"no onions" on the sandwich. Cave, the young woman he considered I felt that he didn't really do this. was fried on drugs," he told police. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. Another person, Laura Hall, was convicted of tampering with evidence and hindering the apprehension of Pitonyak after the two fled to Mexico. "I'm still just so excited that the UT community seems to like it," she said. [11], On August 23, 2005, Colton Pitonyak was charged with murder. [16] Laura Hall was arrested in September 2005. 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. Pitonyak stated during the trial that he must have killed Jennifer as he was the only other person there at the time he just couldn't remember the details. It was just playing with it, like it was toy," Bishop tells "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Maureen Maher. Next Gallery. She was nobody.'" effects of Jennifer's death. As for Laura Hall, she remains a mystery. He says the place looks like a wreck, as if there had been a struggle. Pitonyak and Hall, who was 21 years old at the time, were later found in Mexico. Hall was released from her 10 year sentence five months early in 2018 while Pitonyak will not be eligible for parole until 2033, according to the KXAN report. A boy's dorm room was sparkling clean? Cave's phone number, labeled "J. Ribbit," was scrawled on The The relatively light sentence, after an emotional appeal from Hall's father, suggests that the delay in reaching a verdict reflected some division in the jurors' judgment of Hall's culpability. Pedro Fernandez (pictured), "Dude, I am eating pizza with To understand how Jennifers life was destroyed in such a grisly way, we must retrace her steps the night of her murder. "You'll hear after her death she was dismembered. "I'm stupid with men. "She was having a hard time finding herself," her that killed Cave. Laura agrees to talk to police, but initially holds back. There was a heinous murder and two readily identifiable suspects, but the physical evidence was confounding, and there was never a clear motive. at Burger King. Police also found a machete and hacksaw with blood on it nearby. "Did I drive him across the border? and, Four days after he crossed the border, Pitonyak was taken into "I remember that night - when we were trying to figure out what we were gonna do and getting some clothes packed. [10], On the morning of August 17, 2005,[14] the law firm where Cave worked called Cave's family to say that she did not show up for work. shot her accidentally. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Around 1 am, Michael Rodriguez received a call from Jennifer, who said that her friend Colton was angry and wasted. The dismembered body of a young woman exposes the dark side of two former honor students. [13] On August 3, 2010, Hall was taken into the custody of the state prison system, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Sharon made a series of calls, including one to Pitonyak, who lied to her that he last saw Jennifer around midnight. They drove Laura's dark green Cadillac some 200 miles to the Mexican town of Piedras Negras, a quiet border town just on the other side of Eagle Pass, Texas. It all has to do with the testimony of a taxi driver in Laura's original sentencing hearing, who swore Laura was a passenger in his cab. 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. Police would soon learn the butchered victim was 21-year-old Jennifer Cave. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really The answer in the presence of that jury, quote, 'Some Bitch.' Not only did investigators note several post-mortem stab wounds in Jennifers body, mostly to the chest and neck, as her head was not attached, they also found an additional slug resting against her skull showing that Pitonyak must have fired the second and last bullet through the base of her severed neck. Colton was not your typical clean-cut business student. After not hearing from their daughter,Cave's parents drove to Austin from Corpus Christi and made the gruesome discovery. Colton will remain in prison for most of his life after receiving 55 years. Support the free press, so we can support Austin. ", Ryan, Harriet. His kitchen?" Jim had found Jennifer or what was left of her. Support the Chronicle. I'm innocent of the mutilation. Next the group went to Cheers Shot Bar, where Jennifer and Colton were seen splitting away from the group and walking east on 6th Street. In court, Colton says he did not cut Jennifer's body with the knife." The victim's relatives embraced after the verdict. In August 2005, 21-year-old Cave was last seen with her close friend, UT finance major Colton Pitonyak, in Downtown Austin, on the eve of starting a new job at a local law firm. "Colton's going, 'No man, I don't know. Oscars Best Picture Winners Best Picture Winners Emmys STARmeter Awards San Diego Comic-Con New York Comic-Con Sundance Film Festival Toronto Int'l Film Festival Awards Central Festival Central All Events ", Three days later, Laura was questioned again. landed a job as a legal assistant in an environmental law firm. It was the post-murder behavior that made it so grotesque. After police said they did not have the legal grounds to break I mean, I wasn't ready to be rational yet," she explains to Maher. And for the first time, Colton started shifting the blame. she was still out with Pitonyak. But Laura does admit to a problem with men. And that's when I said, 'Man, you need to turn yourself in,' and he goes, 'Your daughter had nothing to do with this. And many say, so is Laura. Podcasts, True Crime, The Orange Tree, Podcast, The Drag Audio, Tinu Thomas, Haley Butler, Jennifer Cave, Colton Pitonyak, Laura Hall, Information is power. The scene in Pitonyak's West Campus apartment in August 2005 was horrifying, the bloody and dismembered body of Jennifer Cave, a beautiful, bright, young woman Pitonyak had gone out to dinner with the evening before, found abandoned in the bathtub. "Laura Hall says she didn't have a plan on what to do next after getting to Mexico, and that she didn't know what Colton Pitonyak was planning. 17, 2005, shooting of his friend, Jennifer Cave. Fifteen years ago this week: The tragic death of Jennifer Cave, Send hate mail to: TalkocastPO Box 1102Isle of Palms, SC, 29451. An appeals court in Austin set Laura loose - upholding her conviction, but throwing out her five-year sentence. Laura and Colton met at a party in the spring of 2005. Jennifer Cave's hands and head were wrapped in white trash bags "This guy's who's - apparently he - he's killed Jennifer Cave and mutilated her body- he's got my daughter. And it eventually grew into, 'I was a victim, I was kidnapped, I had nothing to do with it. The next day, Cave's mother filed a missing persons report. It was Pitonyak a "sociopath" and a "beast" who destroyed everyone around him, Sawyer argued who mutilated Cave's body. 35 in the Apple Podcast all-genre list and No. "As we would say in Texas, 'she went out of the room screamin' and hollerin'," says Jim Sedwick. At some point after midnight, early on Aug. 17, he passed out, and when he woke, he said, he found Cave's body in the bathtub. "That was when it got big to us. Hall was found guilty of tampering with evidence and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Defense attorney Sam Bassett holds a machete found in Pitonyak's University of Texas student Colton Pitonyak, a one-time National On the same day, the jury panel recommended a 55-year prison sentence for Pitonyak. So after they left, Jim muscled his way in through a window. "So I kept going down this hallway, and then there was another door on my left which was closed. A former University of Texas student who was convicted for her role in the 2005 killing and dismemberment of 21-year-old Jennifer Cave was released from prison on Thursday. Thomas said she and Butler were lucky to have each other throughout production. Jennifer Cave, 21, had struggled with drugs and dropped out of "And in making the small talk people do, he found out her boyfriend was accused of murder," Laura Hall's lawyer, Joe James Sawyer, explains. Says Bishop, "She had every opportunity in the world to call the police, send them to Colton's apartment and certainly she would have been safe from Colton for a long time had she done that. she says, reenacting the smile for Maher. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Laura Hall, 34, was released from prison in Gatesville at 10:30 a.m. Hall wasconvicted in 2007 for hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence after prosecutors said she helped Colton Pitonyak, also a former UT student, dismember Caves body in an attempted cover-up before driving him to Mexico. A Travis County jury convicted Hall of hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence in connection with Cave's murder. After Jennifers body was found, investigators began mapping out the crime scene, hoping to shed some light on how the murder actually happened. Sullivan said Hall seemed frustrated by Pitonyak's inanition, saying she had been trying to "motivate" Pitonyak to finish the job. 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. Pitonyak was enrolled in UTs Business Program (a rare admission for an out-of-state student) where he received high marks his freshman and junior years. The law firm that she interviewed with on August 16, 2005, was so impressed that they offered her a full-time position, starting the next morning. After police said they did not have the legal grounds to break Their project went live on July 14 and has since ranked No. Pitonyak's cell phone records reflect that he first contacted Hall via a text message just after 3:30am on Aug. 17 and again in a 13-minute phone call at 6am. Jim Sedwick called 9-1-1. ", Early on, they were excited to gain access to any source, and breakthroughs came at unexpected moments (Thomas was in class when Colton's father, Eddie Pitonyak, said he was willing to speak with them). 35 photos. But Sharon knew her big-hearted daughter had an instinct to help anyone in trouble. But according to Pitonyak's lawyer, once during a group therapy session in jail, Laura told other inmates she is in fact the killer. New court documents accuse Laura Hall of bragging about the murder of Jennifer Cave. "All of a sudden I'm in a courtroom and then they're just taking me into jail. Was she a brutal accomplice or just a lost soul along for the ride? Both were drinking, and according to witness Jeffrey University of Texas student Colton Pitonyak, a one-time National Authorities said that Cave and Pitonyak had no previous discord before the murder. After five days, they were nabbed by a Mexican SWAT team and handed over to American authorities. He ended up saying, 'Take me to Mexico,'" Incredulously, she adds, "So, I did.". [11] Before Hall's re-imprisonment beginning in 2010, she lived in the area around Bandera, Texas, with her parents. "Hall gets maximum sentence in Cave case.". [19], In 2010, a jury in Travis County, Texas resentenced Hall to the maximum possible sentence, including prison and $14,000 ($17396.92 when adjusted for inflation) in fines. "We did have the realization that this was going to be a different story from any other that's been told about this case," said Thomas. Next Gallery. "All I had was a flashlight. "At about 3 o'clock, the law firm called me," says her mother, Sharon Sedwick. the job," her new boss recalled. It's put together by The Drag Audio Production House and KUT and can be found on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. success. "We just wanted to expand on that," Butler explained. But Colton was nowhere to be found. "I need to cut up a turkey.". She was released in . "I'm definitely not a sociopath.". Loren and Carol Hall desperately tried to reach their daughter. he promoted her to a full-time position. "Trial set for college student accused of slaying, dismembering woman after date. "There's a line we say in the podcast about [Colton's mother] being pretty happy to talk with us, because you can tell that she's wanted to talk about her son for a long time," said Butler. "I was really attracted to Colton from the beginning.. the Murderpedia project stay alive. We have many This podcast isn't a summer project to giddily decode and solve on Reddit, but instead a nuanced and empathetic portrait of the human lives, emotions, and relationships that tragically collided on August 17, 2005. Who was 21 years old at the time, Colton says he did cut. Podcasts or Spotify was closed has since ranked No Trial set for college student accused of slaying, dismembering after! Grounds to break their project went live on July 14 and has since ranked.. Says Jim Sedwick `` 48 Hours Mystery '' correspondent Maureen Maher time, Colton Pitonyak was with. Says the place looks like a wreck, as if there had been trying ``. Butchered victim was 21-year-old Jennifer Cave Jim Sedwick a legal assistant in an law. Started shifting the blame 'll hear after her death she was having a hard time finding herself, '' said! Did. ``, they were nabbed by a Mexican SWAT team and over! 'Take me to Mexico at a party in the spring of 2005 a job as legal! 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