>> i'm guilty really of not standing my ground. and knowing that this was a bad idea that's what i'm guilty of. of not really putting my sensible hat on and going, you know this is a bad idea. don't do it. i'm craig melvin aen natalie morales. >> and this is date line. three people come to me wearing suits, and one of them tells me that he hadn't made it. and i was like, no, he did. just go check. they come back and tell me, mrs. hall, your husband didn't make it. >> two women racing down a texas highway. >> she saw me, and then made the u-turn. >> bonnie, the mistress, in one lane. >> i looked in my rearview

mirror, and it was frances. >> frances, the wife in the other. >> i get her little finger. >> the middle finger? >> right. >> i start following her. >> i said, what the hell? >> she brakes. and i brake. and i heard a thump. >> he's pronounced dead at the hospital. >> two women in hoff with one man. hating each other. >> you're getting text messages from bonnie of the two of them having sex. >> um-hum. >> a hollywood love story. >> this was the man i wanted to marry. >> or of fatal attraction. >> he says i can't get rid of this person. >> and so many about to lose so much. >> why? >> i will live with that for the rest of my life. life. >> hello appear welcome to date line.

bill and frances hall were high school sweet hearts who grew a family and successful business together. with you the seemingly picture perfect life collapsed after she learned bill had been hiding an affair from her for three years. it was a love triangle and that revelation would have far reaching and tragic consequences. here with collision is andrea canning. >> this is the story of two fiery women, battling for the heart of one much loved man. it's about sex, secrets and lies. red hot texas passion and bitter feud. all leading to a final showdown on a two-lane highway. >> bear county 911. >> i got a blackesque laid and

road raerm hauling ass. >> a high-speed chase that went horribly horribly wrong. >> it was a nightmare. >> when the dust settled, one life would be over. many others shattered. >> we all lost here. >> and the final chapter, passion would write that one too. san antonio, texas. home of the alamo, the river walk, and the hall family. three generations of truckers with deep roots in the city. it was here that bill hall met the love of his life at the tender age of 16. her name was frances. >> what happened the first time you laid eyes on bill? >> i just fell in love with him. i knew this was the man i was going to marry. >> at 16. >> at 16. >> they married right out of high school. a year later daughter nikki was

born. >> were your parents in love. >> oh, yes, we definitely saw love growing up in the house. >> i love my baby. >> what was your relationship like with your dad. >> not your typical father daughter relationship like a best friend almost i could tell dad anything. >> four years after nikki came justin. >> did he really want a son. >> when they pulled that baby out and said mr. hall you have a son, that man cried. >> bill worked hard to give his young family a better life. >> bill used to clean airplanes. he went to college. and on the weekends if he was off he would go dig ditches. we made ends meet. >> but the true passion was big rigs. so one day he up and quit school, started his own business. bill hall junior trucking. >> that's what what his family did for a living. it's in their blood. >> bill got his first truck and went to work delivering top soil

while frances hit the phones drumming up business. >> he was a dreamer and said i'm going big. >> after a few years bill and frances turn the truck into a fleet of 130. asset at its height the empire was valued at more than $50 million. >> all his dreaming paid off. >> and hard work. he put his life, heart and soul into it. bill was bill hall junior trucking. >> but for bill, it wasn't all work and no play. >> he was a dare devil. he loved racing in the later years he loved hunting. he was a man's man. >> and also a bit of a ladies man, according to bill's cousin hank. >> beautiful women, you work hard, play hard. you do things you're not supposed to do. he was a great man but he was not the perfect man. >> bill's imperfections became

painfully chlor32 years into marriage when frances says he got a call from a mistious woman, september 13th, 2013, friday the 13th. >> she goes you don't know me but i'm vague an affair with your husband. i was no shock. >> heart broken furious frances says she confronted bill and asked, was it true? >> by that time he is crying and telling me that he is sorry, that it's true. i was devastated. >> this is three decades of marriage. >> and i finally asked him, how long has this been going on? he cried again, told me three years. >> i go this is not an affair this is a relationship. >> that word that bothers you. >> mistress, it sound like i don't want to say i was the side

person because i was more than that to him. this was the man i wanted to marry and spend my life with. >> bonnie was a 28-year-old single mom when they met. about 0 years younger than bill and frances. she said the love affair bloomed in the most unlikely of places. >> i met him at a spinach festival. >> spinach. >> spinach festival. i was helping my aunt sell chicken on a stick believe it or not. i know it sounds corny but that's how i met him. >> bill strolled by with some friends. >> as soon as i saw bill we kind of just locked eyes. >> bonnie was intrigued enough by this hand some older gentleman to sneak a peek at the ring finger. >> no wedding ring, no mark. i figured he is single. >> according to bonnie, the two started to spend nearly every day together. >> i fell in love with him. i didn't expect it. it's not something that i was looking for at all.

>> i love my -- >> bonnie said bill told her he was separated from his wife and going through a divorce. >> and i took his word. i never again bothered him about it. >> he afisksly called his gourda. chubby lady. and while the three years together he lavished her with attention, spa days, vacations and even breast implants. >> i wasn't that big. i was maybe a small b. he goes go do them we will pay for them. >> and then she says a 5 carat diamond ring. >> it meant love, friendship, a future together. >> bonnie denies calling frances out of the blue. she says frances had known about the relationship for years and that the two women even spoke by phone about the financial arrangements of a divorce. >> who was going to keep what. and you know, she was just going on and on about the properties,

about money, about the company. and i said i'm not even asking for none of that stuff. i don't want none of it. >> whichever version was true, the two women had never met. cousin hank told bill he needed to break it off with bonnie before something bad happen. >> i said, you need to get out of that relationship. don't turn back. >> did you feel like bill you are playing with fire. >> that's exactly what i told him i said you need to go fix this, man. fix your house. >> frances trau him out and he would go back to bonnie he went back to fransen. i never seen bill like that very kuchzing. >> frances was conflicted take bill back or kick him out for good the morning of october 9th the anger boiled over. >> he was brushing his teeth and i glanced over and i just -- i was enraged. >> she started pulling his hair, tussled with him around the house. bill appeared to take the assault as a joke. >> he was doing the little

dances he does. and it upset me so much. and i kicked him and he goes stop already. i go no. >> she went after his prize possessions, knocking over his custom harley davidson and hitting the new range revolver with a stick. >> he took off and waved, smiling. >> the following day was rough for frances. her family coaxed her out of the house to watch a niece's volleyball came. and the way home driving her cadillac. >> in the back of bill i see the rank revolver. i'm like, who is that. >> the vehicles were coming toward her in the opposite lane. as they passed frances did a double take, sitting behind the wheel of her family's brand new range revolver was bill's mistress, bonnie contreras. francis said they locked eyes the first. >> of course i get her little

finger. >> the middle finger right and i keep going. >> furious she called nikki. >> she said i'm turning around going to confront her. >> what did you say. >> i said good just be careful. >> not likely. all hell was about to break loose. >> coming up. >> i make the biggest choice of my life. i pulled over. and i turned around. >> moments later, horror. >> she brakes. and i brake. and i heard a trump. >> when date line continues. dat. wingardium levitoga ♪ wingardium leviosa ♪ thanks. the perfect gift isn't just about getting something. it's about getting someone. nobody knows the wizarding world like we do.

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october 10th, 2013, here on this stretch of san antonio highway, two women vying for one man spotted each other for the first time. frances, the wife, and bonnie, the mistress. >> i make the biggest choice of my life. i pulled over, and i turn around. >> reporter: turned around to chase down her romantic rival. how fast are you going? >> i'm doing about 65, 70. she's in a super sport range rover. this thing will go fast. my range rover. >> reporter: frances stepped on the gas and soon had bonnie in her sights. >> i'm asking her to pull over. she tell me no. pull over. and no. but she kept playing this cat

and mouse game. she kept braking. >> reporter: she said bonnie repeatedly slammed on the brakes, forcing frances to slam on hers. frances had a large slab of granite in the back of her escalade from a home renovation project. >> i can hear this piece of granite every time i brake because it moves. >> reporter: as bonnie accelerated, frances stayed on her. it was as if she had developed tunnel vision, could focus on only one thing. >> i'm going to confront her. i'm done. i've had it with her. i'm going to tell her, you want him? keep him. >> reporter: the "him" in all of this, bill, had been riding his motorcycle in front of bonnie. but as the chase unfolded, he suddenly slowed down. >> all this time, bill is in front of us. and i see bill pulling over. then she's passing him. >> reporter: then, frances said, bill dropped back to her right. >> and i'm passing bill. i see bill from my passenger window.

and she brakes. and i brake. and i heard something. i heard a thump. >> reporter: that piece of granite again, frances thought, and she continued to chase after bonnie, still hell-bent on confronting her. suddenly, bonnie made a u-turn. >> and as she makes a u-turn, i make the u-turn. she takes off. >> i got a black escalade and a black range rover they're traveling at high rate of speed. i don't know, 90-100 miles an hour that black range rover was. >> reporter: an off-duty officer spotted bonnie and frances and called it in. >> they're hauling ass driving on the wrong side of the road acting like idiots. >> reporter: frances was still on bonnie's tail, when -- >> i hear this wind coming in. >> reporter: the howl of the wind snapped frances out of her trance. she looked back and realized her third-row passenger window was shattered. and then, she realized something else.

she couldn't see bill anywhere. frances called her sister connie, who lived close by. then she called her daughter nikki. >> she goes, i can't find your dad. i don't know where your dad is. i'm turning around. >> reporter: frances started to make her way back down the highway. she spoke to connie again. >> my sister tells me, i found him. >> reporter: connie had jumped in her own car and soon came upon bill and his bike by the side of the road. he'd crashed and was in bad shape. police were already at the scene when frances arrived. >> and then as i'm running to him, an officer grabs me. and i yank him. i heard somebody yell, that's his wife. leave her alone. and i get down to where he's at. and he's alive. >> reporter: do you say anything to him? >> i was just in shock. and he kept telling me, i can't breathe, vieja. and i told him calm down, dad. calm down. >> reporter: bill had internal injuries.

whatever happened, the wreck was so severe it even knocked his boots off. >> sierra 4, here comes your bird. >> reporter: they took him away in the helicopter. >> they got a gurney. and he grabbed my arm. and he goes, vieja, come with me. i go, i'm coming, dad. and they take him. and i remember he told them, she needs to come with me. >> reporter: but officers wouldn't allow frances in the chopper, wouldn't allow her to go anywhere, in fact. >> and i told the officer, i'm his wife. and he said, turn around. and he handcuffed me, put me in the back and they left with bill. >> reporter: it was only then, frances says, that it all came together in her mind. the thump, the broken window, somehow bill's bike and her escalade must have collided. i think some people might find it hard to believe that you wouldn't realize that you had hit a motor bike. >> i didn't feel anything. i heard a thump. i thought it was in piece of granite. >> reporter: police detained her

for questioning while the rest of the family took up a vigil at the hospital. bill's cousin was hopeful he'd pull through. >> we had been in so many wrecks on bikes and stuff. i said, he'll be all right. he had worse accidents than that, so -- >> reporter: but bill wouldn't be all right, not this time. >> when they told us that he had passed away, it was just complete shock. >> i kind of screamed out and i just couldn't believe it. i didn't want to believe it. >> reporter: frances was still in the back of the patrol car when she got the news. >> i noticed three people come to me wearing suits, and one of them tells me that he hadn't made it. and i was like, you're full of it. i go, no, he did. i go, just go check. they come back and tell me, miss hall, your husband didn't make it. >> reporter: with bill dead, frances was not only a grieving widow, she was now clearly a suspect.

police took her to the station for questioning, but she wasn't ready to answer anything. >> i completely understand, okay. >> i'm terrified. >> reporter: frances appeared to be in denial. >> bill, please. bill, come back. >> reporter: but if frances wasn't talking to the police, the other woman in bill's life was. and she said bill's death was no accident. "dateline" returns after the break. "dateline" returns after the break. i just got my ancestrydna results:

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on his last day on earth, bill hall was staying with his girlfriend bonnie. the two had plans to pick up bill's motorcycle at a storage facility for a bike rally they'd attend the next day. >> and he was laying in our bed, taking a nap. and that was two hours before he died. i woke him up and said, hon it's getting late we got to pick up the bike before it gets dark. >> and that bonnie said is how she and bill ended up on the road that fateful evening with bonnie behind the wheel of the range revolver, bill in front on her baby blue motorcycle. neither knowing that frances quite by chance was coming from the opposite direction. but bonnie's version of eept would differ sharply from the tale frances told.

>> he is driefgt. i'm driving. somewhere along the way we stopped at a light. and he pulled up beside me in the other lane. he teld me i love you so much. gorda. i'm so happy. that was the last time i heard his voice. >> the light turned green and everything changed. >> he was in front of me. and i'm driving. and i feel somebody hit me from behind. at first i thought it was an accident. >> a sudden jolt, then another. >> i feel another hit. and i said, what the hell? and i looked in the rear view mirror and it was frances. >> bill's wife. >> they had spoken by phone but never met. bonnie says she never saw frances on the road before she saw the jolts, never taunted her with her middle finger as frances claimed. now bonnie said frances wasn't just chasing she was repeatedly ramming her cadillac into the

back of the range rover. >> i kept kremg because she kept hitting me. >> she said france's story that bonnie was slamming on brakesway was non-zbleens you were accused of brake checking. >> brake checking. no i was trying to get away. i started speeding up. she kept ramming me from behind. she threw me into on come traffic. >> she says she was hit so hard myopurse fell off the front seat. >> and my stuff flew to the floor. >> and here another significant difference. when bonnie swerved back in her lain she looked in the rear view mirror appear saw bill was riding between her. >> and i see her coming up behind bill and i'm yell at the top of my lungs and i see her hit bill. and i see bill fly and then i see the bike fly. >> according to bonnie she saw

frances deliberately hit bill from behind then keep chasing her. >> i was shaking and in shock. i didn't understand why she hadn't stopped when she hit bill. i couldn't under and still don't understand it. i felt like stopping but i didn't know if she had a gun. my first instinct to make a u-turn. >> she makes a u-turn. >> right behind. >> you she continues to hit me. we even pass the scene of where bill was clinging to his life. and even at that she didn't bother to stop hitting me. >> bonnie eventually made her way back to where bill lay by the road. >> and i see just hecticness everywhere. police cars, keesktet detectives, ambulance. >> she tried to get near bill but the officers wouldn't let her near him. >> i wanted to hug him, tell him everything was going to be okay. >> bonnie watched the helicopter take bill away. hours later a police officer gave her the news she was

dreading. >> he goes, bill has passed away. and i just let out a big old scream. >> so there was bonnie's version. this was in accident. frances purposely rammed her repeatedly and fatally knocked bill off the road. >> is there only one person to blame for this in your eyes? >> of course. it's frances. she started that high-speed chase. she chose to turn around. why? you know you're going to cause some sort of trouble. >> and when investigators looked at the evidence and heard bonnie's version of events they came to the same conclusion. this is the district attorney of san antonio. >> the bottom line of this objectively we do not support in behavior. >> frances was charged withing a

aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and charged with murder. >> we felt there was attempt atting a aggravated sault and in the process a felony murder. >> but frances says the aggressor was bonnie. and she said she had proof. >> coming up. francess says bill told her that bonnie was obsessed with him but that he wanted out. >> he goes i can't get rid of this person. >> when "dateline" continues. with uncontrolled

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imprisonment i'm mels array burger happy thanksgiving. officials say the deadlyiest wildfire in california history is 90 peppers contained. more rain is expected to help extinguish the camp fire which is responsible for 83 deaths and 150,000 acres burned. and the president said today he plans to interview contenders for key roles in his

administration over the thanksgiving break. kyrsten nielsen and chief of staff john kelly are considered most vul they werable to replacement. back to "dateline." back to "dateline. frances hall was out on bail, facing a murder charge for the high speed chase that ended with the death of her husband, bill. the key witness against her, bill's mistress, bonnie contreras. but according to frances and her daughter, if anyone should be blamed for what happened, it was bonnie. >> she has a lot of responsibility or full responsibility in causing this. she ruined a family. >> reporter: the way the hall family tells it, bonnie was a golddigger, a stalker and a liar who had been manipulating and threatening bill for years. frances said that after she learned about the affair, she learned the truth about bonnie from bill himself. >> he laid it all out.

he said, i'm going to tell you everything, vieja. >> reporter: the family insists bonnie told frances about the affair because she was angry over, of all things, a manicure. >> she was upset because my father wouldn't give her $100 to get her nails done. >> reporter: they said bill told them that bonnie had been stalking their whole family on facebook. >> she had created a fake account with a fake profile picture and friend requested the entire family. everyone accepted. my mom had her, i had her. aunts, uncles, cousins. >> reporter: the family said bill told them that's how bonnie gathered information, that she would use to manipulate him. >> if we went on a trip as a family or if he took my mother to las vegas, immediately after, he would have to take her somewhere. >> reporter: according to frances and nikki, bill said he wanted to break up with bonnie, but she threatened to air their affair all over the internet. >> he goes, i can't get rid of this person. she had over 2,000 pictures.

in my 34 years of knowing bill, i don't have that many pictures. who does that? >> reporter: frances said bill told her bonnie also stalked her and her family. >> she knew where my kids lived. she knew my schedule. he said that i would go to my grocery store, and she'd be there following me. >> reporter: even, said the halls, followed her and bill into a movie theater. >> bonnie tracked them and was sitting three rows behind them. she was kind of like a fatal attraction. just, or -- or psycho. >> reporter: she claims that she was in love with bill, that he was going to leave you, they were going to start a family, they were going to be married. >> she got an abortion. tell me if she was starting a family. she got an abortion. >> reporter: bill wanted bonnie to have an abortion, said frances. but bonnie wouldn't do it unless bill gave her something in return. >> the only way she'd get an abortion, if he bought her breast implants. which he did. she got rid of the baby. >> i despise her.

and she has not stopped embarrassing our family. it's like, can you just go away? can you just leave us alone? go find another married man. because this is what she does for a living. she strips or -- she gets with married men. >> reporter: in the end, said the halls, bonnie told frances about the affair as a final act of desperation. an attempt to hold onto bill, who was about to drop her. >> i think she finally thought, hey, i'm losing this man. i'm losing my bread and butter here. her sugar daddy. this girl was not in love with bill. i don't even think she knows what the word "love" means. >> reporter: of course, bonnie sees things very differently. they've really gone after you with names. >> of course. and i understand where the halls are coming from. it's a pretty big pill to swallow when your husband wants to divorce you after 32 years. and of course, they're never going to say anything good about me. >> reporter: do you want to clear it up? were you an exotic dancer? >> i worked at a strip club, yes. and that was way -- >> reporter: as a dancer? >> yes.

and that was a mistake. i mean, i regret that. no one's perfect. >> reporter: but the fake facebook account? stalking frances? the abortion in exchange for breast implants? none of that ever happened, said bonnie. >> for her to sit there and say that i switched a baby's life that was growing inside of me coming from a man that i love dearly for a breast augmentation? ridiculousness. >> reporter: each woman clung to her truth. the battle for bill raged. >> he couldn't stop bonnie, and he really couldn't stop frances really, you know? >> reporter: it sounds like two hurricanes. >> oh yeah. >> reporter: then, about a week before bill's death, the hurricanes collided. not on the road. not yet. this war was waged via text. you're getting text messages from bonnie of the two of them having sex? >> mm-hmm. the case heads to court where one expert testifies that

frances deliberately rammed bonnie. coming up. >> this is not an accident. >> while another expert provides a demonstration that seems to show the suvs never touched. >> that's simple physics. >> when "dateline" continues. p >> when "dateline" continues if you're waiting patiently for a liver transplant, it could cost you your life. it's time to get out of line with upmc. at upmc, living-donor transplants put you first.

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i couldn't catch my breath. it was the last song of the night. it felt like my heart was skipping beats. they said i had afib. what's afib? i knew that meant i was at a greater risk of stroke. i needed answers. my doctor and i chose xarelto® to help keep me protected from a stroke. once-daily xarelto®, a latest-generation blood thinner significantly lowers the risk of stroke in people with afib not caused by a heart valve problem. warfarin interferes with at least 6 of your body's natural blood-clotting factors. xarelto® is selective, targeting just one critical factor. for afib patients well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. it may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. get help right away for unexpected bleeding

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and it all led up to a confrontation about a week before his death. bill and frances met at this hotel. she said they were trying to work things out. but then bonnie showed up at the front desk. >> saying she was his wife and she needed to get access to his room. and my dad told him, no, she's not my wife. my wife is here with me. >> reporter: security asked bonnie to leave. though she insists she never claimed to be bill's wife. but all parties agree. that night an all-out war began via text. you're getting text messages from bonnie. of the two of them having sex? >> uh-huh. pictures of sexual positions. >> reporter: photos with captions like -- this is what he really likes, you fat old woman. normally the mistress keeps a very low profile. >> she wanted to make sure i knew now she was in the picture. >> reporter: did she ever. many of the messages are too graphic to show, but you can get a good sense of them from these excerpts.

"let me know if you want some good juicy pics of me and your hubby. you stupid old person, keep fixing yourself up, maybe he'll find you more attractive. what's the worst text message she sent you? >> the hollow bitch. >> reporter: she actually called you hollow. >> hollow. >> reporter: because -- >> of my hysterectomy. >> reporter: complete with a diagram to reinforce the point. bonnie admits she sent those nasty texts. you have to imagine though that people are going to see this and they're going to think that some of those text messages are cruel. >> never sent her pictures of my and bill having sexual intercourse. what i did send her pictures of was three butt pics of me. and that's because she infuriated me. because she told me that my butt looked like a broken saddle bag. it looked like a broken toilet seat. trust me, she was going at me very hard. >> reporter: in fact, bonnie says it was frances who started the text war. >> plain and simple, i was defending myself. >> reporter: the text that frances said hurt her the most was the one where you called her

hollow and sent the diagram of a woman who had had a hysterectomy. that is -- >> cruel. >> reporter: that would hit a woman hard. >> and i'm not happy about that. >> reporter: why did you do it? >> because i was pissed at her. she was telling me vicious, ugly things. >> reporter: did you send any back to her that were nasty as well? >> not really. no. >> reporter: because it would be hard not to engage. >> well, yeah. i started to at the hotel. i think i did one or two. >> reporter: "had him in the palm of your hand and couldn't keep him" frances wrote to bonnie. "keep sending. fatal attraction." "cops need all the pics." >> and, i mean, i couldn't keep up. i text slow. this girl's young. she knows technology. >> reporter: bonnie says frances more than held her own. "don't flatter yourself. he's been cheating on you with me." but, says frances, the nastier texts bonnie received didn't come from her. she says, bill sent them. >> bill grabbed the phone, and he said, let me take care of her.

>> no, he didn't. that was her. it was her sending those text messages. bill wouldn't have never disrespected me like that. >> reporter: but if there was any doubt that she'd been following the halls, she seemed to confirm it herself by sending photos of their house and frances' car. why were you sending those pictures? >> to piss her off. to defend myself. >> reporter: what are you -- i mean, you're the one -- but, but -- >> her telling me that bill didn't love me. her telling me that bill was using me. >> reporter: but bonnie, you're the one who is having the affair with bill. so why are you attacking his wife? >> because she was attacking me. and i will defend myself. >> reporter: one week after that text message feud came the car chase that left bill hall dead. nearly three years after that frances hall went on trial for murder. prosecutors stephanie paulissen and scott simpson laid out the case for the jury. >> we understand why she was angry. but that's not justification to go attempt to run down your husband's mistress and kill him in the process.

>> reporter: the star witness for the prosecution, bonnie contreras. >> i start to get hit from behind. >> reporter: bonnie told the jury how she watched with horror as she believed frances deliberately knocked bill off the road. >> i see her hit bill with the truck. and i see him fly off the motorcycle. >> reporter: bonnie said she later discovered frances' daughter, nikki hall, had left a message on her voice mail during the car chase. a message that seemed to speak to frances' intent that evening. >> told you to watch your back you [ bleep ] stupid [ bleep ]. >> what does that tell you? that they were out to cause harm to somebody. >> this is not an accident. >> reporter: tim lovett was the state's collision reconstruction expert. he said the evidence showed frances chased and hit bonnie. >> that escalade definitely hit that range rover at least two, maybe three times. >> reporter: but frances' defense attorneys, leigh cutter

and jean brown, said investigators made a big mistake when they bought into the story of bonnie contreras. >> everyone got their information from one person at the scene. and that's bonnie. and bonnie lied her ass off. >> reporter: defense accident reconstructionist charles ruble said there was no physical evidence to back up bonnie's claims that frances had hit her over and over again. no evidence, he said, the suvs had even touched. >> not even once. >> reporter: and remember how bonnie said her purse flew forward off the seat when frances hit her? >> this is her purse in her car. i get hit from the rear. where's my purse go? it doesn't dump in the front. that's simple physics. >> reporter: in fact, he said, the purse falling forward supports frances' claims that bonnie was repeatedly slamming on her brakes. >> she does a sudden brake, and she's moving like this. then the purse would go into the floorboard. bonnie contreras is not telling the truth. >> reporter: what's more, both defense and prosecution agreed

bonnie was wrong about her contention that bill's motorcycle was struck from behind. evidence showed the motorcycle actually collided with the side of frances' suv. >> you can't believe a damn thing she said on there. >> reporter: in closing arguments the defense said bill's death was simply a terrible accident. and frances hall had suffered enough. >> she's been living in hell for three years. let her go home. let her be with her family. and let her mourn her husband. >> reporter: but the prosecution told the jury frances must be held accountable for her actions. >> of course, the defendant hated bonnie contreras. we don't blame her for that. any wife would. what we do blame her for is getting in her escalade, chasing after bonnie and then veering into bill. there's your felony murder. >> reporter: the jury deliberated into the night. who would they believe?

coming up -- the verdict. >> we the jury find the defendant -- >> "dateline" continues. " conti. -morning. -morning. -what do we got? -keep an eye on that branch. might get windy. have a good shift. fire pit. last use -- 0600. i'd stay close. morning. ♪ get ready to switch. protected by flo. should say, "protected by alan and jamie." -right? -should it? when you bundle home and auto... run, alan! ...you get more than just savings. you get 'round-the-clock protection.

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this is moving day with the best in-home wifi experience and millions of wifi hotspots to help you stay connected. and this is moving day with reliable service appointments in a two-hour window so you're up and running in no time. show me decorating shows. this is staying connected with xfinity to make moving... simple. easy. awesome. stay connected while you move with the best wifi experience and two-hour appointment windows. click, call or visit a store today. welcome back. during francis hall's murder trial the prosecution's collision expert backed up bonnie's claim that francis

rammed her suv. the defense countered with their collision expert who testified that francis may not have hit bonnie. would that be enough to persuade the jury? here with the conclusion to collision -- >> as the jury deciding francis hall's fate deliberated into the evening hours of december 8, 2016, neither side felt confident. >> as time passes you get more worried. >> did you have a gut feeling which way it would go? >> no. >> nothing? >> i didn't want to think about it. >> just before 8:45 p.m. the jury had its verdict. >> we find the defendant guilty. >> guilty of murder and aggravated assault. francis's friends and family were shocked. >> it was the worst feeling in my life. >> it was a moment francis herself did not seem prepared

f for. >> you were found guilty. you were facing possibly life behind bars. >> yes, i was. i didn't want to be there. i wanted to go home. i was like i can't do this. >> things weren't over yet for francis. there was still a second phase of trial, sentencing. texas law allows the defendant to be sentenced by either the judge or the jury. francis chose the jury, the same one that found her guilty. four days after the verdict, the players returned to the courtroom for the final act of this real-life soap opera. the defense believed it had found a secret weapon in the texas criminal code. >> we said this caveat was written for francis hall if anyone ever. >> the law calls it sudden passion that the defendant was immediately provoked to a degree of anger that would make an ordinary person incapable of

cool reflection. the defense told the jury sudden passion gripped francis when she spotted bill and bonnie on the road. >> she sees this woman who has not let up and tried to ruin her life for the last month. >> the stakes were enormous. a finding of sudden passion could drastically reduce francis's sentence from possible life in prison to a maximum of 20 years and a minimum of just two. relatives of francis and bill hall begged the jury to be lenient. >> if there is any way that you can find in your heart to give her a lighter sentence, i'm begging you. >> and that for the first time the jury heard from francis hall directly. >> you don't understand. i love this man heart and soul. i gave him my life. i would never hurt him, never. >> in her final arguments, defense attorney lee cutter

insisted francis hall's actions were a textbook example of sudden passion. >> the text messages, the calls, the taunting, those will make you really hate someone. never having seen them until they drive by in your car, if that is not sudden passion i don't know what is. >> prosecutor scott simpson told jurors not to be swayed by emotion. >> you shouldn't for one second feel ashamed or bad for doing what you believe to be right. >> after about three hours of deliberations, the jury was ready. all eyes were on bonnie when she arrived to hear the sentence and on francis hall, too. would she get life in prison or a chance at freedom? >> we unanimously find the defendant under the immediate influence of sudden passion and sentence of two years.

>> the absolute minimum sentence. >> what is going through your mind when you hear that? because things were looking bad. >> yes, i was like thank you, jesus. >> and she did, on september 7, 2018 after serving her sentence, francis walked out of prison a free woman. >> does two years fit? >> no. two years for a life that you take, no, absolutely not. >> bonnie is suing francis for bodily injury and emotional distress. francis's attorney says the allegations are without merit. >> bill is never coming back. why? because she decided to make a very irresponsible decision and cause this. >> a decision which bonnie said cut short her dream of a future with bill. >> do you think there was a chance he was playing both of you? >> no. >> he wanted his cake and eat it to? >> no. he wanted out of his marriage.

>> do you regret now ever meeting bill? >> no, i don't. i don't regret loving him. i will always carry that man in my heart. i love him so much. >> as for francis, she said she does regret her decision to make a u turn that october evening. >> it was my choice that i turned around and for that i am so remorseful and i will live with that for the rest of my life. >> but francis says make no mistake, there is only one true love story here, the 32-year marriage of francis and bill hall. >> she has to continue living and looking for the right man. i have had the best man in my life. i will never love another man like i love bill. once you have the best, no looking back. >> except for he cheated on you? >> he had this much bad. but he had this much good. and he might have done what he

did, but i know he loved me. call me ignorant, call me stupid, but i loved bill hall jr. until the day i die. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm craig melvin. thank you for watching. g melvi thank you for watching. i'm craig melvin and i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." it was a small new year's eve party. we took off and then we saw the police car. my gut was telling my feet to run back to the house. this can't be happening. >> when the party ended, the mystery began. >> it was just crazy. i didn't de