Murder of Lisa Rene

Orlando Hall, considered to be the ringleader in the crime, was sentenced to death and executed by the federal government in 2020.

Orlando Hall was executed by lethal injection on November 19, 2020, at the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, at the age of 49. In his final moments, Orlando, who had converted to Islam while on death row, said a prayer before saying "I invite everyone to Islam. Thank you for giving me the opportunity for forgiveness. Thank everyone who's here, my family, my loved ones. Take care of yourselves. Tell my kids I love them." As Orlando spoke, his eyes welled up with tears. He was pronounced dead at 11:47 P.M. EST.

On November 12, 2019, Beckley was registered as a sex offender. He will remain on the sex offender registry until November 12, 2041. He was released from prison on April 21, 2020.

In 2019, Bruce Webster's death sentence was overturned after he was found to be intellectually disabled. He had nearly been executed in 2007, but his execution was halted over an injunction in lethal injection protocols.

Demetrius Hall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He faced up to 33 years in prison. During sentencing, Demetrius's mother asked Means for leniency, noting her other son, Orlando, was already on death row, and she did not want to lose another son. "If you would just have mercy and not take them both away from me, I would appreciate it," Betty Hall said. Demetrius received a 25-year sentence and was released from prison on August 2, 2016.

In 2012, Neil was arrested on drug trafficking charges in the U.S. Virgin Islands. After hearing of his arrest, Richard Roper, the attorney who prosecuted the killers of Lisa Rene, said "You would have hoped he would have changed his ways, but that’s exactly why he got in trouble. He got into things that led to a series of events that led to the murder of his sister, Lisa, who was completely innocent. They sexually assaulted her until they were finished with her and then they killed her. You would have thought he would have learned his lesson from it but evidently he didn’t. I just feel sorry for Mrs. Rene having to go through this in light of already losing a daughter."

Holloway later appealed his sentence on the grounds that the actions of his co-defendants should not have been attributed to him as well. The court ruled against him, saying he had witnessed Lisa Rene, in his words, "praying for her life" while bound in the motel. They also pointed to Holloway loaning Orlando his car, knowing he was planning to murder Rene. Consequently, the court concluded that Rene's murder should have been foreseeable to Holloway, and he was responsible for "all reasonably foreseeable acts and omissions of others in furtherance of the jointly undertaken criminal activity." Holloway was released from prison on May 2, 2008.

In June 1996, Bruce Webster was convicted of kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, and using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence. After a federal jury unanimously recommended a death sentence, Webster was sentenced to death for kidnapping resulting in death. He received a life sentence plus five years on the other charges.

In exchange for lesser sentences, Demetrius, Beckley, and Holloway, pleaded guilty and testified against Orlando and Webster. Their plea agreements stipulated sentence reductions for providing "substantial assistance". During their joint sentencing hearing on September 9, 1996, U.S. District Judge Terry Means admonished each of them for failing to prevent Rene's death.

In October 1995, Orlando Hall was convicted of kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, traveling in interstate commerce with intent to promote the possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and using a firearm during a crime of violence. After a federal jury unanimously recommended a death sentence, Orlando was sentenced to death for kidnapping resulting in death. He received a life sentence plus five years on the other charges.

In 1995, Neil and Vitalis were indicted on drug possession charges. Neil had lost a package of cocaine in a drug bust, and his need for money to hire a good lawyer is reportedly what prompted him to rip off the gang in the first place. Vitalis pleaded guilty to a marijuana possession charge. Neil was sentenced to five years in prison and Vitalis was sentenced to five years of probation. While out on supervised release, Neil Rene violated his probation and was sent back to prison in fall 2000. He was released once more the following year.

Lisa Rene (1978 – September 26, 1994) was an American teenage girl who was kidnapped from her apartment in Texas, raped over the course of two days, and buried alive in Arkansas. She was kidnapped on September 24, 1994, by four men: 23-year-old Orlando Cordia Hall, 21-year-old Bruce Carneil Webster, 19-year-old Demetrius Kenyon Hall, and 22-year-old Steven Christopher Beckley. Another man, 23-year-old Marvin Terrance Holloway, did not directly participate in her kidnapping, rape, or murder, but was present at times and provided financial assistance to the group.

On September 21, 1994, Orlando flew to Texas for a drug deal and was picked up by Demetrius and Beckley. Orlando and Beckley then met with two drug dealers, Neil Rene (Lisa's biological brother) and Stanfield Vitalis (Lisa's half-brother), and gave them $4,700 to buy marijuana. However, Vitalis and Neil never returned to hand over the drugs. When Orlando called the two using a telephone, they said they were robbed and had their car taken. By tracking the number, Orlando was able to find an address in Arlington. Orlando, Demetrius, and Beckley went to the address and saw Vitalis and Neil leaving an apartment and walking to the car they claimed was stolen. Orlando then realized that the two men had lied about being robbed and swindled the group out of their money. Outraged, he was adamant on either receiving what he was owed or getting revenge, saying "I'm not going back to Arkansas until I get my money my drugs or some blood on my hands."

Three days after Lisa Rene's death, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Orlando, Demetrius, and Beckley for her kidnapping. Demetrius, Beckley, and Webster were quickly arrested, while Orlando surrendered to authorities the following day. Orlando said he would talk after he was extradited back to Texas. On October 5, 1994, following his transfer to a jail in Arlington County, Orlando gave a written statement to the FBI and local police, in which he admitted to kidnapping and killing Rene.

On November 4, 1994, in a superseding indictment, Orlando, Demetrius, Webster, Beckley, and Holloway were charged with kidnapping resulting in death, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, traveling in interstate commerce with intent to promote the possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, using a telephone to promote the unlawful activity of extortion, traveling in interstate commerce with intent to promote extortion, and using a firearm during a crime of violence. In February 1995, the government announced it would seek death sentences for Orlando and Webster. The two were the first people to face a possible death sentence under the Federal Death Penalty Act, which became law just 13 days before Rene's murder.

In the mid-1990s, Orlando Hall, Bruce Webster, and Marvin Holloway ran a drug trafficking operation in Arkansas. Steven Beckley, who lived in Irving, Texas, helped the trio buy marijuana specifically around Dallas and Fort Worth. Beckley would transport the drugs to Pine Bluff, Arkansas and give them to Holloway, who stashed them in his house.

Lisa Rene was born in 1978 in Saint Croix on the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to her death, she had moved to Texas to study. Rene was 16 years old when she died. She had wanted to become a doctor.

Orlando Cordia Hall was born on April 24, 1971, in El Dorado, Arkansas. He had previously been sentenced to 17 years in prison in Arkansas for conspiracy to deliver cocaine. However, he was paroled in December 1993. His prior occupation had been a maintenance man. Demetrius Hall, younger brother of Orlando Hall, was born in September 1975, also in El Dorado.