, then
I'll tell you about Kelly Lake.

I think.

Steve was satisfied with that one answer
because he answered something that he

knew, Kelly Lake.

But he never answered the boat
description.

And that immediately hit me.

DeLue's concern deepens when he reads
that Chris is pumping his brother Paul

the same information.

Hey, bro, I think Ed got into my email.

Just to make sure it's you, what boat
pulled this scheme?

Paul answered it.

And then I said right then and there, he
needed to get the answer. So that was

the aha moment for me.

DeLue believes the trauma of Chris's
disappearance has blinded the Smith

to what's obvious to him.

Something bad has happened to Chris.

And someone is pulling a con on his
family by pretending to be him.

If so, who?

Ed Shin says he doesn't know anything.

So you had nothing to do with hurting
him prior to leaving the country, did

Did you hurt him?

No. You never got in any physical fights
with him or in the office?

Never.

Up next, the case heats up when this man
comes forward with an alarming story

about Ed Shin's past.

You know, he was telling me that Ed's
been kidnapped.

And later...

This man issues a prophetic warning
inside a criminal courtroom.

I don't believe that can help himself
and that he will hurt others.

When he does, I hope the statement will
be referenced and be of some help to

those who would seek to hold him
accountable for his actions.

A year after Chris Smith disappears from
Laguna Beach, California, private

investigator Joe DeLue uncovers chilling
stories about Smith's former business

partner, Ed Shin.

In 2003, James Moon is fresh out of
college and new to Southern California,

having moved here from the East Coast.

I came out here not knowing anybody, so
I was pretty outgoing and wanted to...

you know, meet new people, make friends,
and Ed just, wow, he was, like,

perfect. About the same age, both Korean
-American, both kind of starting our

careers, and, you know, single, like
sports.

So we hit it off right from the start.

Moon says that Ed Shin tells him he
wants to be a millionaire by age 30, and

appears to be well on his way. Just 23
years old, Shin drives a Mercedes AMG.

You know, I don't know where he got his
money. I knew he grew up pretty wealthy.

You know, I lived with him and his
parents for a while in their mansion.

Driving up and down the 5th Reway, if
you look up at pretty much the highest

point, sitting up on top of kind of like
a cliff. So, pretty huge mansion.

The only child of Korean immigrants,
Shin graduates from UC San Diego and

at Merrill Lynch right out of college.

He says his father made his money in the
heating and air conditioning business.

I remember going to a Lakers game at
Staples Center that Ed took me to.

He pointed up at the rafters and he
said, hey, look up there, you see all

air conditioning? My dad did that.

The two friends eventually move out of
the Shin mansion and rent a two -bedroom

apartment in Irvine.

One day, Moon is at work when he says he
gets an unexpected phone call from Ed

Shin's father.

He was very panicked and scared, and I
was trying to make sense of what he was

telling me.

Ed's father says he has just received an
email from someone aptly named Curtis

Ransom.

This morning, we have taken your son
captive.

If you ever want to see your son alive
again, you must deliver $1 million in

cash in a black nylon bag to the first
trash can on the San Clemente Pier.

If you contact police, we will kill your
son.

I was worried and concerned and scared
for Ed, and, you know, I just wanted to

try to find him.

Moon leaves work immediately and heads
straight to their apartment.

Irvine Police Department was already
there, and they were processing the

apartment as a crime scene, and
furniture was toppled over.

Your brain's just, you know, running
circles, trying to come up with all

of ideas or try to figure out how to
make sense of it.

For two days, there is no word from Ed
Shin or the kidnappers.

The FBI steps in, and then a
breakthrough from their computer

I ended up learning that the email was
sent from the Shin mansion, Ed's family

home. It's an inside job.

And it was a time that I recall that,
you know, I was at that house with Ed,

Ed had told me, Hey, I just got a swing
by my mom and dad's house.

While Ed Sheeran's traumatized parents
waited and worried, he went on a road

trip.

I just couldn't believe it, and I was
shocked.

My kids go just to a concert, I stress.

And I can't imagine, as a parent,
thinking, holy cow, someone just

kid.

I felt really bad for Mr. and Mrs. Shin.
I mean, he's their only son, he's their

only child.

It's kind of like their pride and joy,
and this just kind of shattered

everything for them.

Moon cuts ties with Ed Shin, who was
never charged with any crime.

I firmly believe that Ed getting away
scot -free.

that he just probably walked away with
an aura or a sense that he can get away

with whatever and not be held
accountable and that he'll land on his

Flash forward three years.

In Las Vegas, Sue Koppenberg and her
late husband Joe own and publish a

magazine, Legends.

Very collectible. The artwork on the
front is always original, done by famous

artists. In 2006, Joe is dying of
cancer, and running the magazine has

too much for Sue.

Through mutual acquaintances, she meets
Ed Shin.

By now, he's married.

He and his wife met when they were both
summer camp counselors at a Bible camp.

They have a toddler and a newborn.

I met his wife. I met his children.

He seemed like a very normal human
being.

Though he and his family live in Orange
County, Shin says he often visits Vegas,

and he's a sports fanatic. He's
interested in buying legends.

It sounded like a really good deal
because I needed to move on. This was

time to sell.

The Coffinbergs sell legends to Ed Shin
for $1 million to be paid in

installments, and he takes over as
publisher.

Then the seemingly mild Shin flashes
defiance. He never pays the first

installment.

One day when Joe is sick in the
hospital, Sue has a showdown with Ed

kitchen table.

He proceeded to tell me that he didn't
want to pay me because he didn't really

think he was getting his money's worth.

And I said, no, that's not what our
contract says. That's not what our deal

So he proceeds to tell me in a very
stern voice that he can make me

disappear.

He knows how to do it.

Well, he's talking to the wrong person.

I said, you know what, Ed?

You're in Vegas here, and I could
probably make you disappear faster than

could get out the door. So don't give me
a problem here.

Just pay me the money or give me the
magazine back.

But Ed Shin does neither, Kauffenberg
says.

So she and her husband sue him. And
that's where things get weird.

After they file suit, she says a former
employee of her husband stops by the

house with a confession to make.

He's been casing their house at night.

Ed Shin wanted him and another man to
break into the Kauffenberg's house, tie

them up, and beat them if necessary to
scare the old couple into dropping the

lawsuit.

Sue says the former employee's
conscience scuttled the plan and saved

Ed Shin never pays up. But even worse
than the lost money is the lost feeling

security.

I have an alarm system.

I have cameras all over.

And I went down to the shooting range
and learned to shoot.

Because I was scared.

It was just such an unbelievable time.

And he was such a scary guy. He was like
a split personality, I guess is what

you want to say.

For Joe DeLue, the experiences of James
Moon and Sue Koffenberg hardened his

feeling that Ed Shin could be
responsible for Chris Smith's

You take a look at the evidence, what
his past history is.

That doesn't make somebody a killer.

But it shows you their moral compass.

Up next.

They just keep getting away with it and
they keep getting more bold to the point

where they commit murder thinking
they're going to get away with that.

I mean, when does the insanity end?

In the wake of Chris Smith's
disappearance, private investigator Joe

looked into his former business partner,
Ed Shin, and found disturbing behavior.

But nothing that has resulted in
criminal charges until 2008.

That's when tech entrepreneur Joseph
Gray meets Ed Shin through a men's Bible

study group at his church.

They quickly become friends, and their
families hang out on weekends.

Shin confides in Gray, telling him he
runs a sports magazine based in Las

and it's struggling, though he leaves
out the part about stiffing the

former owners.

I remember loaning him money at one
point and helping him in a variety of

different ways.

So I was sort of intimately familiar
that he was struggling financially and

trying to make ends meet.

Eventually, Shin says the magazine is
going belly up and Joseph Gray comes to

the rescue.

He offers Shin a job at the company he
owns and operates, LG, short for Lead

Generation Technologies.

Gray says as a business owner, he
believes he has an eye for talent and

nurturing it.

I could tell that Ed was driven.

And I've been in situations in my life
where I've helped certain people and

have risen beyond my expectation. And I
love it when that happens. That's such a

wonderful feeling.

At first, Ed Shin plays the role of
another of Joseph Gray's success

But before long, there are warning
signs.

The first time I met Ed Shin, oh man,
I'm trying to, I think it was in Vegas.

Ian McCall goes by the stage name Uncle
Creepy as a UFC fighter.

I was brought out to do security, to
watch him.

You know, he was robbed by some woman
recently around that time, and he needed

protection.

And I'm a highly dangerous individual.

Ed Shin needs a bodyguard, McCall says,
because his play at high -stakes craps

and blackjack tables in Las Vegas makes
him a target.

He gambled. He was a degenerate gambler.

Eventually, whispers of Shin's high
-stakes gambling reached Joseph Gray.

One of Shin's co -workers spilled the
beans about what he sees during a

convention trip to Vegas.

And saw Ed spending a little too much
time with stacks of currency that were a

little large for someone in his
position, which, again, I was loaning

He was having financial problems. So any
sort of stack or gambling at all would

be considered.

Problematic. My initial thought was
something's not right. Is Ed embezzling?

Gray dives deep in his company's books
and discovers a skimming scheme.

When clients write checks to Gray's
company, Shin takes a little piece for

himself and hides it in secret accounts.

And then this was a game that was played
agnosium until there was quite a bit of

liability that had built up.

Gray says Shin skims more than $1
million this way.

He also says Shin steals clients and
starts his own competing firm while

an employee of Gray.

That company is 800 Exchange, the one he
owns with Chris Smith.

Gray sues Shin in civil court, but
still, Gray says, Shin engages in fraud.

He sends cashier's checks to the Wynn
Casino in Las Vegas, totaling $220 ,000

cover gambling debts, and then tries to
pass it off to the court as money he's

paying back to Joseph Gray.

Ed had removed the Wynn Casino in Las
Vegas. He had doctored the cashier's

check. He had written our company's name
on it. He'd given that to a judge.

And here's the funny thing. So Ed
commits perjury.

in front of an officer in civil court in
Riverside County, California, and gets

that. Nothing.

Gray persuades the Riverside County
District Attorney to press criminal

and Ed Shin is convicted of
embezzlement.

The judge says Shin must pay Joseph Gray
$700 ,000 of restitution, and if he

can't come up with the cash, he'll go to
prison. But for now, Shin just gets

probation. No time behind bars.

That man didn't spend any time in jail
for all the money and pain and

anguish that he caused.

My company, my employees, my family was
infuriating.

At Shen's sentencing hearing, Joseph
Gray plays the role of a Cassandra

a frightening warning.

Ed's going to be back into this
courtroom again.

And I fear that next time someone's
going to be hurt.

Certainly, Ed has to have some serious
psychological issues to justify

a close personal friend who had done so
much for him.

For this reason, I don't believe that
can help himself and that he will hurt

others. Joseph Gray is right.

Up next.

The first tangible clue that Chris Smith
didn't just disappear.

Three weeks into his investigation, PI
Joe DeLue gets permission from the

landlord of the office space once
occupied by Ed Shin and Chris Smith.

To have a look around, the space has
been empty for a year.

I walked into the break room and I saw
what I thought was a blood smear,

almost like a fingerprint, very small,
about the size of a pea, on the light

switch.

And then there was this blood splatter,
probably about a good inch and a half to

two inches, on the door jamb of Chris's
office.

The next hurdle is, will the police
investigate this now?

DeLue calls friends at the Orange County
Sheriff's Office, and the brass nods in

approval. So DeLue, who has limited
powers as a PI, passes the baton to

Detective Ray Wirt.

Your case file that you brought to us
was pretty complete.

One of Detective Wirt's first steps?

Talking to former employees of 800
Exchange.

Revealed that there had been extensive
cleaning and repainting of that office

for a week. The office had been closed
by Ed Shin and all the employees told to

stay home.

But when the Orange County CSI team
rolls up the carpets and takes down

tiles, Shin's cleaning spree fails the
white glove test.

It was blood splatter on the ceiling by
the ceiling panel.

what they determined was cast -off blood
splatter.

So the only way that would be created is
someone coming down, striking somebody,

and raising the instrument or hand back
up, causing the blood to

splatter up.

There's also a large blood stain
underneath the carpet. All the blood is

one person, and DNA testing says that
person is Chris Smith.

That was the moment of the case to
confirm this was a homicide and not a

persons case.

Based on Ed Shin's history of deceit,
Detective Ward believes he's the number

one suspect. But why would Ed Shin want
to kill Chris Smith?

The investigators believe it all goes
back to Shin's criminal conviction for

embezzling from Joseph Gray.

Chris knows his partner has a felony
conviction, an enormous restitution to

and a gambling habit.

In an email to his lawyer, Chris says he
suspects Ed might steal from 800

Exchange, just like he did from Joseph
Gray.

We need to make sure he doesn't have
room for fraud, Chris writes.

He is itching to do it again.

Chris wants the passwords to 800
Exchange's bank accounts, which Ed

and he wants both men to co -sign every
check above $10 ,000.

For Ed Shin, this poses a problem,
because if he can't come up with $700

repay Joseph Gray, he's going to prison.

Chris even told his own attorney, be
very wary of everything Ed is doing. I

don't trust Ed.

Chris's push for checks and balances is
at an impasse.

Then suddenly, the day Chris disappears,
a breakthrough.

Chris emails his attorney.

Here's our signatures. Here's a
contract.

Everything's great.

And that was somewhat of a surprise to
the attorney because they didn't seem to

be anywhere close to a settlement yet.
But then it just came about very

suddenly.

So not only do you have a sudden change,
but it's a drastic change than what his

attorney thought that Chris wanted.

Rather than reform the company, Chris
wants out. He supposedly is taking a

buyout worth approximately $1 million.

But the down payment is a mere $30 ,000
and 10 gold coins, which are worth about

15 grand.

So that had definitely changed.

Why the change in heart?

Detective Wirt thinks it wasn't Chris
agreeing to the new terms, any more than

it was Chris writing emails from around
the world, or a Curtis writing ransom

letters to Ed Shin's parents.

No, Wirt thinks Shin is up to his old
tricks of online impersonation, and he's

trying to cover up murder.

Up next, Detective Wirt gets an alert.

that he was at the airport getting ready
to board a plane to go to Canada.

Can he stop Shin in time?

Just before takeoff, Ed Shin is pulled
off a plane bound for Toronto and taken

to Orange County.

He thinks he's been arrested for trying
to leave the country while on probation.

All right.

I'm investigator words.

So my strategy was to go in there and
just really talk about Ed Shin, his

probation, his attempt to leave the
state.

Eventually, Ed Shin brought up Chris
Smith.

Apparently.

He's been missing for a while. His name
is Chris.

It was a great transition.

Chris, C -H -R -I -S?

Yes. I could play the dumb role and,
hey, well, tell me about this Chris

guy. That kind of sounds interesting.

Okay. Is he still missing?

I have not heard back from the Laguna
Beach Police Department since then, so I

don't know. Okay.

After a solid hour of asking low -key
questions, detective work casually moves

in for the kill.

The office.

That there was some big mess or
something. What's up with that?

Shin says he had to shut down the office
for cleaning and repainting because

Chris made a mess while on a drinking
binge.

There's wine, there's broken bottles of
glass with, you know, like three or four

bottles of wine. There's like wine
sprayed all over the, over one of the

whiteboards from him chucking it. And
then there was like, there was like wine

soaked all over the carpet.

But the DNA evidence is clear.

Those red stains are not wine.

All right.

Ed, I need you to be honest with me.
This isn't really making sense. Okay.

There's blood in Chris's office, okay?

Mm -hmm.

We know that, and we know it's Chris's
blood.

Okay. Okay. I need you to tell me the
truth about what happened.

Did you fight him in the office?

Not physically.

I mean, we've had shouting matches. You
have never physically touched him in a

fit of anger?

No. Ever? No.

So how is his blood on the walls?

On his door, door frame, ceiling,
carpet. How is that?

I don't know.

I want an attorney.

Okay.

All right, Ed.

Wirt stops the interview, leaves Shin
alone for a while, and then comes back

with tough news.

Hey, you're going to be booked for
murder in Orange County Jail. Okay.

Shen reconsiders and sketches a tale of
a strained partnership that spills over

into violence on Friday, June 4, 2010.

That's when he grabbed me, like,
literally, like, right here.

And then before I knew it, we were
throwing blows.

I let Ed kind of tell his story, and
then I started asking him, well, what

the blood on the ceiling? How did the
blood up on the ceiling get up there?

And that's when I...

You know, kind of got, I jumped up and
he jumped up on the desk.

And we kind of like, almost like two
rams collided on his desk.

And, you know, that's probably where the
blood got on the ceiling. Because, you

know, like somehow I was throwing him up
and he probably smeared.

Shin goes on to choreograph a scene that
sounds like a fight sequence from a

martial arts movie.

The two of them, he says, run all over
the office, fighting and lunging in

various rooms.

That's when I think his head hit the
dash, at the corner of the dash.

His dash? Yeah.

And, um...

I'm sorry.

According to Shin, Chris slumps to the
floor, motionless.

I freaked out. I completely panicked.

I didn't think to call 911.

I just was so scared.

Shin says he calls a fixer he knows, a
man who goes by Johnny Vegas, and sounds

like a character from a Quentin
Tarantino movie.

For $10 ,000 or $15 ,000, Shin can't
remember which, Johnny Vegas or one of

crew members, takes Chris Smith's body
from the office, and Shin figuratively

washes his hands.

Later, the detectives will find no
evidence that Ed Shin ever hires a

Vegas, but they do know that one day
after the scene Ed describes, his phone

signal places him in the Sonoran Desert
near the U .S.-Mexico border.

Did you ever go down toward the Mexico
border at all that week?

Did I go down to the Mexico border?
Yeah. No. Because your phone shows that

went down Camp Pendleton Way, down to
the border.

Oh, yes, I did. I did go.

You're right. I'm sorry.

Shin says he was thinking about running
away from his family and going to

Mexico, a minor detail he forgot about.

Detectives think he had another reason
to go to the desert.

Up next.

You didn't dial 911 because you knew
that if he died, you got his money.

When the murder trial of Ed Shin begins
in the

fall of 2018, the defendant has already
admitted that he saw Chris Smith die.

The only question is what role he
played.

Prosecutor Matt Murphy asks, if Chris's
death was an accident, as Ed Shin

claims, why did he try to cover it up?

So you're communicating with this man's
parents.

Shin freely admits to pretending to be
Chris.

Did it occur to you that this is going
to absolutely crush his mom and dad?

that their son is suicidal by himself in
a foreign country and he's not coming

home. That didn't occur to you?

No.

You really have to put yourself in that
situation.

How would I feel thinking I'm speaking
to my son and it's the very person that

killed him?

Leading them on, keeping up that hope is
really diabolical.

The prosecutor notes that Shin first
masquerades as Chris in an email to

lawyer.

Shin negotiates favorable terms for
himself as the two men supposedly

buyout. Of course, it's easy to
negotiate when you're pretending to be

partner.

Shillingly, this act of make -believe is
sent to the lawyer when Chris's body is

still warm.

And you can dial 911 and they can come
see it.

You didn't dial 911 because you knew
that if he died, you got his money.

Isn't that true?

No.

The motive, Murphy argues, all goes back
to Shin's embezzlement from Joseph

Gray's company.

Shin owed $700 ,000 of restitution, but
casinos were hounding him. He didn't

have the money.

And tell the jury what happened to you,
Mr. Shin, if that restitution was not

paid on time.

Do you remember?

And at the same time, Chris Smith fears
Ed Shin will pay his fine by stealing

from their company.

He demands access to the books.

Shin admits to feeling the squeeze.

but says Chris Smith died in a fistfight
gone bad.

Did you ever plan or intend to get into
a fight with Chris on June 4, 2010?

No. Did you ever have any sort of plan
to kill Chris on that date? No.

But Prosecutor Murphy argues the blood
evidence undermines that story.

When somebody is bludgeoned to death or
stabbed to death, oftentimes the killer,

either hitting them with a blunt object,
or stabbing them, and they're doing

this, blood is getting flung onto the
ceiling.

If you're not hitting him repeatedly
with a blunt object or stabbing him with

knife, based on the testimony we've
heard in this case, how does that wind

where it is?

There are a lot of hazy details, but I
do remember he jumped on that deck.

That will never, ever escape my memory.

Kind of like a WWF wrestler jumping up
on ropes.

Yeah, I mean, almost.

I guess that is a perfect analogy.

Okay. Now, you also said that he, you
didn't bleed anywhere.

Remember testifying to that?

Yeah, I did not bleed.

The blood tells a story.

There was a brutal attack without a
scratch on him.

I think Ed attacked him viciously and
quickly, and it was over in...

The state rests its case.

And after just one hour of deliberation,
the jury returns.

We, the jury, in the above entitled
action, find the defendant, Edward

Shin, guilty, murder in the first
degree.

Victim, Christopher Smith.

So when it came down, it was a sense of
relief. And thank God it's finally over,

you know.

The family could go on to their next
step.

It was just kind of like this instant
weight taken off their shoulders that

chapter of this horrible book was
closed.

But there's still that void of where's
Chris? Where's his body?

Shin rented a truck the day after the
murder and drove south.

His cell phone pinged a tower in this
desert area.

near the U .S.-Mexico border.

Despite a search, Chris Smith's body has
never been found, and Ed Shin's not

talking.

Those who were heard by Ed Shin's
previous misdeeds say their lives will

be the same.

It's still in my mind. I go to bed every
night with my alarm system on. I have a

gun in my bedroom and a baseball bat.

I don't feel safe.

My prior company is a shell of what it
used to be.

It was a humbling and humiliating
experience, one that I wouldn't wish

anyone else.

He was empowered.

Every time you commit a crime or do a
wrong to somebody and get away with it,

it empowers you.

Though Joe DeLue and others are highly
critical of Shin's earlier lack of

punishment, in the final analysis, he
gets more than a slap on the wrist.

Much more.

Ed Shin is now here at Pleasant Valley
State Prison, serving life without

parole.

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