Emmett Corrigan

"In love affairs a woman is more barbarian than a man."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

It was the 11th of March 2011. A Friday. Thirty year old Emmett Corrigan lived with his wife Ashlee and their five children in Boise, Idaho, United States. Their youngest child, a baby boy that they named Tytus, was just seven weeks old. That night, the 11th of March, was a night that Ashlee had hoped would be a special one. Of late, she felt that they had become distant and she wanted to try to make their marriage work. Ashlee made dinner and dressed the children in their best outfits but Emmett got home late from work and didn't eat anything. Ashlee pleaded with him to discuss their marriage but he didn't want to. 

Emmett and Ashlee

Emmett had recently qualified as a lawyer and started his own practice. He wanted to be a successful defense attorney so it was normal that he had to work long hours and stay late at the office but Ashlee felt it was something more than that that was making him distant and making him want to stay away from the house. That's why she wanted to discuss the marriage that night but they just argued instead. After making a phone call, Emmett left the house again stating that he had a cold and needed to pick up a prescription at Walgreens. Ashlee wasn't aware of it then but Emmett had arranged to meet someone at Walgreens. And that someone was Kandi Hall.

Forty year old Kandi Hall was Emmett's employee, she was a paralegal at his new firm. Kandi had just moved to Idaho from California in 2010 with her husband of fifteen years Rob Hall and their two teenage daughters. They lived in Meridian and Kandi met Emmett through a mutual friend. They were introduced in September 2010 as Kandi was looking for a job. The law firm where she worked had fired her. When she met Emmett, he was waiting for his bar exam results and he would need a paralegal when he began practicing law.

Kandi and Rob

Within just two weeks of meeting, they began an affair. The affair continued when Emmett hired Kandi in November 2010 and they used the office to continue their sexual relationship. Other people and even some clients were aware of the affair. 

That night, the 11th of March, Kandi left work at 6pm. Rob was in the garage when she got home, he was packing boxes. Rob told Kandi that he was fed up with the way she acted towards him in the marriage. Rob left the house at 8.45pm. Kandi left soon after him, she received a call from Emmett and he told her he would meet her at the pharmacy. 

Just a short time later, Kandi called 911 to report a shooting from the pharmacy parking lot. When police arrived, they found Kandi, Emmet and Rob in the parking lot. Both Rob and Emmett had been shot. Emmett died at the scene. Rob was arrested and was later charged with second degree murder. 

It was the Prosecution's case that Rob was obsessed and went to the parking lot to catch Kandi with Emmett. The plan was to shoot Emmett and then himself. In his truck, he had emails printed out, emails he had exchanged with Kandi about the affair with Emmett. The Prosecution believed that Rob went there angry and he went there with a gun. His gun holster was in his center console. He wasn't just prepared to use it. He wanted to use it and he did. 

The Prosecution claimed that Rob drove into the parking lot and waited for Kandi and Emmett outside the Walgreens store. Surveillance footage showed him parking his pickup truck, entering Walgreens and leaving the store. He can then be seen getting back into his car and parking on the opposite side of Kandi's car, the side that wasn't visible on the surveillance footage. 

Seventeen minutes after Rob arrived, Kandi and Emmett returned to the parking lot and saw Rob.

It was the Prosecution's case that Rob shot Emmett twice and then tried to shoot himself in the head but missed.

As surveillance footage did not pick up the shooting, the only witness was Kandi. Unfortunately she was not a good witness and gave conflicting statements so it was not clear what was true or not. Kandi told the Court that that night, the 11th of March, she went into the pharmacy and collected her prescription. When she left, Emmett was in the parking lot in his pickup and she got in the car beside him. They had arranged to meet there. They went for gas and drove around a bit before parking in a secluded area that was being developed and had sexual intercourse. 

Kandi Hall

Kandi received a call from her daughter. Unbeknown to Kandi, her daughter was in the parking lot of the pharmacy and saw her mother's parked BMW. She wanted to know where she was. Kandi told her she was driving around with a friend. The daughter was not convinced and called Rob to tell him.

As Emmett drove back towards the pharmacy parking lot, Kandi received a call from Rob. According to Kandi, Emmett grabbed her phone and asked Rob:

“What's up chief?”

Kandi told the Court that while Emmett was on the phone, his tone was aggressive. He said to Rob:

“Yeah, we're talking about life. Have you got a problem with that? Yeah, I'm going to crack your f***ing head.”

After the call, they drove into the parking lot. It was around 10pm. Rob was there. All three of them got out. Rob had a compact, .380 ACP caliber pistol with a laser sight. She testified that after everyone was out of their respective vehicles, Emmett was standing against his pickup, leaning backward against it with his arms crossed. Rob walked over to where Emmett and Kandi were.

According to Kandi, Emmet told Rob that "she doesn't want to be with you." There was back and forth arguments about who Kandi wanted to be with and Rob said:

 “And your poor wife, she just had a baby, and she is at home while you're out with my wife.”

Kandi said that Emmett pushed Rob with both hands in the chest. Kandi tried to break it up and told Emmett to get in his pickup and told Rob that they needed to go home. Kandi walked towards her car. She testified:

that she heard scuffling on the ground behind her. She then heard three gunshots.

When Kandi looked back, Rob had his pistol in his right hand, and he then collapsed. Emmett was already on the ground. She called 911.

Rob had a bullet wound on the top left side of his head. It did not penetrate or fracture the skull but it did cause a moderate concussion which caused him to suffer retrograde amnesia and he could not recall what happened that night. He could not testify at the Trial as he did not know what happened. 

Emmett died at the scene. He had two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and one to the head.

It was the Defense's case that Rob was pushed to the brink of madness. He was so consumed with jealously over the affair and wanted to confront Emmett. But the Defense's argument was that Emmett was aggressive and Rob shot him in self defense during an altercation. 

Robert Dean Hall pleaded not guilty but the Jury found him guilty of second degree murder and he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

In 2012, Kandi pleaded guilty to grand theft for stealing from her former employer. She embezzled $32,000. Kandi was sentenced to 14 years in prison and could not seek parole until she served two years. She was released from prison in June 2014 and placed on probation through 2026. After Emmet's murder, Kandi supported Rob at his Trial. She told the Court that she loved him and never had any intention of leaving him. Kandi went on Dr Phil to tell her side of the story. 

Kandi Hall on Dr Phil

Ashlee found love again after Emmett and married Scott and they had a child together. After Emmett's murder, Ashlee started a non-profit organization, A Reason To Stand, for trauma victims.

Ashlee, Scott and the children