Viswa Vanapalli
Businessman Bill Hall Jr. died in what seemed like a terrible road accident in October 2013. But in reality, the truth was much darker, with the story involving Bill’s wife and his mistress. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Til Death Do Us Part: Love, Sex, and Trucking’ focuses on the wildly conflicting versions regarding what happened that day and the legal proceedings in the aftermath. So, if you’re curious to find out more, here’s what you need to know.
How Did Bill Hall Jr. Die?
Bill Hall Jr. was born in July 1963 in Bexar, Texas. He was in a relationship with Frances Hall since they were 16, and the two married when they turned 18. After buying a truck during the late 1980s, the couple turned it into a successful venture, growing the trucking business into a multi-million dollar enterprise. Bill and Frances had a son and a daughter named Justin and Dominique AKA Nikki.
On October 10, 2013, several witnesses called 911 to report two SUVs racing on a two-lane highway in Texas. Not too long after that, the authorities discovered 50-year-old Bill clinging to his life after being thrown off the road into the grass. He was riding his motorcycle without a helmet, and as a result, suffered extensive blunt force trauma. Bill was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries later that day.
Who Killed Bill Hall Jr.?
Bill and Frances had been married for more than three decades. But according to Hank Hall, Bill’s best friend and cousin, Bill had cheated on his wife for many years. Frances knew about it but forgave his actions. At the time of the incident, Bill had been seeing Bonnie Contreras, a former exotic dancer, for about three years. According to her, Bill said that he was in the process of getting a divorce. Bonnie talked about loving Bill and wanting a family with him.
But by 2013, Bill’s friends believed that he wasn’t as interested in Bonnie anymore and began avoiding her, which led to Bonnie threatening to tell Frances and making good on that threat. Bill’s friends claimed Bonnie sent multiple taunting texts to Frances for the next few weeks. Not just that, Hank said that Bonnie even sent naked pictures of her having sex with Bill. He added that after seeing the images, Frances assaulted Bill and kicked him out of the house; this was reportedly a day before the incident.
On October 10, 2013, Frances was returning from a niece’s volleyball game when she saw Bonnie in another car. It had been weeks since she found out about the affair by this point. So, Frances decided to confront Bonnie, and in her words, wanted to say, “Leave me the freak alone already. That’s enough. I can’t take you. If you want him, you can have him. Just leave me and my family out of this.” On the same road was Bill, who was riding his motorcycle.
However, Bonnie and Frances had conflicting stories regarding what happened after. According to Bonnie, someone bumped her from behind while driving on the highway, and she turned to see that someone was Frances. Bonnie claimed that she hit her bumper at least 15 times, but at some point during this high-speed incident, Bill got in between the two cars, with Frances at the back. Bonnie recollected that Frances hit Bill from behind and continued chasing after her.
However, Frances maintained it was an accident and claimed Bonnie was lying. She said she wanted to pull Bonnie over to confront her, but Bonnie refused to do so. Initially, Bill was in the front, followed by Bonnie and Frances. But at some point, Bill let the two cars pass him. Then, Bonnie suddenly pressed the brakes, Frances said, resulting in her quickly reacting. Because of that, Bill had to break and eventually came in contact with Frances’ car, getting thrown off the road.
At Frances’ trial in 2016, an expert for the defense testified that Bill accidentally struck Frances’ rear window while trying to avoid a collision, resulting in the accident. He said nothing on Frances’s car’s front end or Bill’s bike’s back end indicated her hitting her husband. While the prosecution did admit that Bonnie’s recollection of the events was inaccurate, they had an expert testify that there was evidence of Frances bumping into her car several times. They believed that she sideswiped Bill, leading to his eventual death.
Where is Frances Hall Now?
In September 2016, almost three years after Bill’s death, Frances was found guilty of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. However, the defense argued that it was a crime of sudden passion, and she wasn’t thinking clearly when it happened. The argument had an impact because Frances, then 53, was only sentenced to concurrent sentences of two years each for the murder and the assault.
In September 2018, Frances was released from Christina Melton Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas. She was picked up by her family, who then took her to Helotes, Texas, for a long-awaited reunion. She said after her release, “It’s always going to be in the back of my mind; I lost my husband. I’m never going to get him back, (but) I’m ready to move on.” While Frances was in prison, her estranged son, Justin, requested the court to place Bill’s share of the business in a constructive trust for the children.
However, in December 2017, the court ruled against it, with Bill’s share going to Frances. She went back to taking care of the trucking company but said it was operating at a much smaller scale. Frances always said that she had nothing to do with the death, adding, “Did I murder my husband? No. I can’t even bring myself to say that word. Did I go after her and want to confront her? Yes, and that I regret for the rest of my life.” She hoped to prioritize her family, and in the future, wanted to be an advocate for women in prison. From what we can tell, Frances still lives in San Antonio, Texas.
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