Laura Hall did not testify about her involvement in dismembering a body and driving a murder suspect across the border, but she will change that with a national television appearance tonight.
Hall is the subject of an episode of "48 Hours," a documentary-style mystery show produced by CBS. The 9 p.m. episode will examine Hall's role in the dismemberment of Jennifer Cave's body from multiple angles, said Maureen Maher, who produced the episode.
Cave was found dead and dismembered in Colton Pitonyak's apartment bathtub at the Orange Tree Condominiums in August 2005. Hall drove Pitonyak to Mexico in her Cadillac two days after he allegedly shot Cave.
Pitonyak was convicted in Cave's murder and sentenced to 55 years in prison. Hall was sentenced to five years in prison for a felony charge of tampering with Cave's body and a misdemeanor charge of hindering apprehension.
Maher said producers at CBS have followed Cave's death since its occurence and realized the incident would make a good episode for the show after interviewing Hall and dissecting Pitonyak's testimony. Maher added that the murder's complexity separates it from others the show has spotlighted.
"A lot of cases are pretty open and closed and answer the 'what' and 'why' questions, but in this case, no one knows what caused Pitonyak to shoot and kill Cave or why he did it," Maher said.
In the episode's trailer, Hall says she is afraid to go out in public because people recognize her as "that Laura Hall." She agreed to do the show despite the continued national attention it will bring her.
"She wanted the opportunity to tell her side, her story. Students didn't get to hear from Laura because cameras weren't allowed in her trial," Maher said. "Colton told his side in a very public, very legal way."
Maher said CBS had access to some of the crime scene photographs that were used to recreate the scenes in the program and that it is up to the viewer to take into consideration the information presented and what Hall is saying.
Cave's, Pitnoyak's and Hall's parents were accessible and willing to participate, Maher said. It has been one year since Pitonyak's trial and four months since Hall's.
"Cave's parents saw [the program] as an opportunity to show what a beautiful girl Jennifer is and that parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing, no matter what age they are," Maher said.
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