A Descent Into Hell

Colton Pitonyak is a brilliant honor student and popular athlete educated in private parochial schools in Arkansas who earned a scholarship to an elite business school at the University of Texas. Once there Colton completely derails and descends into dangerous drug addiction, severe alcoholism and full-on illegal drug dealing. Spiraling out-of-control, narcissistic, drugged out of his mind, and losing his grip on reality, Colton ends up murdering and partially dismembering beautiful, beloved Jennifer Cove, a well-liked twenty one year-old girl he claims is his best friend. Aiding Colton in this debauchery is another bright but unstable young woman named Laura Hall. Although not accused of killing Jennifer Cave, Hall willingly participated in the mutilation of the young woman (who she saw as her competition for Colton) and happily helped Pitonyak in a drug-addled, hairbrained escape to Mexico. Both were apprehended and subsequently prosecuted. Pitonyak received 55 years for 1st degree murder; Hall 1 year for the escape and 5 years for her part in the dismemberment. (After this book was published, Hall successfully lobbied for a new trial where she was found guilty again. To her chagrin, her sentence in the new trial was even longer-10 years). This sad saga was a tragedy that devastated all three families of the young adults involved. Jennifer Cave's close-knit family was especially traumatized because, not only was Jennifer dead, but they were the ones who discovered Jennifer's mutilated, headless body in Pitonyak's apartment. Her gruesome death was a shocking loss they would never recover from. Pitonyak's family was also heartbroken. Though they knew about his drug addiction, murdering his friend was unfathomable to them. Hearing the guilty verdict and Colton's long prison sentence was almost more than they could bear. Hall's family was convinced that she was just another victim of Colton's and they were furious at her conviction.I first followed this trial with horror and bewilderment as it was played live on Court TV. Having raised my son in the Catholic school system in Little Rock, Arkansas -- the same system that educated Colton Pitonyak. I can vouch for that school system and its emphasis on developing a strong moral compass, being kind and compassionate, and having the strength of character to choose good over evil. Although I don't recall ever meeting Colton or the Pitonyaks. I met many other high achieving, seemingly well-adjusted Catholic school kids like Colton through the years; along with countless normal, loving, hopeful parents. I doubt any of us ever dreamed in our worst nightmare that one of our kids could ever grow up to do something so horrific as the murder and dismemberment of an innocent girl. It is simply inconceivable to think that one of those same bright-eyed, innocent kids in school could tumble so quickly down such a deadly, destructive path of drugs, violence and mayhem as this young man did. In the pursuit of "easy money," and narcissistic, self-serving hedonism, Colton Pitonyak chose to disregard his upbringing; the voices of his decent, caring parents; and his religious teaching in favor of living the life of a drug-addled, dope dealing, self-proclaimed "gangster." It just baffles the mind as to why such a brilliant student who had always been so well behaved and driven could fall that far that fast. Like many of those who actually knew Pitonyak, I wanted to believe it was the drugs that made him do it. But after reading this book and doing more research on this case afterward, I can't help but believe that there was more to it. There had to be something missing in Colton Pitonyak in the first place. Many kids have fallen prey to drugs--destroying themselves and their families-- but wanton, crazed murder? Dismemberment? That's a scenario right out of Mob movies. Colton seemed to really enjoy being a tough guy, gangsta dealer more than the altar boy image of his past. What a perplexing story with a fall from grace that no one would believe if it weren't for the fact that people are sitting in prison over it. Colton is a piece of work but even his craziness pales next to the absolutely bizarre Laura Hall. She may not have done the actual killing but reading some of the remarks this strange woman has made gives me the feeling that she would have been more than happy to do that for Colton if he'd asked. Colton was out of his mind and out of control with his drugged up fantasies and violent behavior. But this Laura seemed to be just born crazy. This is truly one of the most senseless, bizarre stories in the annals of crime. And it's a heartbreaking one. The loss of Jennifer and the horrific desecration of her body has to haunt the Caves every waking moment. How do you survive something like that? I also feel for the Pitonyaks, loving parents who had reason to expect great things from their gifted son. Three young lives totally wasted and their families shattered. WHY?

I have read many of Kathryn Casey's books and she is truly a great writer. As far as true crime, she ranks right up with Ann Rule. This story was very disturbing, as many others which deal with bright, gifted students. This book reminds me somewhat of Blood Games which also dealt with promising young people, who throw their lives away in crime and end up in prison. Both Jennifer Cave and Colton Pitonyak came from good, loving homes with all the advantages which come from middle to upper middle class life. Colton came from an affluent background and was exceptionally bright, being in the top 5% of his class. He was accepted to the prestigious University of Texas in Austin in their business program, which was very hard to get into. Some famous CEO's have graduated from this school. Then there was Jennifer who may not have come from such an affluent background, but nonetheless she had a family who loved her and cared about her.Then they both left home and came to Austin Texas. Most of the students were dedicated to their goals, but then there was that fringe element who wanted only to party with their new-found freedom. Instead of hitting the books, their desire was met at 6th Street with its long row of bars, restaurants, nightclubs, etc. Thus Colton and Jennifer spent much of their time here. Both of them ultimately would meet when partying at the same place. By this time, Colton had become so swept in the drug world, that he had to sell it in order to feed his growing dependency on drugs. Jennifer too, unfortunately got caught up in the drug world. She found that Colton would supply her with drugs for free. This would cement their relationship for some time.Laura Hall comes into the picture. She too is an over-achiever, having been on the debate team at her high school. In the beginning, she is committed to her studies, until she meets Colton. This will lead to her decline, developing an infatuation for Colton, to the point that she loans him money and do anything he asks to stay in his life. With such strong feelings, she also becomes very possessive and jealous of anyone else in his life. Since Jennifer is still seeing Colton, things take a dark turn.As the author relates, no one can say with any certainty, exactly what happened in Colton's apartment that horrible night in July, 2005. We only know that Jennifer's body was found horribly mutilated. The scene was so horrific, that her mother's boyfriend would be haunted by this for a very long time. As they discover, Colton and Laura have long since left for Mexico. When he is finally arrested, Colton swears that he does not remember anything about the events of that night in July. However, he is still found guilty of 1st degree murder and is now in prison. The greatest mystery seems to surround Laura Hall and what was her role in this crime. She probably could have walked out a free woman, if not for her big mouth. Her conversations were recorded when she called Sharon Cave, Jennifer's mother a B*****. Then she practically admitted to her involvement with former cell mates. Thus, Laura has hung herself with a 10-year prison sentence for tampering with evidence.I am just astounded and shocked by the cold-blood nature of this crime. What is wrong with these young people, who have so little value for human life? Where are their morals and where is their conscience? This story was so very tragic on so many levels. Why did the families not intervene sooner to stop their actions? Colton's parents just seem in total denial and unwilling to accept what has become of their son. Jennifer's mother tried so hard to help her daughter, but felt disappointed and frustrated that she could not reach Jennifer.This book should stand as a warning to parents of college-age children. Be vigilant and watchful. Be aware of signs that things may not be going well for these young people. But sometimes all the best intentions and intervention cannot stop crimes like these. I cannot begin to imagine how painful it was for these families, especially for Sharon Cave.I would recommend this book, but be advised this is not light-hearted or fun reading. It touches on very dark and troubling themes.

An ‘interesting’, but terrible murder. However, it took very nearly 50% of the book to finally reach the crime. Ms Casey insists she describe every minute detail of literately everything and everyone; every ‘he says, she says’ no matter if it’s relevant or not; shapes of faces, chins, bears; absolute details which have no relevance to the crime and participants at all. Just boring and unnecessary padding. She kept changing the way she mentions people, eg a Detective Robert Brown would become Dt Brown/R Brown/Brown/Robert Brown. In a cast of many I became confused so many times and thumbed back pages several times to find who was actually who. After all that I struggled to the end for the verdict(s) and sentence(s). It’s worth a read but have patience is all I can say!

This is the fourth book I've bought now by this author and for me the best by miles. The others have had mistakes in which lost them stars for me but I only spotted one in this book right at the end almost where she mentions people leaving court including Laura where I'm sure she meant Lauren !! Also, she for some reason always wrote website as Web site....It was also the saddest one of hers I'd read-it was a lot more personal than her others I'd seen. You really got to know Jennifer and like her too despite some of the dubious choices she made in life at times. Then don't we all ?? It was so awful she was finally getting things sorted out and had landed that terrific new job (and also her new boss of one day, Bill, deserved a HUGE pat on the back for his concern for her-he clearly saw potential in his new employee and went to a lot of trouble to see what the matter was).Once again it's pretty shocking to read of indulged rich kids who end up killing others, clearly under the apprehension that their parents will buy their way out of any trouble because they have before.I loved the way the author got so much into the timeline on the crucial day and could let us know JUST what all the people featured were doing at the time, mostly thanks to modern technology which is such a boon to crime detection these days. I really liked Jim.....he was a smashing guy and he was tasked with imparting a lot of very terrible things to Sharon, bless him. I really felt for him.I felt Laura got off pretty lightly in the end, really. She was a nasty piece of work for sure. I found it shocking she was allowed to return to school after being mixed up in Jennifer's death !!Despite the sad story there were still the odd lighthearted moments in the book that made me smile.Something that was mentioned late on in the book about Pitonyak's blood here, there and everywhere was odd as it was never mentioned before and I thought it pretty pertinent to the end result of what happened to Jennifer and the whole case itself.Jennifer's mum did a lovely thing in creating the foundation in her name to counsel jurors. In light of her huge loss that was a fantastic and very thoughtful thing to have done. I liked her. Let's hope her helping others in Jennifer's name goes some way to helping her heart heal.

Yet again Kathryn Casey delivers. A fantastic book. Read when I was holidaying in Tunisia. The book was so good I enjoyed it more than my holiday. Colton Pitonyak was a wannabe gangster who had a drug problem and no conscience. He also had an obsession with Jennifer who just wanted to be friends while he wanted more. Also the girl that he eventually hooked up with was a strange one who even helped cover up the murder instead of turning him in as most normal, decent human beings would. they ended up on the run from the authorities and cared not a jot for the carnage they had caused.

This a well written informative book. I liked the format Kathryn Casey used. She introduced the victim and her family to you and then the murderer and his family. You got to know these people from childhood to adulthood. So when the murder occurs, even though you knew if was going to happen, you are so shocked. Her descriptions of the horror of what drugs can do to a person is graphic. The ensuing court case and the effect on the victim’s family is heart breaking. The machinations of what goes on in private between the defence lawyers and the judge is an eye opener.

Couldnt finish this book. Got sick of the female murderer being over described time and time and time again. Just padding to add pages. I used to be a great Ann Rule fan having read probably about 6 of her books but like Casey it would appear that Ann too is padding out her books by describing every character in infinite detail to the point of becoming boring and losing the plot.