A New Jersey mother says she woke up to words no parent should ever hear. According to prosecutors, 71-year-old Dennis J. Hall woke his wife in the early morning hours and calmly told her he had strangled their 40-year-old disabled daughter, Devin Hall.
“I strangled Devin. She’s dead,” his wife, Jan Hall, later recalled him saying. At first, she thought she had heard him wrong.
But the nightmare was real.
Authorities say Hall called 911 around 6:15 a.m. from the family’s home in Franklin Township, reporting that his daughter was not breathing. Prosecutors allege he admitted to strangling Devin both during the emergency call and again when officers arrived at the scene.
Jan Hall rushed to her daughter and desperately performed CPR.
Devin was taken to the hospital, but after spending a day on life support, she died from her injuries. An autopsy later determined that the cause of death was asphyxiation.
The case has devastated the local community, especially after details emerged about Devin’s life.
She was nonverbal, used a wheelchair, and relied heavily on her family for care. But according to her obituary, Devin loved music, adored country star Toby Keith, and had traveled to 32 states with her mother. She had visited Graceland and, according to loved ones, was treated “like a princess” during the trip. Long walks with her mother and rides on her adapted bike were among her favorite activities.
Now, those memories are all her family has left.
Jan Hall told reporters she is desperate for answers and wants to know why her husband allegedly did this.
“He had an opportunity to come and get me,” she said. “I could have helped him.” She described the days since her daughter’s death as “hell” and said she feels like she’s living in a nightmare.
Authorities have not publicly discussed a motive, though Jan Hall reportedly said her husband had been struggling with depression before the tragedy.
Dennis Hall has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held in the Salem County Jail. He has not yet entered a plea, and a detention hearing is scheduled for June 23.
For many following the case, the most heartbreaking part isn’t the shocking confession.
It’s that Devin Hall spent her life depending on the people who loved her most… and prosecutors now say one of them took her life.
