UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — Friends and family say Shawn Hall of Hagerstown was retired from the Air Force and a former minister who tried to live out his faith by serving others.
They also say one of the men he tried to help is the same man police now say killed him.
"The guy had a heart of gold. He helped the homeless in the community. He was always taking in people, getting them back on their feet," said Shaun Porter, his onetime Hagerstown neighbor and longtime friend Shawn Hall.
He says Hall lived a frugal life so he could spend more on those who needed it more.
"He literally spent on the homeless and on people who were just down on their luck," said Porter.
And as a minister, Hall also helped men he met while serving as a prison chaplain - on the inside, and after they were released.
"The people he helped honestly probably wouldn't get helped by anybody else. And they're very dangerous type individuals," said Porter.
Including, he says, Boisey Neal who Hall met while working as a prison chaplain.
After Neal's release, he and Hall were supposedly starting a trucking company here on Old Marlboro Pike in Upper Marlboro.
But Porter believes it was a con.
"Basically, he was using Shawn to start a business that probably never would go anywhere, never existed, or was was just to take money from Shawn," said Porter.
In May, Hall went missing. Hagerstown Police traced his phone back to the trucking business. They found his car abandoned in Prince George's County. But for nearly three months - there was no sign of Hall.
"Immediately I thought that one of the people he was helping had had killed him," Porter said.
According to court documents, police traced Neal's phone back to the trucking business, too, the same night Hall went missing. They also say in text messages to his girlfriend that night, Neal wrote, "He tried to tell on me before I caught him."
"I had no choice."
And, "I am a very bad man."
This week, police found what they believe are Hall's skeletal remains not far from the trucking business and arrested Neal for murder.
"It's absolutely the worst thing that could possibly happen to the nicest guy," said Porter.
Hall's son, Wes Hall, told WUSA9 in a text message, "My dad was a good man who wanted to help people regardless of their background, wealth, color, or religion. He was a veteran of the Air Force and was a minister for many years. He is loved by many and will be sorely missed."
"Our family is devastated by the loss, but are grateful to have answers and some hope of justice. We also want to extend our most sincere thanks and appreciation to Hagerstown PD, Prince George County PD, and other involved agencies for their efforts. They worked the case from beginning to end diligently and kept us informed and updated the entire way," Wes Hall said.