Where Is Chris Smith's Killer Now? What to Know About His Business Partner Ed Shin Convicted of Murdering and Impersonating Him By Caroline Blair

Chris Smith was a successful and carefree businessman who suddenly seemed to give it all away.

In 2009, he was living in Laguna Beach, Calif., and had co-founded the lead generation company, 800XChange, with Ed Shin, whom he met while working at another lead generation company the year prior.

However, things took a turn when he suddenly emailed his family to tell them that he’d sold his half of the business and that he was leaving to embark on a sailing trip around the world in June 2010. He also broke up with his girlfriend over text message.

Over the next six months, Smith’s family received several emails where he appeared to be sharing his adventures across the world, but the emails came to a halt in late 2010. By early 2011, Smith’s family became suspicious and called various hotels where Smith claimed to be staying. However, after doing some digging, his family found out that Smith had never even left the United States.

Authorities later discovered that Smith’s business partner, Shin, had been caught embezzling money from another company and that Shin and Smith had planned to meet to see if Smith could help Shin pay the money he had stolen. A detective also visited the 800XChange office and discovered blood stains.

In 2011, Shin was arrested and later charged with Smith’s murder. After changing his story a few times, Shin alleged that Smith accidentally died while they were fighting, but he impersonated Smith online for six months to his family and friends. Meanwhile, prosecutors argued that Shin killed Smith after he began to panic over how he was going to pay his embezzlement debt. Shin was convicted of first-degree murder in 2019 and was sentenced to life in prison.

“This case was about greed at its most diabolical and base form,” prosecutor Matt Murphy told Dateline: Unforgettable in 2024. “He killed a really nice guy over money so that he could go gambling in Vegas. But to then assume his identify online and torture his family like this, it’s awful.”

So where is Ed Shin now? Here’s everything to know about Chris Smith and his murder at the hands of his business partner.

Who was Chris Smith?

Smith was a 31-year-old former professional wakeboarder who balanced his blossoming technology company, 800XChange, with his love for the outdoors. He was an avid surfer and swimmer living in Laguna Beach, Calif.

“He’s one of those people that thought anything was possible,” his brother Paul Smith told Dateline: Unforgettable.

Around the same time he and Shin co-founded 800XChange in 2009, he also had a serious girlfriend.

During his trial in 2018, prosecutor and senior deputy district attorney Murphy told jurors, per Orange County Register, “Christopher Smith loved his family, he had substantial equity in ongoing businesses, he had a serious girlfriend. Chris Smith had a bright future.”

Who is Ed Shin?

Smith met Shin while they were working at a lead generation company in 2008, and they decided to launch their own company, 800XChange. While Smith offered more laid-back energy, Shin appeared to be a more structured husband and father to four children.

Despite seeming to be the more regimented of the two, Shin admitted that he had a gambling problem and told 20/20 in 2020, “The first time I started playing, [I gambled] a couple thousand dollars. And then, you get good at it. That’s the problem with gambling … most people tend to win early, and then you’re addicted to that win.”

The gambling seemed to take a toll on Shin, as he was caught embezzling more than half a million dollars from the company he and Smith previously worked at, LG Technologies. In May 2010, Shin pleaded guilty to embezzlement and agreed to settle the case for $800,000.

“The only way Ed does not violate his probation and go to state prison is if he comes up with $800,000 that he has to get from 800XChange,” Murphy explained on 20/20. “The only way he can get that out of 800XChange to pay this criminal restitution order is if Chris Smith agrees.”

However, when Shin asked Smith if he would sign on to allow him to take the money from 800XChange, Smith was hesitant and wasn’t sure if he could access the funds he needed. The two agreed to meet on June 4, 2010, to discuss a plan.

What happened to Chris Smith?

On June 4, 2010, Smith and Shin met to discuss the settlement agreement and 800XChange’s involvement in the payment, according to Smith’s attorney, Ernesto Aldover.

Aldover told 20/20 that he was expecting to hear from Smith regarding the final settlement deal, but instead, he sent an email informing him that he had sold his interest in 800XChange to Shin.

“My first reaction was, ‘Well, why is he doing this? This isn’t what we had been negotiating for the past two weeks,’ ” Aldover recalled. “The following Monday on June 7th, 2010, I receive an email from Chris: ‘The documents are still being prepared, but I’m going on vacation for a few weeks to South America, and … let me know if you need anything.’ ”

Shortly afterward, Smith’s family received emails detailing how he had sold his half of the company and was embarking on a sailing adventure around the world. Since Smith had often spoken about going on international adventures, many of his family members and friends didn’t initially fear that anything was wrong.

For the next six months, his family continued receiving emails that appeared to be Smith telling them about his travels to Costa Rica, the Galapagos Islands, Peru and Chile, per GQ.

In October 2010, Smith wrote that he was in India and was heading to Cyprus and Africa. Per an email obtained by 20/20, he wrote to his brother, “I miss you too, but I have so much to see and do. No credit cards or bank accounts, bro. I’m off the grid forever.”

He sent his last message on Dec. 26, 2010, telling his brother that he was “headed back up through the Congo,” according to GQ.

In early 2011, his brother Paul called a hotel in Costa Rica after agreeing to meet there. However, when he called the hotel, he learned that his older brother had never made a reservation. By April 2011, his family reported him missing, and they learned through the U.S. State Department that Smith had never actually left the United States.

Smith’s family later told authorities about the strange behavior Smith had exhibited after allegedly selling half his company to Shin, so police interviewed Shin in June 2011. In the meantime, the Smiths hired their own analyst and discovered that all the emails had originated in the United States, not abroad.

The Orange County Police Department later investigated 800XChange’s office — which Shin had banned employees from visiting since June 2010 — and retrieved traces of blood that were later determined to belong to Smith. Shin was officially arrested in August 2011 while trying to flee the country.

During his trial, Shin said that he and Smith got into a fight in the office and that Smith accidentally died when he fell and hit his head on a desk. He also confessed to pretending to be Smith, emailing his friends and family for six months.

While Shin and his defense attorneys maintained that he either killed Smith in self-defense or that Smith accidentally died, prosecutors argued that Shin was in deep financial debt and was panicking that Smith wouldn’t agree to the settlement.

“Ed Shin was in a corner. Chris Smith had him in a corner,” Murphy told 20/20. “The way he could solve his problems, financially, business-wise, everything else, is murder Chris Smith, make him disappear and take all of his money.”

In December 2018, a jury convicted Smith of first-degree murder with special circumstances. Smith’s body was never discovered, and Shin alleged that he paid someone to dispose of his body in a location unknown to him.

What has Chris Smith’s family said about his death?

Chris’ brother, Paul, and dad, Steve Smith, have spoken about the time period when Chris went missing and the aftermath upon learning the truth.

Paul explained on 20/20 that when Chris was seemingly sending him emails, he “started to have suspicions” that something was wrong, but he “didn’t want to entertain that train of thought too much because of where it would lead to.” He added, “I think it was so emotionally … hard to even think about.”

Once Shin’s cover-up was exposed, Paul recalled feeling immediate “heartbreak” over his brother’s death.

“It was a tough day. Just fell to my knees,” Paul told 20/20. “The images that come into your mind at that point of someone you love being murdered. Brought in a lot of emotions. And just heartbreak.”

Meanwhile, Steve, a former police officer, explained that he met with Shin while his son was missing and recalled feeling that Shin was “lying” to him about not knowing where his son was.

“I think there’s something really wrong. He’s lying to me,” Steve told 20/20. “Either he knows what happened to Chris, or he’s responsible for it.”

After his son’s death, Steve told the Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Chris had a longing for peace and for something this world could not offer.”

Where is Ed Shin now?

Seven years after Shin was arrested in 2011, he was convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, per the Orange County District Attorney.

As of June 2024, Shin was residing in Pleasant Valley State Prison in Fresno County, Calif.

What has Ed Shin said about his conviction?

After Shin was initially arrested, he changed his story a few times before claiming that the two got into a fight and Smith accidentally died when he hit his head on a desk. Shin has stuck to that story ever since.

Shin has maintained that Smith accidentally died and has participated in several interviews over the years. However, he’s also insinuated that there’s more to the story that he’s not willing to share.

“There are just some secrets a man is willing to give up his life for,” Shin said on Dateline.

Meanwhile, Shin has also been asked why — if it was an accident — he didn’t call 911. He claimed to 20/20 that he was in “total panic.”

“What are you supposed to do at that point? I was already in a criminal case … [I thought] ‘Oh my God, I’m in this criminal case. No one’s ever going to believe me. These cops aren’t going to believe me,’ ” he recalled.

As for the location of Smith’s body, he insists that he still doesn’t know. He told 20/20, “I can’t talk about that … because I don’t know. There is no way I can get into that at this point … I wish I could tell you more, but there’s something bigger that I just can’t talk about.”

Despite leaving some ambiguity in the air with details, he maintained to 20/20, “I wasn’t trying to kill him, but we got in a fight.”