Hank Hall

Bonnie claims Francis rear-ended her up to 15 times. Eventually, both women pulled over at the spot where Bill had been knocked off his Harley. The police were called as dusk turned to night. Hank Hall and other family members, alerted by phone calls from Bonnie and Francis, were at the scene, just a few miles from Bill's trucking company.

Bill was laying on the ground. He was breathing, like, you know, real hard. And I screamed out and said, what the hell's going on? You know, like, mad. And there was a police officer trying to tell me, hey, calm down, because when he heard my voice... Bill started breathing faster, and he was trying to kind of say something, but he was breathing hard, you know? Did he look at you?

Yeah, he knew I was there. I know that he knew that Francis was there. He knew that I was there.

Nicky and other family members head to the hospital, where hours pass before they are told the devastating news.

In shock, Nikki goes to find her mother, only to be shocked again.

Frances is being interrogated by police. After Bill dies, she has read her rights. You have the right to remain silent. And she requests an attorney. But she cannot help blurting out what's racing through her mind.

There is nothing more to say. Frances Hall was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault on Bonnie Contreras.

It was her mom.

The tragic turn of events tore the close-knit Hall family apart. Hank Hall, Bill's closest friend, blamed Frances for his death.

I was upset at her. I was really, really mad at the point that she took my best friend.

Bill was gone, but Frances swears his death did not happen the way Bonnie described to police. and positively did not hit Bill's motorcycle with her front bumper.

But will anyone believe her? If not, she could spend the rest of her life behind bars. During their 32-year-long marriage, life for Bill and Frances Hall was filled with family, wealth, and happiness.

Stay right there, Bill.

Frances had everything money could buy.

I love my baby.

Except her husband's fidelity. After Bill Hall Jr. died on October 10, 2013, Frances Hall hadn't spoken with any reporter. Hey, Frances. Hi. I'm Peter Van Sant. I know who you are. Until she met with 48 Hours to tell her version of what happened on that stretch of highway. From your perspective, this was what?

You did not murder him.

Remember, in the weeks leading up to the confrontation, Frances had received dozens of insulting, taunting text messages from her husband's mistress, Bonnie Contreras, including photos of the two of them having sex. On that October day, Frances is driving home from her niece's volleyball game.

His motorcycle.

What were you planning to do when you made that U-turn?

Frances floors it, quickly catching up to her husband and his mistress. It's at this moment that Frances' and Bonnie's stories part ways.

Are you gesturing like, or was your window down?

Again, Bonnie claims Frances hit her back bumper multiple times.

They're coming 80 miles an hour down here. Bonnie breaks, and it creates this chain reaction. Exactly. And Bill has to react.

Bonnie swears that at that moment, she saw in her rearview mirror, Francis hit Bill head-on, knocking him off the highway. Francis says that's a lie.

Lee Cutter has studied every inch of the accident scene and the three vehicles involved. she is certain of what unfolded from Frances' perspective.

And yet, according to Frances, in the chaos of the moment, she never saw, felt, or heard Bill's crash. You didn't look in your rearview mirror? You didn't see a scene behind you as you drove off?

So based on what you are telling me right now, was this an accident or was this some form of murder that occurred out on this highway?

Not murder.

And Leigh is ready for battle. She's a former Marine ROTC with a history of winning on the big stage. She was once a teen beauty queen.

Attorney Adam Cortez, a former boxer, will also represent Frances. He brings a brawler's attitude into the courtroom.

Frances, what do you want people to know about you?

Who do you believe is ultimately responsible, the most responsible for your husband's death?

Is what happened on this rural highway in Texas an accident or an act of murder?

For prosecutor Stephanie Paulison, the deadly confrontation that occurred along this dusty stretch of highway was nothing short of murder. And her co-counsel, Scott Simpson, knows they will have to convince jurors that this was not a justifiable killing.

So her husband and mistress, they're driving toward us on this highway?

On August 30th, 2016, nearly three years after Bill Hall's tragic death, the murder trial of his wife, Frances, got underway. And for the first time since that deadly chase, Frances came face to face with the woman she blames for all of this, her husband's mistress, Bonnie Contreras. Right away, Bonnie tells the jury she and Bill were targeted that day.

In her video deposition, Bonnie demonstrated what she says she saw in her rearview mirror.

And Bonnie says Frances continued her attack, ramming her SUV as many as 15 times.

To disprove Bonnie's story, the defense calls collision reconstruction expert Charles Rubel.

Who also uses toy cars to demonstrate what he says happened.

Rubel believes that when Bill maneuvered around the Escalade to avoid colliding, he veered right, hit the shoulder, and then tried to correct himself by veering left. That is when he accidentally struck Frances' rear window. Bill lost control and was thrown off the highway. So based on your analysis, there was absolutely no evidence that Bonnie's claim that Frances rear-ended her husband

The prosecution concedes that Bonnie's recollection of events is not supported by the evidence.

Prosecution collision expert Timothy Lovett.

Lovett says the evidence clearly shows that Francis rammed Bonnie's car multiple times.

As for why the damage on the bumpers appears so minor, the prosecution has an answer.

And as for how Bill died, prosecutors believe Frances sideswiped Bill's motorcycle, knocking him off the road as she pursued Bonnie.

Prosecutors point to the day before the crash when Francis physically assaulted Bill. And furthermore, they play the phone message that Francis' daughter, Nikki, left on Bonnie's cell phone during the chase.

So you take the stand as a prosecution witness. Right. The prosecution calls Bill's cousin, Hank, who they believe is about to cap off their case by telling jurors Frances murdered Bill. But after hearing all of the evidence and seeing Frances in court, Hank has a change of heart. But you end up saying something on the stand that the prosecution doesn't want you to say in front of this jury.

They asked me if I thought that Francis had killed Bill. And I took a moment and I told them no. And the DA looked at me like... Are you kidding me? Yeah.

Kind of look? Yes. And did you look over at Frances after you said that?

She grabbed herself and started crying. And in a way, at that moment, that's when the whole family comes back together. Got back together. It kind of got everybody close again.

After nearly a three-week trial, Frances Hall chooses not to testify, leaving her fate in the hands of a Texas jury.

For all his 50 years, Bill Hall lived to the max, building and taking everything and anything he wanted.

Right till the end. The multimillionaire, two women fighting for him.

Bill's hunger for life grew into an appetite for destruction. And then, out on a rural Texas highway, everything good was gone.

For Nikki, who believes this was an accident, not a murder, it comes down to this. Her father, dead. Would she now lose her mother too? Would Frances Hall be put away by a jury sworn to justice?

But the state of Texas argued hard. Bill may not have been Frances' intended target, but her actions that day resulted in his death. And now, she had to pay the price. This dangerous intersection of emotion and betrayal and humiliation, it occurred because you made that U-turn.

So Nikki, where are we right now?

Testimony lasted seven days. Then it was in the jury's hands. They deliberate a single day. And on September 8th, 2016, they spoke as one. Convicted of both aggravated assault and murder, Frances Hall faced a possible life sentence.

But along with the guilty verdict came one last step. A separate sentencing trial. Frances had a final opportunity and her legal team conjured a bold defense. Sudden passion.

Sudden passion, a legal term for a profoundly human moment, a wife chasing down her cheating husband and his unrepentant mistress.

Nikki Hall is Bill and Frances Hall's daughter. She and her brother Justin had great times during her parents' 32-year-long marriage.

Lee Cutter and Adam Cortez made their passionate case for sudden passion. And this time, Frances Hall took the stand in her own defense.

The prosecution fought back, saying Francis sideswiped her car into Bill Hall's powder blue Harley in a mad, mindless attempt to confront Bonnie Contreras.

Four days after her conviction, Frances learns her fate.

Passion is what this tale came down to. And for at least one Texas family, love for a man whose passions for life led him down the wrong road.

Brilliant guy, smart guy. But like I say, you know, you can be the smartest man in the world and guess what? You make mistakes too.

So... Some three years after his death, his family is shattered, and Bill Hall Trucking has filed for bankruptcy. As you stand here in this jail talking to me, do you still love Bill Hall Jr.?

Francis Hall was released from prison in 2018.

Nikki says being a member of the Hall family meant having loads of fun. Give me a sense of what kind of a mother Frances was and what kind of a person she is.

And Bill Hall could spoil his children because he and Frances, who got married when they were just 18, had built an empire on wheels. Bill and Frances Hall bought their first truck in the early 1980s, and then they grew Bill Hall Jr. Trucking into a multi-million dollar business. At its height, worth $15 million.

After Nikki and her brother became adults and moved out of the family home, Bill began to indulge his own whims. He bought a Harley Davidson Street Glide bike that he customized and painted powder blue, his company color.

fast cars and lots of women bill had cheated on his wife for years and francis knew it but forgave him as bill confided to his best friend and cousin hank hall a fellow trucking millionaire do you think bill still loved francis or was he ready to move on nah bill adored francis bill loved francis so much that it was unbelievable but what happened is and tell me if i'm wrong right

when you cheated in the past and she stuck with you, right? It kind of makes it seem like it's okay, right? So if he gets caught again, you know, he might get another pass. You know what I'm saying?

The new someone in Bill's life was Bonnie Contreras, then a 28-year-old former exotic dancer. And when she met the aging playboy with the well-stuffed wallet at a spinach festival, yes, a spinach festival, it was a match made in Texas heaven.

Attorney Lee Cutter.

Bill and Bonnie's relationship lasted for three years, and she told the local CBS station all about it.

Bonnie knew that Bill was married with children and grandchildren, but she claims Bill told her he was getting a divorce.

In many ways, Bill treated Bonnie as a true love. He showered her with money, paying her rent, buying her two cars, a BMW and a Mercedes, and even paying for her breast enhancement surgery.

But by 2013, Bill's friends say he was losing interest and trying to avoid Bonnie. That strategy backfired in a big way on one Friday the 13th.

Bill now had to contend with two angry women, his wife Frances and his girlfriend Bonnie.

The two women began engaging in a vicious texting war, exchanging hundreds of nasty messages.

But that's not how it seemed to Francis' daughter, Nikki. Was it a little frightening on this end to be getting these kinds of communications and photos and anger expressed, even pictures taken of the family vehicles letting you know, I'm here?

Humiliate him, destroy his reputation.

Bill and Frances decided to get away for a long weekend to try and patch things up. But Hank says Bonnie ruined the trip with her relentless texting.

She went 100 miles an hour, man. And, like, in other words, I'm not going to lose this guy because he was going back to more of his family and trying to get away from her.

Hank says Bonnie unleashed a torrent of angry and inappropriate texts, including naked photos of her having sex with Bill. Frances lost it. She physically assaulted Bill and kicked him out of the house.

She just got up and whooped him. You need to get out. Get out of my house.

Bill spent the night at Bonnie's place. The next day was October 10, 2013. Frances and Bonnie were about to unexpectedly meet on a two-lane Texas highway called Loop 1604.

Francis had finally had enough and was about to take a turn that led to an accusation of murder.

October 10th, 2013. This stretch of Texas Highway 1604 became a crime scene where jealousy and rage would intersect and someone would soon be in handcuffs. The day began innocently enough. Frances was driving home after watching a volleyball game when she spotted her husband's mistress.

Lee Cutter, Frances' defense attorney, says that by this time, Frances was sick of Bonnie interfering in her marriage.

So when Frances noticed Bonnie on the road that October day, her motor was revving. What made it worse was that Bonnie was driving the Hall family Range Rover. a vehicle Francis often drove. Francis makes a U-turn and floors it.

Attorney Adam Cortez also represents Francis Hall.

Actually, Bonnie says she knows exactly what happened.

And she told her version of events to attorney Lee Cutter in this video deposition.

Bonnie says she was driving down the highway when, out of the blue, something hits her back bumper.

Francis was driving a Cadillac Escalade, a giant SUV.

Bill was riding on his Harley motorcycle, also racing down the highway. Bonnie says he somehow got in between the two women's SUVs. Bonnie was in the lead vehicle.

Lee asked Bonnie to demonstrate with toy cars... Let's use the model cars as an example. ...what she says happened on the road.

Bill was not wearing a helmet. and suffered major blunt force injuries.

Neither woman called 911.