Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Lauderdale County, AL: Man Pleads Guilty to Wife's Death

Posted: Sep 8, 2010 04:24 PM

A Lauderdale County man has pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife.

52 year old Terry Ewell Hall was charged with murder after his wife Charlene was found dead in September of 2008. At the time, Hall told investigators he found her dead in the couple's bed and didn't know how she died. According to the police report, Hall speculated his wife died of natural causes or a possible drug overdose.

However, an autopsy on the woman showed she died of a broken neck. 13 months after Charlene Hall's death, her husband was arrested and charged. However, prosecutors still admit their case was purely circumstantial and that there is still no direct evidence on exactly what happened to break her neck.

Hall accepted the plea deal on Tuesday, and pled guilty to the lesser charge in order to avoid a trial and a possible life sentence if he were to be convicted. Instead, Hall will face up to 15 years in prison, though his defense team is optimistic that he could be released within 4 to 6 years.

In his plea, Hall made no mention of the circumstances of his wife's death.

Sentencing is set for October 21st, however Hall asked to be allowed to begin serving his sentence next week. The judge in the case agreed to that request.

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