SAN ANTONIO -- Jurors deliberated for nearly seven hours determining the fate of a woman on trial for murder.
Frances Hall was accused of using her SUV to hit and kill her husband the evening of October 10, 2013.
Jurors found Hall guilty of murder and aggravated assault. he verdict came in just before 8:45 p.m. on Thursday night
Judge Jefferson Moore expanded the courtroom to the hallway Thursday morning because it was standing room only inside the 186th district court. Members of the Hall family filled the benches.
For two weeks, prosecutors presented evidence they believe shows Frances Hall murdered her husband and used her Cadillac Escalade to assault her husband's mistress, Bonnie Contreras.
As this alleged road rage chase sped down a rural stretch of 1604, multimillionaire Bill Hall Jr., Frances Hall's husband, followed on his Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Somehow, the motorcycle collided with the Escalade. Bill Hall died hours later from his injuries.
In closing arguments, prosecutors painted Hall as an emotional woman who intended to kill her husband's mistress, but instead killed the love of her life.
"She knew that her husband was there on a motorcycle and I get that she wouldn't have been able to see him down there, but she knew he was there and now he's not and my window's broken. But does she stop? No. Because she's not finished yet. That's not what she's there for. I grant you, she did not want to kill her husband. She wanted to kill Bonnie. But while she's doing it, he got killed," said prosecutor Scott Simpson.
Prosecutors say if Frances Hall didn't get in the car while she was angry and emotional at her husband and his mistress, the accident would have never happened. They also questioned why Frances Hall gave a false identity to deputies at the crash scene.
Meanwhile, the defense criticized the investigation by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, saying deputies made assumptions too early about what happened in the deadly crash.
"This weak case that the state brought you should terrify you. It should terrify everyone in this courtroom that you could be involved in an accident in any capacity, then they charge you with murder," said defense attorney, Leigh Cutter.
Cutter also pointed out members of Bill Hall's family that were in the audience supporting Frances. She says, like Bill Hall's cousin Hank admitted when he took the stand, while Francis was emotional about the split with her husband, she would never kill him.
"He also told you that he knew Bill Hall, and good or bad he would not want his wife here," said Cutter referring to Hank Hall's testimony. "The last thing he said was, 'She didn't kill him. No. I don't think she did.'"
Hall also faced aggravated assault charges.
