investigator tom dove. i heard it best described during the trial as a cosmic coincidence that someone could see something that they perceived to be more than just some kind of kinky action in a jacuzzi in the morning, and then that actually turn out to be true, that a woman was actually drowned but that spa. that is not a coincidence. that is what she saw. the prosecution s theory? somehow, sitting in that spa that morning, chris was overcome by some private fury, who knows what. the hidden violence, is what strunsky called it. and then killed his spouse when he thought nobody was looking. chris hall ambushed his wife, grabbed her by the hair, slammed her head twice into the concrete edge. he s holding his wife of almost three decades under the water, showing absolutely no mercy, no remorse. and absolute desire to end her life at that point.
and as the girls grew up, they said they never doubted for a single moment the powerful bond of love. their parents with them, and with each other. they were probably closer with their parents than most children. they re the parents i hope to one day be. cristi, the vivacious but you of the family. chris, her perfect mirror. my dad is a little more kicked back, quiet, relaxed. they re the perfect balance. chris was a police officer in san bernardino until he was shot in the line of duty. then he went off to become police chief in two small towns in idaho. then in 2005, anticipating an empty nest and eventually retirement, the halls boston this place in calimesa. life seemed to have hit a sweet spot. we happened to be laying on the bed with her.
you expected a not guilty verdict? yes. not a doubt. deputy d.a. burke strunsky was disappointed too. he was also determined to retry the case. first he sent his investigator on a mission to explore the life and marriage of chris hall. and what do you know. in idaho, where hall had been a disgraced police chief, the investigator uncovered a startling accusation. chris was a great, great con man. former los angeles police officer jerry winkel is a county commissioner in idaho now. but once upon a time he was chris hall s friend, that is, before a night of poker and booze when he said paul made a disturbing revelation, that he had shot himself in the leg in order to get retirement benefits. chris had been drinking beer. he came out and told me that he had shot himself.
we started talking. she was like, i am just i m so happy that i have you girls and dad. it was one of those conversations that you don t have every day. still, there was work to be done. it was not a new house. it could use some remodeling. particularly the bathroom. courtney was still living with her parents as the work began. they re going to be doing the tile work and stuff. so we wouldn t have a shower for that day. so, shower out of commission, they decided to wake up early, put on their bathing suits and rinse off in the outdoor spa before the contractor arrived at 6:45 a.m. it was june 7th, 2007. chris got up first, turned on the spa to warm it up, then called brianna at her college dorm in san diego. your wake-up call, baby. get out and go on that run. back at the house, courtney dozed through her first wake-up. while chris and cristi made their way outside to the spa.
the case. steve harmon and paul gretch. you ve said two things. special man, special situation. i think both of us can say this is a man that we like and we know. we don t feel he could have done anything like this. chris hall and his daughters prepared for a trial which they hoped would make clear to everybody, the police, the neighbor, the world, that chris would not, could not, did not harm the love of his life. there was never, in 30 years of marriage, never one moment of violence. there was no motive for this man to kill his wife. they had a look at the neighbor s eyewitness account and suggested it was really not conclusive at all. it was tragically incomplete. she saw three snapshots. what is missed by everyone is the wife getting into the jacuzzi, slipping, falling into the jacuzzi, hitting her head, going unconscious, and drowning.