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Francisco Javier Lagunes Silva pleads guilty to manslaughter, 2 other charges dropped

 

Francisco Javier Lagunes Silva, who was charged in connection with the October 2021 death of 75-year-old William Hall, has entered an amended plea in the case.

Silva, 19, pleaded guilty to one felony count of second degree manslaughter Friday afternoon in Mower County District Court. One felony count of aiding and abetting robbery-inflicting bodily harm and aiding and abetting first degree assault were dropped.

Hall was found dead in his home on Oct. 13, 2021, by two people familiar with him when they were delivering him food. He was found in a green house with blood coming from an injury on the victim’s right elbow, but didn’t notice any other injuries.

Security footage from a neighbor obtained by detectives revealed several young males in the vicinity of Hall’s home the day prior. They also collected audio from the encounter. In the audio Hall could be heard screaming and the video showed four males riding away on their bicycles.

A couple minutes later Hall could be heard yelling, “Give me my pipe back!”

The remaining males were then seen running from the house.

A preliminary autopsy indicated that Hall sustained multiple blunt force injuries with rib fractures and hemorrhaging of various organs.

Silva was arrested a few days later identifying by items he was wearing that matched his description in a still photo from the scene.

Silva will be sentenced on Jan. 19, 2023.