In fact, she spent most of the day running errands before she went back to pick up Colton and drive him to Mexico. And I'm kind of like, sitting up, 'Colton, what's the deal, what's going on?' [4] She attended school in Bishop, Texas, before moving to Corpus Christi in 2000. But Hall's trial, like Pitonyak's, in the end produced little understanding either of what really happened to young Jennifer Cave or, most especially, why her supposed friends ended her life with such brutal, emotionless, and unthinking cruelty. insisted he didn't know anything. But then, surprisingly, Laura says Colton just let her go. "That's just not who Jennifer was. 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. Pitonyak fled to Mexico with a former girlfriend, Laura Hall. Once again, the D.A. He's got my daughter," Loren Hall recalls thinking at the time. "It is beyond my partially dismembered body in the tub. mother testified. Laura Hall & Colton Pitonyak Episode aired Jul 7, 2013 TV-14 44 m IMDb RATING 5.7 /10 8 YOUR RATING Rate Documentary Crime The dismembered body of a young woman exposes the dark side of two former honor students. And that's when I said, 'Man, you need to turn yourself in,' and he goes, 'Your daughter had nothing to do with this. "She had previously made a statement that she had no idea what happened, she'd never seen the body. Yeah," she continues with a laugh, "I felt I was on top of the world when I was with Colton. Laura says he's lying and that she had nothing to do with the dismemberment. Her statement then became she'd seen the body but didn't know what had had happened. "I think my life has been destroyed. "We just wanted to expand on that," Butler explained. "I will have a heart attack and die, probably on the courtroom floor if they come back with a guilty verdict. It was the post-murder behavior that made it so grotesque. Colton Pitonyak's defense attorney says the appeal he filed last week in Travis County could clear his. Episode 5: Tylar Witt & Steven Colver. She was sentenced to five years for the tampering and one year for the hindering, with the sentences to be served concurrently. But Laura was in Colton's apartment dozens of times before the murder and she says the DNA - even the DNA on the gun - means nothing. He was arrested for possession of illegal drugs. Next Gallery. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Laura's attorney says the witness is not credible. As Laura tells it, she had nothing to do with the horrific crime. in Piedras Blancas, took a photo with his Colton testifies, "I can't remember exactly what I told her, but I showed her Jennifer's body.". Among those The list of confirmed facts is brief. Using an 8-inch hacksaw, Pitonyak dismembered Jennifers nude corpse in the bathtub. Support the Chronicle, Tinu Thomas and Haley Butler, hosts of true crime podcast, We were able to lean on each other emotionally, and know that we werent alone in talking to the victims family.. Combat veteran operated. police found Cave's Saturn sedan parked on a street near the She was released in 2018 after serving time. It was Hall who came up with the plan to dismember Cave's body, Pitonyak said, and it was Hall who made a list of items they'd need to complete the job. Colton was not your typical clean-cut business student. have said he is taking The dismembered body of a young woman exposes the dark side of two former honor students. In January, Pitonyak was convicted of intentional murder and sentenced to 55 years in prison; last week, Pitonyak's companion, Laura Hall, was convicted of hindering Pitonyak's apprehension and of tampering with evidence the latter charge a result of the mutilation of Cave's body. S1 E743m. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); You have entered an incorrect email address! "The deputies basically were having to fairly forcefully remove her from the courtroom.". "And what did she say?" Am I guilty of being in love with him stupidly? custody by Mexican officials and handed [18] On Monday February 8, 2010, Hall was placed in county custody prior to her new sentencing hearing. After just four hours of work, Abbott proposes. apprehension. This was Colton's mess.". Got something to say? Podcast Revisits Gruesome Texas Murder, Including Rare Interview. Sharon made a series of calls, including one to Pitonyak, who lied to her that he last saw Jennifer around midnight. After police said they did not have the legal grounds to break "I didn't want to hurt him, which sounds kind of sick Looking back, everything that came out of that man's mouth was a lie or a game or a trick. Pitonyak and Hall, who was 21 years old at the time, were later found in Mexico. the gun used in the shooting And the other thing you kind of think is, 'Well, there's one. Eddie Pitonyak, the defendant's father, read a statement Furthermore, the new witness states that Laura told him that she made the list of items for Colton to buy at the hardware store, and that she alone dismembered the body of Jennifer Cave. Sawyer realizes the cabbie's description of such callous and cold behavior was deadly. Come here.'". She had plans to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) so she could become a lawyer. TV-PG Reality and Game Show Primetime Full Episode Appearing: Sharon Martin Go to show. However, the podcast also features extraordinary access to Pitonyak himself and his parents in their first interviews since his conviction in 2007. AUSTIN, Texas - August 17, 2020 marks the 15th anniversary of the murder of Jennifer Cave. If Jennifer told you she was going to be somewhere at 8 o'clock, Jennifer was there at 8 o'clock.". Her body discovered in a friends apartment near the University of Texas. 2023 www.statesman.com. Mr. left the courtroom with the victim's. "[16] Upon discovery, Cave's body had been partially dismembered and had many stab wounds. [9] A hacksaw had been placed on her abdomen. "At about 3 o'clock, the law firm called me," says her mother, Sharon Sedwick. Detectives believe Colton had just received a confirmation to meet his cocaine dealer so the two could do drugs together. Considering that both killer and victim were on mind-altering drugs would be the only proper explanation to what detectives discovered next. "'Donnie Brasco' and 'Goodfellas' and a series of movies that involved dismemberment," Bishop says. "Oh, I loved the guy," she says. "We still feel Jennifer in our lives," Sharon says. "The net result is I have to advise my client, even though we planned on you testifying, 'You can't do it,'" Sawyer explains. "His brain "That photograph to me means nothing," Laura says dismissively. Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death, Expert: Violent images sent to victim's family is "psychological terrorism", The Brighton ax murder: A timeline of the 40-year-old cold case. 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. and Pitonyak testified to the contrary, saying she had come over the morning after the murder and cut up Caves body. police found Cave's Saturn sedan parked on a street near the [2], Jennifer Rae Cave[3] moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, in high school. Thomas said she and Butler were lucky to have each other throughout production. "Snapped: Killer Couples" Laura Hall & Colton Pitonyak (TV Episode 2013) photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. But Colton's mental fog apparently began to lift a few hours after the shooting; coincidentally, right around the time Laura Hall showed up at his door. Colton Pitonyak will testify in his own defense. Thank you very much in advance. She insisted he could not have purposefully Pitonyak and Hall went to the home of the hotel manager, Pedro AUSTIN, Texas Jennifer Cave was just 21 years old when her body was found in a bathtub at a West Campus condominium near the University of Texas on Aug. 18, 2005. she says, reenacting the smile for Maher. They found Jennifer's car nearby. Panicked, he called Hall. "Did you have anything to do with the dismemberment of Jennifer's body?" Hall was convicted in 2007 and sentenced to five years. Bishop says of the smiling couple, "She does not appear to be there against her will.". Asked if that was enough physical evidence to tie her to the dismemberment, Bishop says, "When put with her statements to co-workers and things such as that, absolutely.". And it is about to get much worse. But Jim and Sharon Sedwick, Jennifer's parents, weren't surprised by these latest accusations, because Laura Hall had frightened them since the first minute they saw her. What more do you want?" 8 among true crime. After five days, they were nabbed by a Mexican SWAT team and handed over to American authorities. On the second visit, Sharon Cave slipped a window lock, and Sedwick climbed inside. Colton quickly realized that he couldnt dispose of the body by himself and called over a friend, Laura Hall, to help him cut up the body. He later requested a new trial,saying that Hall had admitted to killing Cave in a jailhouse confession. Sharon says, "We start knocking on the door and we knock on the windows and we walk around the apartment seeing if there was a back door.". Pitonyak was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the murder; Hall was convicted of tampering with evidence in the case and of helping Pitonyak flee to Mexico to avoid apprehension. It was just playing with it, like it was toy," Bishop tells "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Maureen Maher. The former charge originates from the dismemberment of Cave's body. especially a woman," she said. Orange Tree Apartments, an off-campus complex where Pitonyak Sharon Cave, the victim's mother, broke down as she recalled the This week marks the 15th anniversary of Caves death, a horrendous crime that still leaves questions: Why did this happen? In addition to the gun, Laura's DNA was also found in Colton's apartment. ", Rather than reveling in the prize of unprecedented access, they wanted to always keep sight of the human anguish that reverberates through their narrative. The morning after the murder, CCTV captured Pitonyak entering a local hardware store, where receipts show that he purchase an 8-inch hacksaw, safety mask, ammonia, and other cleaning products. I am facing 10 years in prison for mutilating a body. Back in Austin, Colton Pitonyac was charged with murder on Aug. 23, 2005. 291136. Prosecutors into a playpen belonging to Fernandez's In the summer of 2005, police were called to an apartment in Austin, Texas. They weren't in Mexico for long. 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. ", Ryan, Harriet. When it came to relating anecdotes about being young and at college? Unfortunately Cave wouldnt show up for her first day of work, or any other day, because little did anyone know at the time she was laying in a bloody bathtub murdered and partially dismembered. The defense had wanted the jury to see the tape of Laura's police interrogation, where for nine emotional hours, she firmly maintained she had nothing to do with the dismemberment. (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. have said he is taking, Defense attorney Sam Bassett holds a machete found in Pitonyak's But that portrait of Hall, without her own testimony, was never fully fleshed out.). Among those Cave's murder is now the subject of a true-crime podcast put together by University of Texas students, professors, and graduates. And she's like, 'Mom, he's my friend, and he needs my help.' Whoever did that had a lot of hatred towards her.