Tiffany Hall -- fetus theft attempt
On
September 21, 2006, a young sailor on leave called the police to report
that his girlfriend, Tiffany Hall, 24, had admitted that she had killed
a woman and stolen a fetus. This was the same young woman who had
summoned police on September 15 to Frank Holton Park, claiming she had
gone into labor and the baby had died. She was taken to a local
hospital, where she told a sex crime detective that she had been raped,
causing a miscarriage. However, her story was inconsistent and full of
holes, and she left before she could be examined.
 |
| Tiffany Hall (AP Photo) |
Apparently,
she persuaded her boyfriend that she had miscarried his baby, so they
had buried the child together, giving it the name Taylor Horn. But then
Hall admitted that she'd miscarried his child some time before and had
stolen this premature infant from her cousin. That's when he called the
police. Hall was arrested, and the story turned even darker.
Soon
thereafter, the mutilated corpse of a young woman was found in a weedy
field in southern Illinois, and the autopsy indicated that she had been
dead for several days. Someone had bludgeoned her with a blunt object
and had cut into her belly with a sharp implement, delivering an unborn
fetus. A pair of scissors found near the body was presumed to be the
cutting tool, and St. Clair County Coroner Rick Stone indicated that the
cause of death was bleeding from an abdominal wound.
 |
| Tiffany Hall being led to court (AP Photo) |
The
victim was Jimella Tunstall, a close friend and cousin of Hall's. The
infant had died, but Tunstall's children were missing, so investigators
dragged a nearby lake, in case they had drowned, and searched the
1,100-acre Frank Holton Park. They stated to reporters that they had no
evidence to believe the children were dead, so they remained optimistic
about finding them. They had been seen since their mother's death, in
the custody of the suspect, and the suspect's home was searched without
turning up any indication of foul play.
But then on
September 25, 2006, newspapers across the country reported that a fetal
snatching incident perpetrated in Illinois was worse than first
believed. Hall had told police what she had done in a desperate bid to
acquire a baby.
According to the News Democrat,
Hall indicated that after killing Tunstall, she had drowned her three
children. They'd been there for several days. The oldest, age 7, was
found in the dryer and the others, ages 1 and 2, in the washing machine
at their East St. Louis apartment. But the appliances had not been
turned on and there was little water in the washing machine, so it was
clear that they'd been killed elsewhere, probably drowned in a bathtub,
and then placed in the machines.
Tunstall
had been seven months pregnant when she died, and Hall had kept the
body in her mother's basement for several days before dumping it in a
lot nearby, behind her house. The infant had been unable to survive on
its own.
After an October indictment, Hall pled not
guilty to the deaths of Tunstall and the fetus. Given the nature of the
crime and the possibility that it involves a psychotic delusion, it's
likely that if she goes to trial, her defense, like Lisa Montgomery,
will be some form of insanity or diminished capacity. In fact, Hall's
attorney, public defender Randall Kelley, indicated he'd have her tested
for mental competency. It's not clear, despite her claim to her
boyfriend and others, that Hall was ever even pregnant. However, her two
daughters had been removed from her custody for three years in 1999,
due to abuse, but were returned to her four years ago. Psychiatric
testing will probe the effect on her of this circumstance.
On
February 5, 2007, the prosecutor decided to seek the death penalty for
Hall. In April, she was charged with killing the other three children,
for which she will face a second death penalty. The reason it took so
long for the second charge was that the prosecutor wanted to develop a
solid body of evidence against her.
In the most recent case, there was actually a happy ending.
 |
| VICTIM: Jimella Tunstall (AP Photo) |
 |
| VICTIMS: DeMond, Ivan & Jimella Tunstall (AP Photo) |
MOVIES / DOCUMENTARIES :
NEWS /LINKS:
- Findagrave.com
- Illinois Women Gets Life in Prison for Murdering Pregnant Friend, Unborn Child
- The Trials of Tiffany Hall
- Kids of woman slain in fetus theft found dead
TIFFANY HALL INFO :
R83129 – HALL, TIFFANY
Parent Institution: DWIGHT CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Offender Status: IN CUSTODY
Location: DWIGHT
Sex Offender Registry Required
PHYSICAL PROFILE
Date of Birth: 03/23/1982
Weight: 215 lbs.
Hair: Brown
Sex: Female
Height: 5 ft. 07 in.
Race: Black
Eyes: Brown
MARKS, SCARS, & TATTOOS
PIERCED EARS – 1X EA
ADMISSION / RELEASE / DISCHARGE INFO
Admission Date: 06/10/2008
Last Paroled Date:
Projected Discharge Date: INELIGIBLE
SENTENCING INFORMATION
MITTIMUS: 07CF415
CLASS: M
COUNT: 3
OFFENSE: MURDER/INTENT TO KILL/INJURE
CUSTODY DATE: 09/23/2006
SENTENCE: LIFE
COUNTY: ST-CLAIR
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
MITTIMUS: 06CF1612
CLASS: M
COUNT: 1
OFFENSE: INTENT/HOMICIDE/UNBORN CHILD
CUSTODY DATE: 09/23/2006
SENTENCE: 60 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: ST-CLAIR
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
Parent Institution: DWIGHT CORRECTIONAL CENTER
Offender Status: IN CUSTODY
Location: DWIGHT
Sex Offender Registry Required
PHYSICAL PROFILE
Date of Birth: 03/23/1982
Weight: 215 lbs.
Hair: Brown
Sex: Female
Height: 5 ft. 07 in.
Race: Black
Eyes: Brown
MARKS, SCARS, & TATTOOS
PIERCED EARS – 1X EA
ADMISSION / RELEASE / DISCHARGE INFO
Admission Date: 06/10/2008
Last Paroled Date:
Projected Discharge Date: INELIGIBLE
SENTENCING INFORMATION
MITTIMUS: 07CF415
CLASS: M
COUNT: 3
OFFENSE: MURDER/INTENT TO KILL/INJURE
CUSTODY DATE: 09/23/2006
SENTENCE: LIFE
COUNTY: ST-CLAIR
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
MITTIMUS: 06CF1612
CLASS: M
COUNT: 1
OFFENSE: INTENT/HOMICIDE/UNBORN CHILD
CUSTODY DATE: 09/23/2006
SENTENCE: 60 Years 0 Months 0 Days
COUNTY: ST-CLAIR
SENTENCE DISCHARGED?: NO
No comments:
Post a Comment