SAN ANTONIO – A jealous wife set off a chain of events that ended in the death of her husband. That’s what prosecutors told the jury in the trial of Frances Hall, 53, Monday morning.
Hall is accused of running her husband’s motorcycle off the road on Highway 1604 on the evening of October 10, 2013. He crashed into a field and suffered fatal injuries.
Witnesses told police that they saw two black SUVs traveling at a high rate of speed on Loop 1604.
One was being driven by Frances Hall, the other by Bonnie Contreras, Bill Hall’s girlfriend, according to prosecutors.
Bill Hall was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle ahead of the two vehicles.
Among the first witnesses, as Frances’ trial began, was Caesar Morales with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office. He testified about how Contreras approached him at the scene.
“She stopped me and says, ‘I know what happened. I know who did this.’ His wife hit him with the vehicle,” Morales told the courtroom.
Morales said he approached Frances Hall at the scene, and she initially said she was Bill Hall’s sister-in-law. She later admitted that she was his wife but denied forcing him from the road.
Hall’s attorneys told the jury that this was an accident, not murder.
“Mr. Hall was, for whatever reason, riding that huge Harley, you just saw along the shoulder of the road next to the Escalade SUV,” said defense attorney Adam Cortez. “It’s highly dangerous, and that’s what caused his death.”
If convicted, Frances Hall faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Testimony will continue on Wednesday in Judge Jefferson Moore’s 186th District Court.