FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey — Devin Hall never harmed anyone in her 40 years of life. She used a wheelchair, could not speak, and communicated through her eyes. Her mother knew her moods, her feelings, and her needs without a single word ever being exchanged.
That bond was built over four decades of love and caregiving.
It ended on June 11 — allegedly at the hands of Devin’s own father.
A Mother Woken Up to the Unthinkable
Jan Hall, Devin’s mother and wife of the accused, says she was asleep when her husband, 71-year-old Dennis Hall, came to wake her.
“He said, ‘I strangled Devin. She’s dead,'” Jan recalled. “I thought I didn’t hear him right.”
She immediately attempted CPR. Devin was rushed to a hospital.
She was removed from life support the following day.
A Family Now Left With Questions
According to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, Dennis Hall strangled his daughter inside their Franklin Township home on June 11. He is now held in Salem County Jail on a murder charge.
Jan Hall says her husband had been struggling with mental health issues for the past year and was receiving treatment for depression. She had feared something could go wrong — but nothing prepared her for this.
“He could’ve came and woke me up. I could’ve helped him,” she said.
Devin’s aunt, Jane Cox, remembered her niece simply.
“Devin was a beautiful soul. She never harmed anybody in her life.”
A Funeral. A Nightmare. No Answers.
The family is now preparing to lay Devin to rest later this week.
Jan Hall says she is still searching for one thing — an explanation.
“I would just like him to tell me why he did it,” she said. “It’s like hell. I feel like I’m walking in a nightmare.”
Dennis Hall’s defense attorney has not responded to requests for comment.
This story is heartbreaking on every level. Share your thoughts and condolences for this family in the comments.
