Press release - News
August 5, 2020
‘20/20’ Reports on Man Who Killed His Business Partner and Then Hatched Elaborate Plan to Cover It Up
Aug. 5, 2020
‘20/20’ REPORTS ON MAN WHO KILLED HIS BUSINESS PARTNER AND THEN HATCHED ELABORATE PLAN TO COVER IT UP
‘20/20’ Airs Friday, Aug. 7 (9:01 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC
After Christopher Smith abruptly vanished from Southern California, email messages supposedly from him continued to land in the inboxes of his friends and family for months afterward, assuring them he was safe and traveling the world. Although initially believable, the emails gradually became stranger and stranger, alarming those close to him. Eventually authorities uncovered the sinister truth that Smith’s business partner, Edward Shin, murdered him and then hatched an elaborate plan, including the fake emails, to cover it up. The two-hour “20/20” tells the complicated tale of how authorities carefully connected the dots, which landed Shin in prison for life. ABC News chief national correspondent Matt Gutman sat down for an extensive jailhouse interview with Shin, who opened up about killing Smith; his shady past; and why he’s remained silent about the location of Smith’s body, a burning question authorities are still trying to answer. The program also features access to the investigative case file and interviews with those close to the story. “20/20” airs Friday, Aug. 7 (9:01 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC. (Rebroadcast. ABC OAD: 1/24/20)
The full dramatic story is also told in “20/20”’s multipart podcast “Cutthroat Inc.,” hosted by Gutman. The podcast is available for free on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Luminary, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and the ABC News app.
“20/20” is anchored by David Muir and Amy Robach. David Sloan is senior executive producer.
The podcast is produced by ABC Audio, producers of the No. 1-rated “The Dropout,” “Truth and Lies: Jeffrey Epstein,” “Have You Seen This Man?” and “A Killing on the Cape” podcasts. Terri Lichstein is executive producer.
*COPYRIGHT ©2020 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All photography is copyrighted material and is for editorial use only. Images are not to be archived, altered, duplicated, resold, retransmitted or used for any other purposes without written permission of ABC News. Images are distributed to the press in order to publicize current programming. Any other usage must be licensed. Photos posted for Web use must be at the low resolution of 72dpi, no larger than 2×3 in size.
ABC News Media Relations
Van Scott
(347) 866-9843
Elizabeth Russo
(917) 373-6418
For more information, follow ABC News PR on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
— ABC —