Gabriel Espinosa Cañada Hall, also known as Gabriel Paul Hall or Paul Gabriel Hall is a Filipino adoptee and convicted murderer residing in Texas. Hall originated from Cebu City and resided in the Children’s Shelter of Cebu for six years. His original family name was Espinosa-Cañada. Wes Hall and Karen Kruse Hall adopted him when he was age 11. Wes Hall is a former attorney and Brazos Countyjustice of the peace, and Karen Hall was the president of the Central Texas Orphan Mission. The Halls had adopted multiple children, including Hall's biological sister, Eralyn. Prior to the murder Gabriel Hall attended A&M Consolidated High School. Hall's biological father, Eduardo Cañada, Sr., resident in the Philippines, is a convicted murderer.
Murder, trial, and criminal penalty
On October 20, 2011, Hall murdered 68-year-old Edwin Shaar, Jr., a former professor at Texas A&M University, and injured the man's wife, 69-year-old Linda Shaar, in their College Station residence. Hall had never previously met either person. Hall stabbed and shot the former professor in his garage. Hall slit the throat of the wife, who was in a wheelchair, and left her; she called 9-1-1 and survived. On December 21, 2011, a grand jury indicted Hall for capital murder. The Filipino American Legal Defense and Education Fund aided Hall in his legal efforts. His murder trial was scheduled to begin on October 21, 2013. Jarvis Parsons, the Brazos County district attorney, prosecuted Hall and sought the death penalty. His first assistant was Brian Baker. Hall had multiple attorneys, including Tony Odiorne. His defense team organized a trip to the Philippines as part of the defense. FALDEF persons later traveled to Texas to assist Hall. Hall was convicted and sentenced to death. On October 9, 2015, Hall, Texas Department of Criminal Justice#999599, arrived at the Texas death row for men, located at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit. He was the first Texas death row inmate received in 2015
