"Did I drive him across the border? Laura was not arrested, but when police questioned her, she was less than cooperative. He was arrested for possession of illegal drugs. "He thought criminally negligent homicide. Panicked, he called Hall. Hall, who has since completed her prison sentence, even provides fresh insight to the reporters in a delicate, yet riveting, exchange over Facebook Messenger. I'd certainly want that evidence presented to a jury," said Turner. And I was yelling, I said, 'Please don't hurt me. It was fired by [23] In 2016, Laura Hall was still incarcerated in the Lockhart Unit. Another person, Laura Hall, was convicted of tampering with evidence and hindering the apprehension of Pitonyak after the two fled to Mexico. Sanderson, Pitonyak seemed high. In February 2009, Laura Hall is unexpectedly released when a court ruled her sentencing hearing wasn't fair. He found Jennifer in the bathtub. Laura Hall and Colton Pitonyak. Asked what she told police, Laura says, "Just that I thought we were on vacation, I don't know anything about it, Colton's a great guy and he didn't do it. She became eligible again in November 2012. Prosecutors [14] A Mexican SWAT team[17] discovered the two in a Holiday Inn in Piedras Negras,[11] a city on the MexicoUnited States border across from Eagle Pass, Texas,[17] on August 23, 2005. "That's ridiculous," Laura says of the statement. Their project went live on July 14 and has since ranked No. Asked who's the other possible suspect, he replies, "Well, there's other suspects and Laura Hall is as good as any. Police found a shell casing in the tub that matched the bullet Hall. "You'll hear after her death she was dismembered. "I have never heard anyone say anything but that she was one of the nicest people they knew," Bishop says of Jennifer. She invoked her Fifth, Colton Pitonyak's mother wept during the verdict, but he was That made for a grueling combination: maintaining empathy for their subjects, immersing themselves in "an ocean of information" about the crime and its trials, and reopening the emotionally fraught chapter with the Cave and Pitonyak families alike. Who would commit such a depraved act of violence and murder? His lawyers Merit Scholar, is standing trial. Unfortunately Cave wouldnt show up for her first day of work, or any other day, because little did anyone know at the time she was laying in a bloody bathtub murdered and partially dismembered. "She was having a hard time finding herself," her "Did you have anything to do with the dismemberment of Jennifer's body?" Laura says she went home. I haven't seen her. apprehension. She looks just like Jennifer Cave. time Jennifer Cave is believed to have been killed. I want people to look at me for what I am. is in the bottom right corner. Back in Austin, Colton Pitonyac was charged with murder on Aug. 23, 2005. The two talked for a bit before she told him she was going out for a while to meet up with another friend who was having some problems. A jury found Pitonyak guilty and sentenced him to 55 years in prison for killing Cave. She was released in 2018 after serving time. "I didn't try and help him cover it up at all," she says on the tape. Pitonyak fled to Mexico with a former girlfriend, Laura Hall. That afternoon, he went to a hardware store and purchased a hacksaw, garbage bags, cleaning products, and rubber gloves; around the same time, Hall drove her green Cadillac to a gas station, where she filled the tank and washed the car. young son. Pitonyak she was still out with Pitonyak. Check out a scene from Episode 7: Elizabeth Turpin & Karen Brown. ", Jennifer Cave's mother, Sharon, and her fiance, Jim Sedwick, Colton quickly realized that he couldnt dispose of the body by himself and called over a friend, Laura Hall, to help him cut up the body. began to suspect that Pitonyak was a fugitive. She had He was the last person to be seen with their daughter, Jennifer Cave. 2023 www.statesman.com. mother testified. "So I kept going down this hallway, and then there was another door on my left which was closed. "She's a psychopath. Jennifer paid for that friendship with her life. In the end, the verdict was unsurprising, although it unexpectedly took the jury two days to return with the convictions that could have brought Hall as many as 11 years of incarceration. It was a crime that shocked a city a 21-year-old woman shot, stabbed and partially dismembered in the condo of her friend, a UT student. "We are very, very For Travis County Prosecutor Bill Bishop, the case is indelible. With movie production in lockdown, try the sounds of Paper Street, Casey Cep solves the mystery of the true crime book that Harper Lee never wrote, Amanda Jacobson pairs vino reviews with different varietals of lawbreaking, With unprecedented demand for new inventory, parts, and repairs throughout quarantine, local bicycle shops struggle to keep up, One click gets you all the newsletters listed below, Breaking news, arts coverage, and daily events. officers in Texas. "When you look at the fact that she say, 'I capped her,' when you look at the evidence that says she deserved it, when you look at all the anger and hatred she had, well what would you do? Langenbach said Hall told her that she didn't understand "what the big fuss was about. Laura says he's lying and that she had nothing to do with the dismemberment. Jim Sedwick called 9-1-1. The hosts of "The Orange Tree" dive into the court records and interview people involved in the case. On Colton's side. Four days after he crossed the border, Pitonyak was taken into "I wasn't able to even process - and even today, I have not processed the emotions. Pitonyak's friend Laura Hall is serving 10 years for tampering with evidence. "[16] Upon discovery, Cave's body had been partially dismembered and had many stab wounds. a 9 mm handgun that was later Eric Goodman's Austin FC column, other soccer news. "That photograph to me means nothing," Laura says dismissively. Hall is now 34 years old. "What we did was get as close as possible as hosts and reporters, and then let the listener step into our shoes.". A jury found Pitonyak guilty and sentenced him to 55 years in prison for killing Cave. A deeply reported account of Cave's life and the fallout from her horrific death, it's regularly broken into the top 50 shows on Apple Podcasts, and into the top 10 for true crime. boyfriend, Jim Sedwick, forced 'Cause in my mind that's not possible," she says of going back to jail. When he took the stand, Colton said he couldn't remember what happened that night. S1 E943m. Yes.". Hall was It was just playing with it, like it was a toy. Marshals[14] arrested Pitonyak. '", Prosecutors produced witnesses who claim Laura told them about her involvement in the mutilation. "It was just too soon. "That's just not who Jennifer was. from the Jim had found Jennifer or what was left of her. about her daughter's whereabouts, but both times he was rude and And he didn't care who got hurt in the process. a hardware store four blocks away. After her death, she had been shot in the head once. She admits that she saw the body in the bathtub, but claims it was Colton's idea to dismember it. had more; a photo of Laura and Colton taken while they were on the run in Mexico. Thomas said, "I think any reporter would be lying if they said that getting a source on record, that's never spoken before, isn't exciting. AUSTIN, Texas - August 17, 2020 marks the 15th anniversary of the murder of Jennifer Cave. "Did you have anything to do with the murder?". custody by Mexican officials and handed He testified that he, Pitonyak was stone-faced during closing arguments. During Halls trial the state alleged that Hall aided Pitonyak in the murder of Jennifer Cave. Quit calling me,'" Jim remembers Colton saying. This is Jim.'". "I loved Colton Pitonyak.". [4] She attended school in Bishop, Texas, before moving to Corpus Christi in 2000. According to Fugitt, this is not the first time that this case has been covered but it is the first time that Pitonyak has ever agreed to speak about the incident to the press. Copyright 1981-2023 Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved. ", "I think that people are going to look at this and they're going to see how articulate you are, and they're going to say, 'OK, either this girl is really stupid or she's a sociopath," says Maher. Once again, the D.A. later charged with hindering apprehension. ", Early on, they were excited to gain access to any source, and breakthroughs came at unexpected moments (Thomas was in class when Colton's father, Eddie Pitonyak, said he was willing to speak with them). Her body discovered in a friends apartment near the University of Texas. Investigators began piling up clues: Colton's car was in its regular parking place. "I mean I still - I was in denial, OK.", Asked if it never occurred to her to call police, family or friends, Laura says, somewhat defensively, "It didn't seem like a good move. stoic. police found Cave's Saturn sedan parked on a street near the Hall was charged with tampering with evidence and helping Pitonyak flee the country. Can't keep up with happenings around town? The jury finds Laura guilty of tampering with evidence, for cutting up Jennifer Cave's body and helping Colton to escape to Mexico. cellphone after he The former charge originates from the dismemberment of Cave's body. When they started looking into the case, they felt connected to Cave, who died at the same age they were when they started this project, Thomas and Butler said in a statement given to the BrownWood Bulletin publication. A former University of Texas student who was convicted for her role in the 2005 killing and dismemberment of 21-year-old Jennifer Cave was released from prison on Thursday. He said, 'Jennifer didn't come to work today.' "She's still a part of us.". Support the Chronicle, Tinu Thomas and Haley Butler, hosts of true crime podcast, We were able to lean on each other emotionally, and know that we werent alone in talking to the victims family.. In the end, Butler says, "We really do believe that being sensitive to a family who's been through a lot is not mutually exclusive to good journalism.". But Colton was nowhere to be found. Colton Pitonyak's defense attorney says the appeal he filed last week in Travis County could clear his. Am I next?'". examiner Greg Karim about whether In 2007, a jury convicted Laura Hall, 34, for helping her boyfriend Colton Pitonyak dismember 21-year-old Cave's body in his apartment's bathtub at the Orange Tree condominiums in August of 2005. Going down this hallway, and then there was another door on my left which was closed on 23... Evidence presented to a jury, '' she says on the run in.. Involved in the tub that matched the bullet Hall for cutting up Jennifer 's! What was left of her Pitonyak guilty and sentenced him to 55 years in prison for killing Cave he last. Hindering the apprehension of Pitonyak after the two fled to Mexico to work today '. 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