'Everything changed that day': Widow of slain Virginia corrections officer speaks out one year later

RADFORD, Va. — Outside a Radford home, where wind chimes sway and a welcome flag waves in the breeze, Dawn Hall holds onto the ashes of her late husband and pages through their wedding album.

Dawn and Jeremy Hall would have celebrated their second wedding anniversary in June. They never made it to that day.

"That was our day. There was so much love between the two of us," Dawn Hall said.

A welder by trade, Jeremy made a career change after the couple moved to their dream property in Grayson County.

"He remembered seeing uniforms in the closet of the house," Hall said.

Jeremy joined the Virginia Department of Corrections in April 2024 and worked his way up to master corrections officer at River North Correctional Center.

On the morning of November 17, 2025, Dawn received a text from her husband letting her know he had made it to work. It would be the last message she ever received from him.

Provided to WTVR

Hours later, a call from her father-in-law sent her rushing to the hospital.

"I walked in, and I just saw everybody's faces. You could just tell," Hall said.

"The ER doctor just looked at me and said, 'I'm sorry. We did everything we could,' but that he had been stabbed and that we could go see him, but we couldn't touch him because he was a crime scene," Hall said through tears. "He still had the tubes, and he had his hand out with his wedding ring, and just not being able to, not being able to touch him."

Jeremy was overseeing "pill call," the distribution of medications to inmates, when investigators say he was attacked. He died from multiple stab wounds.

Inmate John Holoman Russell faces a murder charge in connection with Jeremy's death. He also faces attempted murder and wounding charges for allegedly injuring two other officers.

Watch: Virginia corrections officer killed in 'vicious attack'

An April 2026 report from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry resulted in VADOC receiving two serious citations totaling more than $32,000. The report found the prison failed to provide protective equipment, did not enforce the use of stab-resistant vests and failed to provide employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards. The Virginia Department of Labor and Industry told CBS 6 it's a contested case.

In a written response to CBS 6, VADOC spokesperson Kyle Gibson said the agency would continue evaluating workplace hazards, personal protective equipment requirements and operational practices while the Department of Labor and Industry process remained ongoing.

"They don't have the proper protection. They are paid minimal base salaries, and they can't speak up for themselves," Hall said. "A lot of these facilities are located in rural areas where the only job is the facility. So, of course, they're not going to speak up for themselves. They're going to continue to work the overtime hours. They're going to continue to put themselves at risk because what other choice do they have?"

CBS 6 asked VADOC whether the agency believes staffing levels, equipment, training and safety protocols at River North are sufficient to protect employees.

Gibson said VADOC believes its existing staffing levels, equipment, training and safety protocols are appropriate to protect employees and maintain a secure correctional environment. He acknowledged staffing challenges at River North and said the agency is working to address them.

Gibson also said VADOC continually examines the operational readiness of its correctional facilities and offices.

CBS 6 also asked whether VADOC made any policy, staffing or security changes following Jeremy's death.

According to Gibson, former VADOC Director Chad Dotson issued guidance on Nov. 21, 2025, requiring correctional security staff at Level 4, 5 and S facilities to wear stab-resistant vests whenever interacting with inmates. Gibson said Director Joseph Walters continued that policy in January 2026.

The agency also purchased additional stab-resistant vests to prevent officers from having to share them, according to Gibson. He said VADOC provided refresher training on correctional security techniques and the use of force, including de-escalation, communication and nonphysical interventions.

Gibson said VADOC is expanding its use of body-worn cameras and providing additional security equipment, including Tasers, pepper spray, BolaWrap devices and approved impact munitions. He said patrol canines are also strategically positioned inside facilities during periods of inmate movement.

Gibson noted that not all of those changes resulted from Jeremy's death. He said some were connected to the agency's leadership change in January 2026 and Walters' broader safety and security goals.

Dawn says she filed a federal civil lawsuit against VADOC approximately one month after Jeremy's death. A person who was employed by VADOC at the time joined her in filing the suit.

The lawsuit alleged that Jeremy was the subject of a credible death threat shortly before he was stabbed. It further alleged that the threat was communicated within the chain of command but that staff failed to act.

VADOC said agency leadership conveyed the allegations to its Office of Law Enforcement Services, known as OLES, in late November and early December 2025.

"OLES fully researched, investigated, and followed up on all of the allegations pertaining to the line-of-duty death of Officer Hall, including the assertions that he was the subject of a credible death threat prior to the attack," Gibson said. "OLES was unable to corroborate any of the assertions that Officer Hall was the subject of a targeted attack prior to his death."

The lawsuit was dismissed in April 2026 after the co-filing employee resigned. Dawn says she pursued the lawsuit to seek systemic change, not compensation.

"The Department of Corrections has let me down in more ways than I can count," Hall said.

Dawn also says VADOC failed to follow its own operating procedures after Jeremy's death.

VADOC Operating Procedure 150.4 states that, whenever possible, notification of a serious injury or death should be made personally and face-to-face, including inside the family's residence. The policy also says assistance such as transportation should be offered as needed.

Dawn says neither happened in her case.

"I think what sticks with me now is everybody in that hospital let me walk out that door and drive myself home," Hall said. "Every warden and assistant warden, and there were already senior leadership from Richmond that had somehow made it down, they all let me walk out that hospital front door and get in my car and drive myself home to an empty house that day. Not one of them offered. I don't know. I think that will probably always stick with me."

In response, Gibson extended VADOC's condolences to the Hall family and acknowledged Dawn's concerns about how the initial notification occurred.

Gibson said facility staff prioritized notifying Dawn as quickly as possible so she could get to the hospital without unnecessary delay. According to VADOC, an employee familiar with Jeremy and his family called Dawn from the parking lot while Jeremy was being loaded into an ambulance.

When Dawn did not answer, Gibson said, the employee decided not to leave the information in a voicemail and instead contacted Jeremy's father. Jeremy's father then reached Dawn directly.

While Gibson acknowledged that an in-person notification was possible, he said facility staff determined that waiting to notify Dawn face-to-face was not practical under the rapidly evolving circumstances.

"This was an extremely difficult and rapidly evolving situation, and staff were attempting to balance the need for timely notification with accurate information with the care and sensitivity such circumstances require," Gibson said.

Gibson said agency representatives remained in contact with Dawn in the hours and days that followed. He said VADOC remains committed to treating employees and their families with compassion, dignity and care.

At Jeremy's funeral, Dawn held onto promises made by VADOC and River North leadership.

"We're going to honor Jeremy by caring for his family," former VADOC Director Chad Dotson said.

"We do humbly say that we will be with you through the future," former Virginia Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Marcus Anderson said.

"You all will always be part of that thin gray line," former River North Warden Kevin McKoy said.

Dawn says those promises have not always been kept.

"Jeremy lost his life in the line of duty, and his funeral is not 100% paid for, so let that sink in," Dawn recorded on social media.

CBS 6 obtained a copy of Jeremy's funeral invoice. The total bill was $7,881.91. The Commonwealth of Virginia Workers' Compensation program paid $7,138.09, and a church donated $250 toward the bill.

VADOC said the funeral expenses submitted to the Commonwealth's workers' compensation carrier were paid under the applicable funeral benefit.

According to Gibson, a separate $743.82 invoice involved keepsake jewelry and other merchandise purchased after the original funeral invoice was submitted. Gibson said the separate invoice was billed directly to Dawn and was not provided to VADOC or submitted to the workers' compensation carrier.

Gibson said Dawn may still submit that invoice to the carrier, which would determine whether any portion is eligible for coverage.

"The department either doesn't show up, or it's so sparingly that they do," Dawn said.

Gibson disputed that characterization, saying agency leadership and staff have attended numerous memorial ceremonies and events with Dawn and members of Jeremy's family. He provided CBS 6 with a list of six events agency representatives attended to honor Jeremy during the past year.

That list included a Sept. 12 ceremony at the Commonwealth Public Safety Memorial in Capitol Square in Richmond, where Jeremy's name was read aloud and added to the memorial wall.

It is those moments that bring Dawn some comfort.

"I'm forever grateful. I just want people to remember him and to know his name is here in Richmond, Virginia. It means a lot," Hall said. "For Director Joseph Walters to have been the one to have read his name today, that definitely had meaning to his family, to myself, that he was part of this."

Gibson said VADOC remains committed to honoring the life and legacy of Master Corrections Officer Jeremy Lewis Hall.

"His tragic murder was a sad day in the history of the VADOC, and his personal legacy of dedication and service will live on with his many friends and colleagues across the agency," Gibson said.

Gibson said VADOC is planning an event at River North Correctional Center to mark the one-year anniversary of Jeremy's death. The agency hopes Dawn and other members of Jeremy's family will attend.

Russell backed out of an expected guilty plea in Grayson County in June. He is scheduled for a hearing on October 23.

"I don't hate Mr. Russell for what he did that day," Dawn said. "I hate the system that created him and allowed him to do those things that day. I think in my heart I knew he was not going to plead guilty, that this was going to end up at trial anyway."

"Do you go as far as to forgive him?" CBS 6 Investigative Reporter Laura French asked.

"Yeah, honestly, I do," Dawn said. "I don't have space for it. If I don't forgive him, I allow him to have power, and I can't. That's what he wants, and he will never have that over me."

Dawn applied to serve on the Governor's Community Partnership on Corrections, which will advise the state on prison reforms. Applications closed September 4, and Dawn says she has not received a response.

"Put me on the council. That's what I say," Dawn said. "Who better to talk about this stuff than somebody who's lived it. Whether it's lived it through the 20-something years of mental health experience that I have, or the fact that I'm now out there advocating on both sides."

"Put real people in there. Give an officer a chance to be on a council. Give the widow of an officer the chance to be on a council," she continued. "Look at it from a real perspective instead of through the lens of the government."

Dawn eventually moved from the couple's farm in Grayson County to Radford.

"I literally felt like I was suffocating every day. It just didn't feel like home anymore. Everything changed that day," Hall said. "Everything that we dreamed of, the farm was his. The farm was our dream together. I couldn't do it alone."

Editor's note: The Virginia Department of Corrections did not participate in an on-camera interview but provided detailed written responses to CBS 6. Those responses have been incorporated throughout this report.