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Expert witness in murder case says man's motorcycle deliberately forced off road

Man's estranged wife accused of killing him

SAN ANTONIO – An SUV driven by Frances Hall, 53, collided with a motorcycle her estranged husband, local trucking company owner Bill Hall, was riding. The collision forced Bill from the road into a field.

Bill suffered fatal injuries. Frances Hall was arrested and charged with his murder.

According to testimony in France’s trial, she had been chasing her estranged husband along Loop 1604 in her Cadillac Escalade on the evening of October 10, 2013. Prosecutors said that she forced him from the road. 

France’s lawyers say that Bill initiated contact between the two vehicles.

“It’s possible that the motorcycle struck the Escalade, but it’s improbable,” Bexar County Sheriff’s investigator John Turack testified Thursday.

Turack cited marks on the right side of the Escalade that he said show the motorcycle’s handle bars struck the SUV at an angle consistent with the SUV initiating contact.

Accident reconstruction expert Timothy Lovett’s testimony tracked that of the Sheriff’s Department investigators’.

“So it’s your opinion that the Escalade struck the bike?” asked prosecutor Stephanie Paulissen.

“I believe so,” Lovett told the court.

If convicted, Frances Hall faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Testimony will resume on Tuesday in Judge Jefferson Moore’s 186th District Court.


About the Author

Paul Venema is a courthouse reporter for KSAT with more than 25 years experience in the role.

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