Scott Weinberger
Appearances
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Back in the early 2000s, Ashley was a bright-eyed undergraduate at Utah State University. She was working in the school gym when she met upperclassman Emmett Corrigan, a popular Boise native bound for law school.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Sure enough, law enforcement discovered printed personal emails in Rob Hall's truck between Rob and Candy that indicated that he had uncovered the affair between Emmett and his wife months earlier.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
But investigators still had plenty to figure out. Like, was this really just all a heated argument that turned deadly? Or was it a planned ambush? Was it a matter of self-defense? Or cold-blooded murder?
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
The sole witness of the shooting was Hall's wife, Candy, who claimed that her jealous husband, Rob, had been increasingly agitated and angry in the hours before the shooting. Incredibly, their argument was occurring just as Ashley Boyson was confronting Emmett over her own suspicions about his infidelity, suspicions that turned out to be well-grounded.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Little did she know, her husband Rob had decided to follow her. His arrival was even caught on security video at the scene.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Remember, Candy is the only witness to what happened next. But according to her, Emmett was riled up and itching for a confrontation.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
And then she turned back around to find both her husband and Emmett bleeding on the ground.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Now, it's important to note that Candy never claimed to have seen the actual shooting. She only heard the gunshots. So police still don't know for certain what happened. Did Emmett really fire first, as Rob Hall said? The truth seemed to lie in the sequence of gunshots.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Now, you may be asking, why is this important? Well, just think about it for a second. If you're looking at it from a self-defense perspective, the one shot first followed by two more shots may mean that Rob's version could be correct, that he was shot and then fired two shots in self-defense.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Or if you're looking at the other version, two shots, pop, pop, and then a single pop could mean that Rob fired first two rounds and then turned the gun on himself and fired a self-inflicted non-lethal round. And Anastasia, this would be a really important point if they can narrow it down and really figure out what happened.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Yeah, and I certainly see that this is an important aspect of the state's case to try to determine who was the aggressor here. Something clearly doesn't add up, but it shows how important that testimony will be.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
It was a huge storybook wedding. The newlyweds beaming with youth and optimism for a long, happy life with each other.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Needless to say, Emmett's wife, Ashley, was blindsided by the events of March 11th, 2011. First, there was a shock of her husband's violent death. And then the revelation that her husband was cheating on her with the wife of the man who shot him. And it was at that moment she began to question so many things, even about herself.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Not acting sooner on those suspicions still haunts her to this day. But at the time, she had been committed to keeping their family together. But following her husband's death, the last time they would all gather together as a family would be at Emmett's funeral.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Puzzle pieces that would come courtesy not from the only witness to the shooting, Kenny Hall, but from the physical evidence left behind at the crime scene.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Robert Hall claimed he acted in self-defense. His attorneys would insist that he had no intention of killing Emmett, but only fired his gun because he believed his life was in mortal danger.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
However, forensic evidence contradicted Robert's claim of self-defense. On the night of the shooting, investigators had done a gunshot residue test on all three people present at the crime scene. Rob Hall, his wife Candy, and the deceased victim, Emmett Corrigan.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
The gunshot residue test undermined Hall's entire story. His credibility was shot.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
What she described in the aftermath of the murder did not support her husband's story that Emmett shot first, pop, and then he returned fire, pop, pop.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Considering the path of the bullet that caused Hall's wound, the gunshot residue on his hand, and the sequence of gunshots heard by his own wife, prosecutors argued that after Hall shot and killed Emmett Corrigan, he turned the gun on himself.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
And so if the prosecution could prove that this was not, in fact, an act of self-defense, the next step would be to decide if the murder was carried out in the heat of the moment or whether it had been planned. You know, when I think of the gunshot residue test is a big thing for me.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Eventually, the couple moved to Emmett's hometown of Boise, where he would begin his career as a lawyer and Ashley would begin building the home and the life of their dreams.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
The fact that the victim, Emmett Corrigan, had nothing in his hands to reveal that he had pulled the trigger completely blows a hole in the self-defense case, right? And it's the defendant's demeanor also on camera. that pacing back and forth before the shooting, that the surveillance cameras captured is important, I think, for the prosecution's case to show state of mind.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
In backing up even what you're saying is, you know, there was a fiery conversation with them moments before the victim was challenged to a fight. And for Rob, the answer was in his pocket, a small caliber semi-automatic handgun.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
During the trial, Rob Hall's wife Candy was called to testify as a witness to the murder. It remained to be seen whether she would be able to offer a truthful and believable account of the shooting.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
In regards to the shooting, her testimony veered from her original statements to police.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Candy Hall was clearly unfaithful. She tried to cover up her husband's guilt, and now she was a perjurer.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
For Ashley, the loss of her husband was compounded by both the pain of his betrayal and the knowledge that another woman, Candy Hall, was still living just a couple of blocks from where Ashley was raising her children.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
As for Ashley, she went on to rebuild her life. She has since remarried, and she and her husband have added two more children to the family, bringing the total to seven.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
In the years since her husband's death, Ashley has created a blog called The Moments We Stand, in which she shares her personal journey of loss and healing.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
I'm Scott Weinberger, investigative journalist and former deputy sheriff.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Ashley also founded a nonprofit to empower fellow survivors.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
The irony of Candy Hall's role in this tragedy is almost too stark to comprehend. Her choices, calculated yet impulsive, didn't just set the stage. They built it brick by brick for a confrontation that would leave her husband locked away for decades and Emmett murdered. She was the fragile thread that tied them together, and tugging on that thread, everything unraveled in devastating fashion.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
I was so impressed how Ashley was able to endure, find love once again, and raising her now seven children while advocating for others on how to forgive and find a way forward. I was so sad to hear her say that she felt that she wasn't good enough, she wasn't pretty enough, not worthy enough for her husband's attention.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Ashley turned unimaginable pain into purpose, a story of survival, redemption, and a path forward that inspires others to do the same.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
And by 2011, the couple had five children, a comfortable house, a couple of cars in the driveway, and from the outside, it appeared they had everything anyone would have ever hoped for.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Ashley also saw the return of one of Emmett's old demons. After years of sobriety, he had started drinking again.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
A month later, Ashley knew it was time to confront Emmett about her suspicions and hopefully convince him to begin the process of healing their marriage.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
But instead of being open to the conversation, Emmett went on the defensive, denying that he was having an affair and instead accusing Ashley of being unfairly suspicious, ungrateful and unhinged.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
That could mean the children of a murdered parent, the wife of a murdered husband, and even the many friends and extended family members of the people lost to homicide. We believe that their stories and their perspective on loss and justice are a crucial part of their healing process. and can maybe even provide strength to others going through similar experiences.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Instead, Emmett emerged from the bedroom, grabbed his coat and headed for the front door.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Then, just after 10 p.m., a flurry of 911 calls were received at a local police department in Meridian, Idaho. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots in the parking lot in front of a local Walgreens.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
First responders rushed to the scene, and what they found was anything but typical for this part of suburban Boise. Two men lying on the pavement, both suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. One is identified as the female caller's husband, Robert Hall. The other is 30-year-old Emmett Corrigan.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
You listen to me? Hey, hey, I need you to stay with me, okay? Where's the head at? Where's your head injury at?
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Making a death notification at the home of a family member is one of the hardest jobs a police officer has. But when that death has come as a result of a homicide, it is filled with its own set of challenges, not the least of which is gathering important information that may help to solve a murder.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
And he died. The bullet that hit Emmett's chest had passed through his sternum, through the right ventricle of his heart, through his left lung, and impacted his spinal column.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
Both gunshots were fired from close range. Ballistic tests would later confirm that the bullets came from a gun found at the scene, a .380 caliber automatic pistol with a laser sight, a gun that was registered to the other male victim, Robert Hall.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
According to Hall, the two men had gotten into an altercation in the parking lot, a scuffle during which his gun fell out of his sweatshirt pocket. He claimed it was Emmett who picked up the gun and fired first, the bullet grazing the side of Hall's head.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
So Hall admitted to shooting Emmett Corrigan, but whether it was done in self-defense, as he claimed, or was premeditated, that would still have to be determined and then proven out by the evidence.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
While her husband was being stitched up at the hospital, Candy had been brought to the police station so investigators could immediately take her statement. The information she shared would be vital in piecing together the events leading up to the shooting and whether her version matched up with what was being described by her husband.
Anatomy of Murder
Something to Fix (Emmett Corrigan)
It turned out that 40-year-old Candy Hall worked in Emmett's law office as a paralegal, and her husband had suspected that she and her boss had been having an affair for months.