A Crime That Shook East St. Louis | Forensic Files

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>> [music] >> In the mid-2000s, [music] there wasn't much that could shock first
responders in the Illinois city of East St. Louis. [music] The once thriving industrial city had
been hit hard by the Great Depression, [music] after which it struggled to recover.
From the 1950s onwards, [music] the loss of industry and the declining economy prompted residents to flee East [music]
St. Louis in the tens of thousands. This led to a sharp decline in city services [music]
and employment opportunities. Many of the remaining citizens [music] lived below the poverty line with little
assistance and scraped to get by. Substance abuse and violence were ongoing issues and the murder rate was
more than 10 times the national average. On the edge of East St. Louis is the Frank Holten State Park, a 1,000 acre
expanse of woodland, fields, and lakes. With wild [music] deer roaming freely and ample fishing opportunities, the
park is an urban escape where families can picnic [music] and enjoy the outdoors.
For many, it's a place where they can forget their hardships for a few hours. But on the afternoon of Friday,
September [music] 15, 2006, paramedics were called to the Frank Holten State Park after receiving a distressing 911
call. The park was just starting to get busy as they pulled up at the entrance at
5:30 p.m. [music] The paramedics parked the ambulance and scanned their surroundings until they
found what they were looking for. The young woman was standing still and holding something close to her chest.
When they approached, she held out her arms and raised the bundle for them to see.
It was a newborn baby, clearly deceased. >> The woman was taken to the hospital where detectives arrived to take her
statement. [music] She told them her name was Tiffany Hall and she was 24 years old.
Tiffany said that earlier that day she'd been at the home of a man named Tony. [music]
The two had only known each other for a few weeks, but they were getting to know
one another. Then, without warning, >> [music] >> Tony pinned Tiffany down and raped her.
Tiffany explained [music] that she was 7 months pregnant and the trauma of the sexual assault caused her to prematurely
go into labor. She gave birth, but the baby girl [music] wasn't breathing. Tony cut the umbilical cord, bundled
Tiffany and her stillborn baby into his car, and then dumped them in Frank Holten State Park. [music]
The calm nature in which Tiffany recounted her ordeal indicated to the detectives [music] that she was likely
in shock. She didn't know Tony's last name and couldn't remember exactly where he
lived, but she was able to provide the detectives with a general description of him, his car, and his house.
>> [music] >> Using the information she provided, the detectives tried to [music] track Tony
down. After 4 days with no success, they requested that Tiffany Hall join them to
retrace the route she'd taken to get to Tony's house. Tiffany agreed. Writing in the police vehicle, she
directed the detectives up and down several different streets, but after 45 minutes, she still didn't recognize any
of the houses. The detectives took Tiffany back to the station and urged her to remember any
further details she could about her ordeal. Tiffany insisted she didn't know anything more.
She started [music] to get defensive and shut down the questioning, asking if she
needed a lawyer. This wasn't the first instance where Tiffany had been dismissive towards
investigators. When she was taken to the hospital, she had also refused a rape kit.
The detectives could understand why Tiffany was reluctant to assist them. At the age of 14, Tiffany was charged
with domestic battery after she kicked her mother in the legs. She was given 1 year's probation, but
refused her mandatory drug tests, [music] continued to skip school, and regularly stayed out past curfew.
Consequently, she was sent to a juvenile detention facility for 6 months. By the age of 17, Tiffany had given
birth to two daughters. The second was dropped on her head as a baby, resulting in irreversible brain
damage. Child protection authorities became involved when they found evidence that
Tiffany's youngest daughter had also been physically [music] abused. Both of her children were taken into
protective care, but returned to Tiffany 2 years later. At the time she regained custody,
Tiffany was under investigation for arson. Two fires had been started in her then
boyfriend's home, >> [music] >> the second of which destroyed the house entirely.
On both occasions, Tiffany had been the only one there. 5 years had passed since then, but
Tiffany Hall was still on the radar of the local police. Just 1 week before she was attacked by
Tony, police received a tip that she was neglecting her two daughters. On the afternoon of Friday, September
15, 2006, officers had arrived at Tiffany's home to perform a welfare check on her children.
The girls were there being cared for by Tiffany's mother. Unbeknown to all of them, it was around
this exact same time that Tiffany was being assaulted by Tony. The detectives decided not to press
Tiffany for any further information for the time being. She requested to be left alone for at
least one day. Tomorrow was her baby's funeral. The father of Tiffany's stillborn baby
was her boyfriend Keith Horn, a Navy sailor [music] stationed 900 miles away in Norfolk, Virginia.
The news that Tiffany had been assaulted and their baby had died as a result had
left Keith heartbroken. >> [music] >> He'd been granted a few days of shore leave to attend his daughter's funeral.
Keith arrived at the funeral home on Thursday, September 21. [music] The service was scheduled to commence at
midday, but as the clock ticked past 12, nothing was happening >> [music] >> and Tiffany was nowhere to be seen.
The funeral director approached Keith and told him that Tiffany was running a little late.
She'd called a few minutes earlier to ask if the service could be rescheduled to another day when more of her
relatives would be able to attend. >> [music] >> The director was unable to accommodate
her request, but agreed [music] to wait for Tiffany before commencing the service.
Tiffany arrived about 90 minutes later. A short service was held for the baby, whom she and Keith had named Taylor.
The coffin was then taken to the nearby cemetery for burial. Keith was still processing his grief as
he and Tiffany walked away from their daughter's grave. Moments later, Tiffany turned to him
with a revelation. She admitted that Keith was not the father of the baby. In fact,
it wasn't even her baby. After receiving a frantic phone call from Keith Horn, police officers were
dispatched to Tiffany Hall's weatherboard home on North 56th Street, where she lived with her mother and two
daughters. They knocked on the door, but there was no answer. The house had only one neighbor about 15
[music] ft to the right. The rest of the house was surrounded by a large expanse [music] of trees, dense
scrub, and weeds. Based on the information Keith had given [music] them, police commenced the
search of the property. About 10 minutes later, an officer was searching behind the house when they
came upon a disturbing sight. Lying amongst the thick [music] bushes and weeds was the body of a young woman.
She was wrapped in a shower curtain, and damage [music] to the surrounding foliage indicated that she'd been
dragged there from Tiffany's house. Next to her body was a pair of scissors. The young woman had clearly been
pregnant, but there was no baby. There was only a large gaping hole in her abdomen.
Tiffany Hall and Jamella Tunstall had been close friends since a young age. Although they weren't biologically
related, they referred to each other affectionately as cousins. Like Tiffany, Jamella had a troubled
upbringing and was considered a bit of a social outcast. She was a quiet and shy girl who didn't
make friends easily. A car accident had left her with a large scar across her eye, which other
children made fun of and called her ugly. Having been placed in foster care at a
young age, all Jamella ever wanted was to be part of a stable, loving home. When she became pregnant at 16, being
responsible for providing such a thing for her baby was a terrifying prospect for Jamella.
But a month later, her best friend Tiffany had an announcement. She was pregnant, too.
Not only could they raise their children together, but this would be Tiffany's second child, so Jamella could benefit
from Tiffany's experience. In June of 1999, Jamella gave birth to a little boy, and a few weeks after that,
Tiffany welcomed her second daughter. The two supported one another, eating meals together, taking their children to
the cinema, and babysitting for one another. Determined to give her child the best
possible life, Jamella persevered through high school as a single mother. In the years that followed, she had two
more children. She worked two jobs while attending college classes to become a photographer, and in time, she managed
to put together enough money to buy a car and rent a small apartment. In early 2006, Jamella was delighted to
discover that she was pregnant for the fourth time. She'd come a long way from the scared
teenager she used to be, and although she had some ups and downs during her parenting journey, she'd worked hard to
be a good mother. She had a job and an apartment and was in a loving long-term relationship.
She'd even built a good relationship with her own mother. When considering her fourth pregnancy,
Jamella realized there was really only one thing reminiscent of her first. Tiffany Hall was pregnant again, too.
Tiffany and Jamilla had remained close into adulthood, and even their mothers had become best friends.
But, while Jamilla was dedicated to [music] her children, Tiffany continued to spend most of her time with her
friends and going to parties. Tiffany's two daughters were often cared for by their grandmother, while Tiffany
sometimes stayed at Jamilla's apartment for days at a time. Although Tiffany helped to Jamilla
around the house during these days, [music] Jamilla sometimes got the feeling that
Tiffany was just using her. By early September 2006, the two friends were both heavily pregnant when they got
into an argument over the phone. After hanging up, Jamilla decided she needed a break from their friendship.
Tiffany called back immediately, but Jamilla ignored the call. She didn't answer the next few times
Tiffany called, either. Whatever Tiffany wanted to say, Jamilla didn't want to hear it.
On September 21, after Tiffany and her boyfriend Keith buried their stillborn baby,
Tiffany admitted that she had never been pregnant at all. The baby they'd just buried was Jamilla
Tunstills. Tiffany said she'd cut the baby from Jamilla's womb before dumping her body
in her backyard. When police found the body of 23-year-old Jamilla Tunstill, the search
for Tiffany Hall began immediately. Her image and a description of the car she was likely driving was released to
news outlets as officers went to check Jamilla's apartment in case Tiffany was hiding out there.
Jamilla lived only 4 miles away, so police arrived quickly on scene. They gained access to the apartment, but
a quick scan revealed each room to be empty. Given that Tiffany lived with her mother, Beverly, police also considered
that Beverly might have somehow been involved with Jamila's murder. They tracked her down and told her that
she was being questioned under suspicion of murder. >> [music] >> Beverly appeared to be genuinely
confused, saying she had no idea what the officers were talking about. When they told her that Jamila Tunstall
had been killed and Tiffany was the prime suspect, Beverly was in shock. Jamila's mother and aunt were her
dearest friends and she considered Jamila to be like a daughter. Unable to comprehend the news, she said
she had no idea where Tiffany could be hiding. It was evident to police that Beverly
was telling the truth. The search for Tiffany continued and a few hours later, she was traced [music]
to a housing project just a few streets away from Jamila's apartment. >> [music]
>> Tiffany was placed under arrest and taken into custody where she began to talk.
According to Tiffany, it all began when her boyfriend Keith Horn was stationed away as part of his naval duties.
She didn't want him to go, so she concocted a plan to get him back >> [music] >> saying she was pregnant with his child.
For months, [music] Tiffany faked her own pregnancy alongside Jamila's real one.
She bought baby clothes and toys and shared the news with her friends and family.
However, Tiffany knew that at some point her ruse would be discovered unless she
could somehow produce a baby. Tiffany confessed to the detectives that she had, [music] quote,
"contemplated taking Jamella's unborn baby for quite some time." In early [music] September, the pair had
a falling out, at which point Jamella started ignoring Tiffany's calls. Around the same time, Tiffany started
putting her plan into action. She bought rubbing alcohol, a pair of scissors, and a nasal aspirator, which
she intended to use to clear the baby's airway after she cut the child from Jamella's womb.
By Friday, September 15, Tiffany and Jamella were back on speaking terms. Tiffany had the house to herself, so she
convinced Jamella to swing by. At some point during the visit, Tiffany grabbed a chair leg and used it to beat
Jamella over the head twice. It was enough to incapacitate Jamella while Tiffany bound her hands and feet
with duct tape. When Jamella struggled to free herself, Tiffany hit her over the head again,
>> [music] >> knocking her unconscious. Tiffany then dragged Jamella into the bathtub, where she used the scissors to
remove Jamella's baby. Neither the baby nor Jamella survived the attack. Tiffany wrapped Jamella's body in the
shower curtain, dragged her into the backyard, and dumped her among the bushes. She then took the baby and made her way
to Frank Holton State Park, where she called for an ambulance. While she was out, Tiffany's mother and
her daughters returned home, unaware that Jamella's body lay hidden only yards away.
While detectives were taking Tiffany's confession, the question arose, "Where were Jamella's three other
children? Officers began interviewing members of the Tunstall [music] family and learned
that on the day Jamilla was killed, her kids had been staying with their father,
Ivan Collins. While Ivan and Jamilla were in a committed relationship, they lived
separately and shared the care of their children. Jamilla's eldest child was 7-year-old
Damon, a kind-hearted and intelligent boy who loved superheroes and always let other kids play with his favorite little
green ride-on tractor. Ivan Collins was not Damon's biological father, but he had quickly come to love
Damon as his own. Ivan and Jamilla's second son, Ivan Jr., was only a week away from his third
birthday, and their daughter, Janella, was 22 months old. The couple had been looking forward to
welcoming their fourth child in just 2 months' time. In fact, when police phoned Ivan to tell
him about Jamilla's murder, her baby shower had been scheduled to start in just a few hours.
Ivan told the police that his children weren't with him. 4 days prior, he'd answered a knock at
his door. It was Tiffany Hall. She said that Jamilla had sent her to pick up the kids.
This was a common occurrence, so Ivan hadn't thought anything of it. He knew how close Jamilla and Tiffany
were, so he rounded up the children and watched as they happily went with their aunt Tiffany.
Ivan told the police he hadn't seen or heard from them since. >> [music] >> When the detectives interrogating
Tiffany Hall about the murder of Jamella Tunstall and her unborn child, were informed that Jamella's three children
had last been seen in Tiffany's care. They changed the focus of their interview.
They needed to know where the three children were as a matter of urgency. Tiffany [music] refused to tell them
anything. Officers were dispatched to Jamella's apartment to collect photographs of the
three children. Missing person posters were quickly produced and the local news stations
broadcast the details as police immediately began their search. Every inch of the land surrounding
Tiffany Hall's [music] house was scoured. Within a few short hours, the search had
expanded to nearby Frank Holten State Park. >> [music] >> Dozens of officers, firefighters, local
volunteers, and sniffer dogs scoured the expansive wooded area on foot. Jamella's loved ones joined the search,
while mounted police surveyed the fields on horseback, and police divers searched
the lake. The Illinois State Police Captain told news outlets that the priority was to
find the children alive. But, time was running out. A severe storm was approaching East
Saint Louis. Heavy rain and strong winds began to batter the park as lightning split the sky [music] and thunder
clapped overhead. By 3:00 p.m., a tornado was on its way, and the police had no choice but to
suspend the search. One of Jamella's cousins told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "I'm praying that they are not out
there, that they are with someone, and that person will return them." The search for Demond, Ivan Jr., and
Jamella recommenced at first [music] light the following day with the FBI also getting involved.
More volunteers joined in checking vacant houses in Tiffany's neighborhood and dumpsters [music]
all around the city. As the hours ticked by, concerned citizens of East Saint Louis became more
and more frantic, desperate for news that the children were safe and well. The state police chief held a press
conference to reassure the public that they would not stop searching until the children had been found stating,
"These children are from East Saint Louis. They know how to survive." Detectives continued to hound Tiffany
Hall for information, but she refused to tell them anything about the children. That was until 7:00 that evening when
she finally broke her silence. >> [music] >> Officers had been to Jamella's apartment
the day prior to grab photos of the children >> [music] >> and had briefly looked inside the day
before that when searching for Tiffany Hall. They had not seen the children or noticed anything unusual during either
visit. But based on Tiffany's latest revelation, officers re-entered the apartment for a third time.
This time, they were immediately struck by a strong odor coming from the laundry.
One officer lifted up the lid of the washing machine. Inside [music] was the semi-naked body
of 7-year-old Demond. Next to the washing machine was a dryer. They pulled open the door to find the
naked bodies of 2-year-old Ivan Jr. and 1-year-old Jenella. Police officers wept openly as they
lifted the children out and covered them in sheets. Many of the officers were so traumatized
that they later [music] needed counseling, with one being put on medical leave. Hundreds of onlookers gathered in the
fresh night air to watch as the children were taken away. The people of East St. Louis had seen
more than their fair share of violence and tragedy. Yet, the murders of the three Tunstall
children devastated the entire community. One local citizen told reporters, "These were our children.
They didn't even have a chance [music] to live." Tiffany Hall spared no details when
giving police her confession. She admitted that days after murdering Jamella and her unborn child, she'd gone
to Ivan Collins' home to pick up Demond, Ivan Jr., and Jinella. At the time, Tiffany's own daughters and
mother were staying with a friend, so she took the Tunstall children back to her house.
There, she gave each of them a dose of cough medicine to make them sleepy before drowning them one by one in the
bathtub. The same tub in which their mother and baby sister had been killed only days
earlier. Tiffany said she then wrapped the three children up and carried them to her car.
She drove the four miles to Jamella's apartment and dumped their bodies in the washing machine and dryer.
Autopsies on all three children, as well as on Jamella and her unborn baby, supported Tiffany's version of events.
Jamella's postmortem revealed she'd suffered blunt force trauma to the head, but died from blood loss.
The medical examiner described Jamella's death as very graphic and very brutal, and confirmed that her baby had not
lived to take a first breath. Tiffany Hall was charged with the first degree murders of Jamilla Tunstall, De
Man Tunstall, Ivan Tunstall Collins, and Janella Tunstall. She was also charged with the
intentional homicide of Jamilla's unborn baby. Tiffany was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation.
While the results revealed she suffered from some unresolved mental health issues and had a lower than average IQ,
the conclusion was that she was fit to stand trial. In a blow for Jamilla's family, Tiffany
pleaded not guilty on all counts. In response, the state prosecutor announced that he would seek the death
penalty. In relation to Jamilla and her baby, Tiffany Hall had perpetrated what is
known as a cesarean kidnapping or a fetal abduction. This type of crime is exceedingly rare,
with Tiffany's case marking only the 12th recorded fetal abduction in US history.
In each of the previous cases, the abductors were women who needed a newborn to pass off as their own.
All had faked their own pregnancy, either entirely or after miscarrying. Most had done so, at least in part, to
manipulate their partners into remaining in a relationship. It was clear to law enforcement that
Tiffany Hall had killed Jamilla Tunstall to gain access to her baby. However, that didn't explain why she murdered
Jamilla's living children 3 days later. Tiffany never revealed her motive for killing the children, nor did she
express remorse for any of her actions. She maintained her not guilty plea for nearly 2 years until June 2008, when she
changed her position just before her trial was scheduled to begin. In exchange for the death penalty
[music] being taken off the table, Tiffany pleaded guilty to all charges. For the first-degree [music] murders of
Jamella, Damon, Ivan Jr., and Jinella, she was given four life sentences without [music] the possibility of
parole. For the intentional homicide of Jamella's unborn baby, Tiffany received a concurrent sentence of 60 [music]
years. Jamella's family was satisfied with the outcome. One of her cousins commented, [music]
"I just think she should be in prison the rest of her life to think about what she did.
God's going to have the upper hand." Jamella's mother said, "I have to forgive her. I believe in
putting justice in God's hands." Just over a month after her sentencing, Tiffany Hall claimed she'd been coerced
into pleading guilty and [music] filed a motion to withdraw her plea on all counts.
Jamella's loved ones adamantly opposed the motion, with her aunt stating, "We want to heal. We thought everything
was in closure. I believe Tiffany did it [music] and we need to put this behind us.
I loved Tiffany as though she were my blood niece. I still love her, but Jamella can't speak. So, I have to
speak for her." Ivan Collins' mother told reporters, "Tiffany massacred a whole family.
Before I would see that woman walk free, I will go to prison myself." Tiffany's motion to change her plea was
denied. [music] After the deaths of Jamella and her children, their loved ones faced another
heartbreak. Neither Ivan Collins nor Jamella's family could afford the cost of a
funeral. Word of this reached the people of East St. Louis, and within a matter of days,
the community had raised $35,000 for the cause. More than 700 mourners gathered at the
church to attend the service, with Tiffany's mother among them. The pastor told the congregation,
"This is not a time for contemplation of revenge, but a time for healing." He encouraged those in attendance to
lean into their faith and to use the [music] tragic deaths of Jamella and her kids as fuel for change.
After the funeral, Ivan Collins sat beside the graves of his children in tears. He clutched two white teddy bears, but
they provided no comfort. Ivan was consumed by guilt at having handed his children over to Tiffany
Hall. He'd been plagued by nightmares every night since their bodies were discovered.
It was too painful for Ivan to remain in East St. Louis. Shortly after the funeral, he relocated,
but his guilt followed him across state lines. Every day was a struggle. Two years went by before he returned to
East St. Louis. There was one last thing he needed to do. Ivan and Jamella's stillborn baby had
been buried under the name Taylor, as though she was the child of Tiffany Hall and Keith Horn.
On Wednesday, October 8, 2008, the baby girl was exhumed and reburied alongside her real mother and siblings.
After the funeral, [music] Ivan told reporters, "It's very tough. I am happy though that my family is all
together." Ivan found comfort in knowing that his daughter [music] was finally buried
under her real name. Before all of the tragedy that befell their family, Ivan and Jamila [music]
had chosen a name for their baby girl, Harmony. >> [music]

On September 15 2006, detectives began investigating the sexual assault of 24-year-old Tiffany Hall from East St. Louis, Illinois. The assault had caused Tiffany to miscarry her 7-month old foetus.

A week later, police received a tip-off that would break the case wide open, revealing unimaginable horrors that devastated a family and an entire community.

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Casefile Archives is a series of special bonus releases revisiting the earliest years of the show. The re-run episodes have been completely edited, polished, re-recorded and freshly produced from start to finish to match our current production standards. They are not complete rewrites - our goal wasn’t to alter the cases or reshape the writing, but to preserve the original storytelling while giving the production the refinement it didn’t have when we started the show back in 2016.

Where appropriate, updates have been added, but the core structure and storytelling remain faithful to the originals. Because of this, these re-releases may sound a little different to our recent episodes, but they allow us to bring some of the earliest episodes up to the technical quality listeners expect today.

CREDITS Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Holly Boyd Production & music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew Joslyn Audio editing – Anthony Telfer

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RESOURCES

Brief Summary

Tiffany Hall murdered her friend and three children in a shocking case of betrayal and violence in East St. Louis.

Key points

Casefile Archives Series Launch. To celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we're releasing premium episodes to all listeners.
Tiffany's Distressing Confession. Tiffany Hall reveals shocking truths about her actions and the fate of her friend.
The Search for Missing Children. As police investigate Jamella's murder, they urgently seek her three missing children.
Tragic Discovery of the Tunstall Children. Police discover the bodies of three young children in a washing machine, shocking the community.
Tiffany Hall's Confession. Tiffany Hall confesses to the murders of Jamella and her children, detailing her horrific actions.
Community Rallies for Funeral Costs. The East St. Louis community raises $35,000 to cover funeral expenses for the Tunstall family.

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Episode quotes

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0:51WatchFeb 28, 2026

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