Hall murder case reopened

It was the time of year when peace on Earth is celebrated by many. But on a rainy December night in 1991, there was only chaos for Teresa Hall and her little girl Tiffany.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday it has uncovered “new leads” in the unsolved homicide case, and said it plans to “leave no stone unturned” to resolve the murder.
Arriving home from the Marianna Christmas parade that night, Hall and her 5-year-old were decorating their home for the holiday when someone entered their house and beat them to death.
According to a news release by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office “a precious and utterly defenseless 5-year old girl and her beautiful mother were brutally murdered in the quiet community of Cypress” on Dec. 10, 1991.
The Halls were attacked and brutally beaten, their bodies lying undiscovered in the home until a family member came upon the grisly scene, according to authorities.
“Recently, new leads have been developed in the investigation and law enforcement requests the communities’ continued assistance and commitment in helping solve what is perhaps one of the most brutal and senseless homicides in Jackson County history,” the news release said.
One of the more recent public attempts to identify who murdered the Halls occurred in 2006, when former sheriff’s office Major John Dennis traveled to Texas to interview the infamous “Railroad Killer,” Angel Maturino Resendiz.
On the night before he was executed for a different murder, Resendiz described to Dennis the details of that night in Cypress.
Dennis said Resendiz picked both Tiffany and Teresa Hall’s photographs out of two photo lineups, acknowledging that he recognized them.
Resendiz described the walk from a Cypress train switch to the Hall residence, a church near the home and that the weather that night was rainy and cold. But he denied having knowledge of any crimes taking place there, Dennis said.
Post-mortem testing of Resendiz’s DNA and fingerprints did not match DNA and prints found at the scene of the Halls’ murderer.
“The community was outraged at the heinous nature and brutality of the crime. Although numerous tips and much information were provided to law enforcement, the case remains unsolved. However, this case has stayed at the forefront of efforts by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies,” Friday’s news release said.
Anyone having information concerning these murders or any other violent crimes is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 482-9664 or CrimeStoppers at 526-5000.