Some of the same circumstantial things could be said about Edmunds. He had a criminal past, and was sleeping very close to the Smart home. We never heard what his alibi was for that night of the abduction, just that he wasn't a suspect anymore. There were evidently other cons also working for Ed. So there were other "not so upstanding members of the community" in close proximity to Elizabeth.
Looks like Ed like using ex-cons, INTERESTING! WOW, that can open a can of worms when you think about it.