An Oklahoma woman, aged 43, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of her two teenage children and the attempted murder of a third. Amy Leann Hall was convicted for the 2018 killings of her 18-year-old son, Kayson Toliver, and 16-year-old daughter, Kloee Toliver. She was also handed a 20-year sentence for the attempted murder of her 14-year-old daughter, who miraculously survived the ordeal.
The sentencing was handed down by District Judge Ronald A. White on Monday. Hall will serve her sentences concurrently in a federal penitentiary, with no possibility of parole. In November 2022, Hall pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and one count of assault with intent to commit murder.
Prosecutors had initially threatened to dismiss the federal case against Hall if she did not accept the life sentence. This would have allowed state prosecutors to take over the case and potentially seek the death penalty. The decision to recommend a life sentence was made after careful consideration of all facts, including the interests of the surviving victim, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, Christopher J. Wilson.
The tragic incident took place in the early hours of November 1, 2018, at the family’s residence in Muskogee County, Oklahoma. Hall shot her son Kayson in the head while he was asleep, killing him instantly. She then proceeded to the bedrooms of her daughters, Kloee and the 14-year-old, and shot them in the head as they slept.
Emergency services found Kloee unresponsive at the scene. She was rushed to a hospital but never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead four days later. A deputy from the Okmulgee County Sheriff’s Office was the first to arrive at the scene and spotted Hall attempting to flee in her vehicle. A high-speed chase ensued, with speeds exceeding 110 mph, before authorities were able to apprehend Hall.
The decision not to pursue the death penalty against Hall was made to avoid causing further pain and suffering to Hall’s surviving child, according to a report from Tulsa, Oklahoma CBS affiliate KOTV. Edward J. Gray, Oklahoma City FBI Special Agent in Charge, described the crime as “gut-wrenching” and affirmed that the sentencing was just.