OZARK, Mo. -- A judge ruled Wednesday that there is enough evidence for trials for the two suspects charged for the death of a woman from Oldfield.  Billy Hall and Paula Hall, who used to be related by marriage, are accused of killing Freda Heyn three years ago.

  Heyn disappeared from eastern Christian County in November 2003.  Her body turned up in the Mark Twain National Forest south of Oldfield in the spring of 2004.  No one was charged until less than two months ago.

   The Halls were in court for their preliminary hearings -- Billy Hall for second-degree murder and Paula Hall for first-degree murder.  A man who says he was present when Heyn was killed, David Epperson, took the stand against the other two.  He testified he returned from a trip to Kansas City in November 2003 and, when he got home, he found Paula Hall inside his home.

   Hall also testified that Billy Hall then brought Heyn to his home.  He said Paula Hall picked up a golf club that Epperson had lying in his front yard and hit Heyn in the back of the head.

  “Was she bleeding?” the prosecutor asked Epperson.

  “Yes,” said Epperson. 

  “A lot, little, some?”

  “A lot.”

  “And was she still breathing once she was hit in the head by Paula Hall?”

  “I don't know that. She was kind of making gurgling sounds.”

  Epperson said he helped Billy Hall drag Heyn's body around to the side of his house.

  "And were you still hearing the gurgling sounds?" the prosecutor asked.

  "She was not making those sounds," Epperson replied.

  "She wasn't?"

  "No."

  Epperson went on to testify that the trio left the body on the side of the house and went inside to use methamphetamine.

  Defense attorneys for both Halls tried to argue that the only evidence against the Halls is the testimony of Epperson but Associate Circuit Judge John Waters ruled against them and sent the case to trial court.  The two are due to make their first appearance in circuit court on Friday.

  The Halls are both in jail in lieu of $500,000 bonds.  They said during in court that they could not afford to bond out.  Paula Hall could face a life (30-year) prison sentence if she is convicted of first-degree murder.  Billy Hall could face a 10- to 30-year prison sentence if he's convicted of second-degree murder.

  Christian County Prosecuting Attorney Ron Cleek charged Epperson with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in a felony prosecution on Oct. 24.  Online court records show, on Nov. 2, Cleek dropped the murder charge against Epperson, who is out of jail on a $5,000 bond.  If convicted, he could face a four-year prison sentence.