A jury of seven women and six men heard opening statements Tuesday from the state and the defense in the first day of the trial for Laura Hall, the 23-year-old woman accused of hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence in the 2005 murder of Jennifer Cave.

Former University of Texas student Colton Pitonyak, 24, was convicted in January for Cave's murder and sentenced to 55 years. Hall is accused of dismembering Cave's body and helping Pitonyak flee to Mexico after the murder.

The trial began with Hall pleading "not guilty" to two felony charges of hindering apprehension and tampering with evidence. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.

Following the plea, the state gave their opening statements and told jurors that evidence such as cell phone records and witness testimony would prove her guilt.

Hall's lawyer, Joe James Sawyer, said Pitonyak acted alone and he'd prove that Pitonyak was "a beast" and Hall is only guilty of "loving someone too much and making stupid, foolish decisions."

The first witnesses were friends of either Cave, Hall or Pitonyak. All admitted Hall and Pitonyak knew each other. Some said Hall was attracted to him; others said she was simply trying to help a troubled friend. Pitonyak admitted to heavy alcohol and drug use throughout his college days.

All the witnesses said Cave was with Pitonyak the night she died in August 2005, and all – except one – said Hall told them she had nothing to do with the murder.

When Nora Sullivan took the stand, the jury wasn't present. Sullivan testified that she visited Pitonyak in prison before his trial, and one time Hall asked if she could go along. Sullivan said Hall told her she knew about Cave's partially dismembered body and was "frustrated" that Pitonyak hadn't "finished the job."

This testimony completely surprised Hall's attorney. The state said they knew of Sullivan's statement a week ago. Under state law, the state is required to notify defense of such an omission. Because of that, Judge Wilford Flowers asked Sullivan to step down from the witness stand and will allow Sawyer to question her further before her testimony is presented to the jury.

"I was quite surprised. It's surprising someone doesn't remember statements until 16 months after the fact and report them, testify in one trial and totally forget. So, yeah, I was quite surprised," Sawyer said.

The most emotional testimony came from Jennifer Cave's mother and stepfather. Sharon Cave and Jim Sedwick were the ones who discovered Cave's partially dismembered body in the bathtub of Pitonyak's West Campus apartment two years ago. The couple drove up from Corpus Christi after they couldn't reach Jennifer by phone for a few days.