Dothan man gets life sentence after pleading guilty to kidnapping, stabbing victim 19 times | WDHN

Robert Lane Hall (Courtesy of Geneva County Sheriff's Office)

GENEVA COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — A man accused of nearly stabbing someone to death during a fake date in rural Geneva County has been ordered to spend the rest of his life behind bars. bars.

On Wednesday, June 12, Robert Lane Hall pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder for the kidnapping and stabbing of Matthew Angelino.

After pleading guilty, Judge William Filmore sentenced Hall to life in the Alabama Department of Corrections. He will also have to pay a fine of $1,000 to the courts.

Hall was arrested and charged alongside alleged co-conspirator Shalyn Diaz in January 2024.

According to the Geneva County Sheriff's Office, Diaz lured Angelino on a fake date in January and drove together on rural Geneva County roads, with Hall hiding in the trunk of Diaz's car.

Investigator Cory Dean said that after stopping, Diaz convinced Angelino to wear handcuffs and a blindfold while Hall got out of the trunk, sneaked into the back seat and began choking Angelino with a rope and stabbing him with a knife.

Diaz opened the door and Hall pulled Angelino out of the car by the cord around his neck and stabbed him multiple times on the side of the road before driving off, leaving him to die, Investigator Dean told WDHN . Angelino was stabbed a total of 19 times.

Geneva County Sheriff Tony Helms said he believed Hall's harsh sentence was due to his lengthy criminal history in at least two counties.

Court records show Hall has pending cases of breaking into a vehicle and obstructing government operations.

As of Friday morning, Diaz's trial was scheduled to go to trial in late June.