Colton and Laura fled Austin 16 hours after the murder. As Laura tells it, she had nothing to do with the horrific crime. Ultimately, Thomas and Butler remain confident that emotional sincerity is as important as getting the facts straight. Bishop says of the smiling couple, "She does not appear to be there against her will.". Support the free press, so we can support Austin. 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. The next day, Cave's mother filed a missing persons report. A Connecticut woman says her two 10-year-old German Shepherds, Cimo and Lieben, were shot, beheaded, and killed by a hunter from New York. I want people to look at me for what I am. 2023 www.statesman.com. [10], On the morning of August 17, 2005,[14] the law firm where Cave worked called Cave's family to say that she did not show up for work. She was also a student at UT, a government major with hopes of becoming a lawyer. his best friend, after a The court rejects Colton's appeal. CBS News. district. sisters and brother after Pitonyak was sentenced to 55 years in prison. 22-year-old Cave was found murdered in a West Campus apartment. But the judge refused to allow it, calling it inadmissable hearsay. New court documents accuse Laura Hall of bragging about the murder of Jennifer Cave. In 2004, police found cocaine, prescription sleeping pills that he had unlawfully obtained, and anxiety medication in his apartment. Additional evidence, never presented during Pitonyak's murder trial, includes DNA from an unknown female found in Cave's mouth and from under her fingernails. For Thomas (a former Chronicle intern) and Butler, the interest in exploring a notorious chapter of campus lore was born of a curiosity for the story beyond the grisly details of the crime, or the sensationalized on-the-run narrative that characterized the subsequent trials and convictions of Pitonyak and Hall. "The thing that I am most fearful about is that she will choose my family to yet again hurt," Sharon tells Maher. carpet cleaner, gloves Whoever did that had a lot of hatred towards her. In Hall's trial, prosecutors were left to develop a portrait of intent mainly through conversations the 24-year-old Hall allegedly had with others in the months following the murder. happy Laura Hall & Colton Pitonyak Details Investigating the 2005 murder and dismemberment of a young woman. They weren't in Mexico for long. I mean, I wasn't ready to be rational yet," she explains to Maher. Pitonyak fled to Mexico with a former girlfriend, Laura Hall. I can't live in Texas," she says. They twice visited Pitonyak's apartment on Rio Grande Street but got no response Pitonyak and Hall had fled the previous day. Prosecutor Stephanie McFarland holds the hacksaw used to It was the quest for free parking that led Tinu Thomas and Haley Butler by the Orange Tree Condos. "Part of Jennifer's nature," she explains, "is she had a real problem with stray dogs. I'm absolutely stupid with them," she says. concern he expressed was the attorney asks. So without knowing anything was wrong, Laura says she showed up at Colton's apartment just before dawn on Aug. 17, 2005. Pitonyak was stone-faced during closing arguments. It was fired by "That photograph to me means nothing," Laura says dismissively. Jail, Henrietta Langenbach, held on a fraud charge. "I was really attracted to Colton from the beginning.. Am I next?'". to Jennifer Cave's death as "an accident," prompting grumbles Her statement then became she'd seen the body but didn't know what had had happened. Episode 5: Tylar Witt & Steven Colver. "It is now about the appropriate sentence.". left the courtroom with the victim's "As we would say in Texas, 'she went out of the room screamin' and hollerin'," says Jim Sedwick. Movies. Just weeks ago, a new witness has come forward and swears that in 2005, Laura told him she was "going to get away with murder." (It was difficult to judge Langenbach's credibility; the more sensational aspects of her testimony e.g., that Hall spoke of "telling her grandchildren" about dismembering a body seemed either far-fetched or shockingly cold and calculating. She had been shot, stabbed and her body had been partially dismembered. "I remember that night - when we were trying to figure out what we were gonna do and getting some clothes packed. trigger, but acknowledged that someone might But, as is usually the case with Laura Hall, that was not the end of this story.Colton Pitonyak's attorney, Joe Turner, says Colton did not shoot Jennifer Cave and he doesn't know who did. [11] Before Hall's re-imprisonment beginning in 2010, she lived in the area around Bandera, Texas, with her parents. he does not remember shooting Cave, Pitonyak's lawyer, Roy Minton, questioned Austin police firearms More specifically, the state claimed that Hall helped dismember Caves body and aided in Pitonyak s escape to Mexico. They drove Laura's dark green Cadillac some 200 miles to the Mexican town of Piedras Negras, a quiet border town just on the other. "We're really getting scared that something bad has happened inside that apartment," says Jim. She looks just like Jennifer Cave. If convicted, The official cause of death was determined to be a single gunshot from a .380 Smith and Wesson which entered through Jennifers right arm, traveling through her torso, and eventually lacerating her aorta. Submit yours now at austinchronicle.com/opinion. She's sentenced to five years. Pitonyak fled to Mexico with a former girlfriend, Laura Hall. "Colton flipped out," Laura explains. Investigators said Hall helped to dismember Cave's body. Bryan Case, with the Travis County District Attorney s office, said, We stand by our position and conviction of Colton Pitonyak. Yes. He'd called her saying he needed to talk. Asked what he needed the saw for, The murder of Jennifer Cave occurred in the West Campus area of Austin, Texas. Pitonyak (pictured) twice by phone trying to get information And that would be Laura Hall," Sawyer says. In Texas, those sentenced to life are eligible for parole in 30 years. Sanderson, Pitonyak seemed high. Their project went live on July 14 and has since ranked No. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. "She was very enthusiastic, very organized, very excited to have The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2015 denied the request. 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. You can find the Orange Tree Podcast on podcast listening apps or at the Drag Production Houses website here. Pitonyak also bought heavy-duty garbage bags, odor eliminator, And many say, so is Laura. Laura continues to fight a current of public rage that she believes was sweeping away her very life. Two scenarios were in play now and both were nightmares for Jim and Sharon. Hall had been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the murder. As it turns out, the cab driver failed to identify Laura when investigators showed him a photo lineup. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You have entered an incorrect email address! 35 photos. "He was incoherent and in a sense, so was I. In August 2005, 21-year-old Cave was last seen with her close friend, UT finance major Colton Pitonyak, in Downtown Austin, on the eve of starting a new job at a local law firm. Colton and Laura fled Austin some 16 hours after the murder. She invoked her Fifth, Colton Pitonyak's mother wept during the verdict, but he was She faces up to 10 years in prison. 291136. Asked if the cab driver is lying, Laura says, "I never said that to him. 'That's a mannequin.' But Jennifer's parents feel they must bear witness. On Aug. 16, 2005, Cave was excited about her new job at an Austin law firm, and that night, she went with Pitonyak to Sixth Street to celebrate. I felt bad for him. Thomas said she and Butler were lucky to have each other throughout production. And he says, 'Come here. I felt that he didn't really do this. '", Sharon says she knew something was wrong. after serving half of his sentence. "She is a convicted felon, and it's no longer about whether or not she's guilty," Bishop says. 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. ", "I definitely feel like my life is closing in on me right now," Laura says of her situation. "That's just a whole new set of nightmares coming at me that I'm not ready to deal with.". The The next day, Aug. 18, 2005, Sharon and Jim Sedwick hit the highway and raced four hours from Corpus Christi to Austin, and straight to Colton Pitonyak's apartment. 8 among true crime. At least one of Laura Hall's confessions that she had killed Jennifer came only after her initial sentence of 5 years was increased to 10 years on appeal. ", Maher asks, "Did you have any concern for the girl who was dead?". in Piedras Blancas, took a photo with his at Burger King. He said, 'Jennifer didn't come to work today.' [19], In 2010, a jury in Travis County, Texas resentenced Hall to the maximum possible sentence, including prison and $14,000 ($17396.92 when adjusted for inflation) in fines. A jury found Pitonyak guilty and sentenced him to 55 years in prison for killing Cave. What will ending the COVID-19 emergency look like in the US. Ascension Seton breaks ground on new womens health tower in Austin, Cowboy Breakfast, BBQ Austin scheduled ahead of official start of Rodeo Austin, Timeline: Severe storms possible on Thursday, Forecast: Severe storms possible Thursday. "Not that big of a deal," Butler recalled. he Laura says Colton had been drinking and says he didn't remember what had happened. later charged with hindering apprehension. Prosecutors "We were able to lean on each other emotionally, and know that we weren't alone in talking to the victim's family and the emotions that come up with that. "Did I drive him across the border? Colton will remain in prison for most of his life after receiving 55 years. Would you please help me? have a hair Laura was not arrested, but when police questioned her, she was less than cooperative. 'Cause in my mind that's not possible," she says of going back to jail. They're gonna do something and you're not gonna like it.". It was Pitonyak a "sociopath" and a "beast" who destroyed everyone around him, Sawyer argued who mutilated Cave's body. Laura Hall is back in the lock-up she despises, while her family and lawyer scramble again to set her free. 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