Patricia Hall, pictured here with her husband Kenton Hall, was found dead early Tuesday, Sept. 24, in a wooded area off of East Franklin Street in Toccoa.
A Toccoa murder suspect remains hospitalized after being shot and captured by Toccoa Police.
48-year-old Kenton Hall was apprehended shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, September 24. He had been on the run for 18 hours after allegedly kidnapping and murdering his wife and stabbing two others.
A man who recognized Hall called 911 after seeing him Tuesday afternoon. Two Toccoa Police officers responded to the scene near an abandoned factory on West Spring Street.
Toccoa Police Chief Jimmy Mize told reporters one of the officers shot Hall after he came at him with a knife. The officer fired twice, striking Hall once. The officer was not injured. An ambulance transported Hall to a local hospital in serious condition.
Medical call leads to manhunt
The search for Hall began Monday night (Sept. 23) after police say he tracked down his wife, Patricia, at a house at 162 Mill Street in Toccoa. She had left him earlier in the day following an argument. Police say 64-year-old old Robert Maxwell and 66-year-old Nancy Johnson were trying to protect Patricia from her husband when he stabbed them.
“As Kenton was leaving the residence, he told Hall she was going with him and left the residence on foot,” Toccoa Police Chief Jimmy Mize later told reporters.
GBI investigates Toccoa Police shooting of murder suspect
Toccoa Police were alerted to the situation when they were dispatched to the Mill Street address around 9 p.m. on September 23 in reference to a medical call. When they arrived they found Maxwell on a neighbor’s porch bleeding. He had been stabbed multiple times. Inside the home they found Johnson lying on the couch, also suffering from multiple stab wounds and abrasions.
Maxwell was flown to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville in critical condition. Johnson was stabilized at Stephens County Hospital and later transported to NGMC. As of Wednesday (Sept. 25), both remained hospitalized.
Local and state law enforcement agencies searched for Kenton and Patricia Hall overnight Monday into Tuesday. Tracking dogs were called in from Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto. Georgia State Patrol Aviation conducted an aerial search using infra-red cameras. The GBI also assisted in the search and helped process the crime scene.
Mize says Toccoa Police and Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies searched multiple locations, including addresses where Kenton Hall was known to have lived.
Tragic end to search
Patricia Hall’s body was found just after daybreak Tuesday in a heavily wooded area near 306 East Franklin Street in Toccoa. The cause of her death remains under investigation pending an autopsy.
Kenton Hall was on felony probation at the time of the crime. He’s now charged with murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and kidnapping. The officer who shot him has been placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.
The GBI is investigating the shooting.
This article has been updated to reflect that Hall was taken to the hospital by ambulance after the shooting, not airlifted as authorities first reported.
