Convicted San Antonio widow gets lightest possible sentence for killing husband

Keep clicking to learn shocking revelations about the love triangle exposed during the murder trial of Frances Hall. 1. Frances and Bill Hall Jr. were married for 32 years when he died Oct. 10, 2013. Frances Hall was found guilty of running him off the road and causing his death. The courtroom was packed since day one, Aug. 31, with family and friends from both sides of the aisle, united in support of Frances Hall and against Bill Hall Jr.’s lover, Bonnie Contreras. This photo of Frances and Bill Hall Jr. was taken from Frances' Facebook page. less Keep clicking to learn shocking revelations about the love triangle exposed during the murder trial of Frances Hall. 1. Frances and Bill Hall Jr. were married for 32 years when he died Oct. 10, 2013. Frances ... more Photo: Courtesy Of Facebook Photo: Courtesy Of Facebook Image 1 of / 56 Caption Close Convicted San Antonio widow gets lightest possible sentence for killing husband 1 / 56 Back to Gallery

Frances Hall, who killed her husband in 2013 by knocking his motorcycle off Loop 1604 South while chasing his lover in what authorities said was a jealous rage, was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison.

It was the lightest possible sentence after the jury agreed with defense lawyers that she acted under the influence of “sudden passion,” which reduced the punishment range for murder to that of a second-degree felony. Another two-year sentence for aggravated assault will be served concurrently and Hall, 53, will be eligible for parole in one year.

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The assault conviction was for ramming her Cadillac Escalade into a Range Rover driven by Bonnie Contreras, who recently had called her to tell her she was having an affair with Bill Hall Jr., according to testimony. The jury had convicted her on Thursday.

When state District Judge Jefferson Moore read the sentence, the gallery erupted in gasps of relief. Relatives of both husband and wife had been civil with each other during the entire three-week trial.

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“I’m grateful she is getting a lesser sentence,” said Justin Hall, the couple’s son, who attended the trial daily with his sister, Dominique “Nikki” Hall, to support their mother. “She’s our rock. She pulled everybody together. I don’t feel that she should be going to prison.”

Contreras also was in the courtroom to hear the sentence, escorted by armed investigators from the Bexar County District Attorney's Office. They whisked her out after it was read.

Contreras had testified that her affair with Bill Hall, 50, had lasted three years. Frances Hall, during the punishment phase of the trial, testified she was unaware of the relationship until Contreras phoned her to tell her — and weeks later, when she saw her husband on his motorcyle and Contreras driving the Hall couple’s Range Rover, she made a U-turn to follow and confront Contreras.

Frances Hall told the jury Monday she never hit the Range Rover. Bill Hall ended up riding next to her on the shoulder, and she was forced to brake, felt her vehicle shake and saw her right rear window was broken but didn’t realize at first that Bill Hall had tumbled to a fatal injury as she kept driving, she said.

Defense attorney Adam Cortez argued that Frances Hall is a loving person driven to that moment on the highway by Contreras, who had “tormented” her. It was “something she did that you wouldn't expect from a woman who has no criminal history,” Cortez said.

In her closing arguments, another defense attorney, Leigh Cutter, said Contreras had called Frances Hall to tell her about the affair because she was mad at Bill Hall for not giving her money for a manicure.

But prosecutor Stephanie Paulissen pointed to Frances Hall’s own statement from the stand Monday: “Nobody could have him because he was mine.”

Read the full story at ExpressNews.com or in Wednesday’s Express-News.

ezavala@express-news.net

Twitter: @elizabeth2863