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Satanica

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https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/M...th-Murder-of-81-Year-Old-Woman-477694563.html
billy-chemirmir-arrest.jpg

[....]
Billy Chemirmir is charged with capital murder of Lu "Kim" Harris, who was found dead in her North Dallas home Tuesday.

Plano police had been conducting surveillance on Chemirmir, 45, in Dallas when he was seen tossing items into a dumpster that ended up being a jewelry box containing a name, investigators said. Officers tracked that name to Harris’s North Dallas home where she was found deceased, police said.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's office has not yet released a cause or manner of death of Harris.
[....]
Dallas Police obtained a capital murder warrant for Chemirmir. He was booked into the Dallas County Jail on a $1 million bond.
[....]
A source close to the investigation told NBC 5 Chemirmir has multiple victims. Sources said he posed as a home health worker or a maintenance man, targeted elderly women and used a pillow to smother them.

A source said many of the victims lived at the same senior living community and that the investigation could extend to other states.
[....]
 
There's a special place in hell for those who prey on the elderly & helpless! From this article it seems as tho this monster has been busy smothering & robbing sweet little old ladies across the state:

"Chemirmir is being looked at in connection with several other deaths across multiple cities.

In each case, investigators said it involves an older woman and an attempt to steal from and smother them.

An arrest affidavit from Dallas County details the assault of a 91-year-old woman “….the suspect forced his way into the victim’s apartment, told her ‘Go to the bed, don’t fight me.'”
“The victim complied and the suspect put a pillow over her face, causing her to lose consciousness.” She survived.

In Fristco, investigators said Chemirmir attacked a 93-year-old woman who also survived, “…he knocked her from her walker and to the ground, then placed a pillow over her nose and mouth in an attempt to muffle her screams and smother her…she began to pray believing she was about to die.":(
Link

According to another article the additional deaths he's now being eyed for were initially ruled to be from natural causes- the police only caught him tossing that jewelry box bc a different elderly woman's family reported he was stealing from her.

He also happens to be in the US illegally- but that seems to be the least of his problems at this point!
Link2
 
http://www.fox4news.com/news/police-working-through-tips-in-serial-murders-investigation
[....]
They fear he could have multiple other victims. He is now in custody on a $1 million bond.

There is concern about other as yet unknown victims. That's why Dallas police are reviewing more than 750 deaths going back to the 2010-2011 time frame.

Plano police began their review with a handful of elderly women who lived alone and died at a senior citizens apartment community within the last year. But one forensic pathologist said determining a specific cause of death, like suffocation, from a person who died many years ago is nearly impossible.

Frisco and Plano police say two women over 90 were also attacked by Chemirmir but survived. Police in four departments looking at hundreds of elderly deaths to see if there is a Chemirmir connection.

"We want to make sure that these potential victims — because there were suspicious circumstances surrounding them — we want to make sure we have everything on that and do a complete investigation on these as well as any other in that complex or anywhere else in our city,” said Plano Police Officer David Tilley.
[....]
Police have been answering tip line calls around the clock rather than letting folks leave a recorded message.

Chemirmir has not been cooperating with police, but they are checking area pawn shops to see if there is any trail tying Chemirmir to victims and their jewelry.

Police have also set up a hotline for families to call if they suspect a loved one may have been a victim. Anyone with information about him can call 972-941-5785.
 
http://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/...d-serial-killer-billy-chemirmir/287-534360963
2 Apr 2018
[...]

Catherine died on April 8, 2016, at the Edgemere Retirement Community in Dallas. Her family says the 88-year-old woman had been out to dinner with them two days before she died. They say the retired army doctor took care of herself.

"There really wasn't an explanation for her sudden death,” Probst said.

The family insisted on an autopsy when they noticed some of her belongings were missing, including jewelry, and when blood was found on her bed.

The medical examiner ruled her death was natural, but did include that her family expressed concerns about missing personal effects.

“We knew she had loose jewels. We know she had gold coins. We don't have the inventory of all that,” Fold said.

When the family saw the news of Chemirmir's arrest two weeks ago, they immediately called Dallas police.

It turns out he was arrested for criminal trespass at Edgemere in April of 2016. The same place and around the same time Catherine Probst died.
[...]
 
[....]
This week, Plano Police anticipated five additional capital murder charges on top of the seven total capital murder charges in Dallas County.

Chemirmir was previously indicted on a capital murder for the death of a 91-year-old Dallas woman named Lu Thi Harris who died March 20, 2018.

A Collin County grand jury also indicted Chemirmir on two counts of attempted capital murder. The victims, one in Plano and another in Frisco, survived the attacks.
[....]

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/D...mothered-Robbed-in-Their-Homes-509981961.html
 
[....]
a man accused of smothering more than a dozen women living in North Texas retirement homes and robbing them of their jewelry, has been indicted on two additional charges of capital murder.

Chemirmir, 47, is now facing capital murder charges for the deaths of 83-year-old Leah Corken and 82-year-old Juanita Purdy, two women who lived at The Tradition-Prestonwood in Dallas and died suddenly in the summer of 2016.

Like in previous cases, both women were believed to have been suffocated with a pillow or choked to death prior to being robbed, though the exact nature of their death is unknown. Investigators said Chemirmir posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to the women's apartments and later sold or pawned their jewelry.
[....]
A Dallas County grand jury returned the true bill indictments Tuesday.

 
"A suspected serial killer accused of smothering more than a dozen women living in retirement homes across central Texas has been indicted on another charge of capital murder.

Billy Chemirmir is now facing a total of 18 counts of capital murder and two counts of attempted murder in Dallas and Collin Counties, the Dallas Morning News reported. He has also been linked through medical examiner reports and civil case filings to another six slayings, bringing his alleged death count up to at least 24.

The latest charge against the Kenyan-born suspect is in the death of 87-year-old Glenna Day, who was killed Oct. 15, 2016 at The Tradition-Prestonwood. He has been linked to at least eight other deaths at the same luxury senior living facility in Dallas.

Investigators said Chemirmir posed as a maintenance worker to con his way into the women’s apartments and later sold or pawned their jewelry.

Like the other suspected victims, authorities believe Day was suffocated with a pillow or choked to death before being robbed. She was one of three women living on the fourth floor of the facility who died suddenly during a three-month span in 2016.

Chemirmir has been charged in all of their deaths."

More: here.
 
The Dallas County District Attorney announced Thursday that he will not seek the death penalty for an accused serial killer charged with capital murder.
[....]
In a statement, the DA says he met with the victim's families and told them that prosecutors would request two jury trials, with the goal of securing two life sentences without the possibility of parole.

If Chemirmir is convicted, the DA will ask for those sentences to be served back-to-back…. meaning "in effect, there will be no chance for Mr. Chemirmir to die anywhere except in a Texas prison."

 
I cannot believe there was one lone hold out and a mistrial. Not sure how anyone could doubt that Billy did murder those victims.

The evidence surrounding the death of 81-year-old Lu Harris was supposed to be the strongest case Dallas County prosecutors had against suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir, yet the case ended in a mistrial with the jury deadlocked 11-to-1.
[....]
Dallas County District Attorney Joe Creuzot announced immediately after the mistrial his office would retry the case, though there’s no clear timetable on how soon that could occur.

Cruezot said each side must receive trial transcripts and schedules must be coordinated.

Former Dallas County prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Russell Wilson said while a bit surprised with how the Chemirmir trial ended, you never truly know what a jury will do.

“You never know what will or will not influence a group of 12 individuals that you don’t really know,” Wilson said.

Speaking on behalf of the families of alleged victims, Ellen French House, who lost her mother Norma, said the group was in total shock with the one juror holdout after hearing four days of compelling evidence.

"We are devastated," House said. "We don't know how it happened."

Due to COVID-19 policies, families of loved ones were kept out of the courtroom, something they hope changes in the next trial.

“It was the wrong thing to do,” said Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer Cliff Harris, who lost his mother Miriam Nelson. “We would have had a much better chance. We would have won this hands down.”

Wilson said there is no doubt having a jury see families in the courtroom plays a factor.

“Regardless of what the verdict is in any case, generally there is some compassion extended to anyone when there’s a loss in their family,” Wilson said. “There’s no doubt that it plays a role.”

While prosecutors presented four days of surveillance video, physical evidence and cell phone records they believed tied Chemirmir to the crime, defense attorneys argued there was no DNA or fingerprints in the case.

“It’s certainly a smart move by the defense to point out some of those things and say those aren’t present in this case,” Wilson said.

During a September interview with NBC5, the sons of Carolyn MacPhee said there is DNA evidence in their mother’s case.

The MacPhees said Chemirmir sometimes cared for their late father as a home health aide, then months after his death returned on New Year’s Eve 2017 to kill their mother at her Plano home.

The brothers said police told them blood found on a pair of eyeglasses and their mother’s comforter belonged to Chemirmir.

Families are now pushing for the Collin County district attorney to move forward with their cases, regardless of what's happening in Dallas County. Collin County officials said they would not comment on pending cases.

Though devastated by the mistrial, families said they were not deterred and felt confident the next trial would end differently.

“We are encouraged that the prosecutors will try this case again and we are confident that the jury will convict,” Ellen French House said.

 

DALLAS - Jury selection is underway in the second trial of an accused serial killer.
[....]
A judge declared a mistrial in November when jurors, after 10 hours of deliberation, were deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction.
[....]
The case was based on circumstantial evidence, meaning there was no witness or DNA presented to the jury.

Chemirmir’s second trial, like the first, will focus on the 2018 death of 81-year-old Lu Harris in her Dallas home.

The presentation of evidence likely won't change, but the biggest difference will be a different set of jurors who will consider the circumstantial case against Chemirmir.

The family members of the victims, who were not in court last November because of COVID-19 restrictions, will have their seats in the courtroom.

"Murder is a journey. This trial is just a checkmark along that journey," said Cheryl Pangburn, a family member of one of Chemirmir’s alleged victims, back when the first trial ended with a deadlocked jury.

For the families of 18 people allegedly killed by Chemirmir, the journey for justice continues.
[....]
The prosecution will try again to get a conviction.

"The defense has the benefit of seeing exactly how the prosecution intends to do that, so those roadmaps rarely change, especially when the decision in the previous mistrial was 11 guilty and one not guilty," explained Demarcus Ward, who is an attorney not involved in the case.

The last jury was deadlocked after ten hours of deliberation and four notes to the judge.

The one difference for certain this time will be the 12 people who will hear the evidence.

"Jury selection is extremely important," Ward added.

Because there has been so much publicity around Chemirmir before and after the first trial, when it comes to selecting jurors, the prosecution and the defense face the same challenge.

"Determining whether that exposure rises to a level of influencing them, to the extent that they would bring more into the courtroom than they should," said Kacy Miller, who is a courtroom logic jury consultant not involved in this case.

Judge Raquelle Jones has said the court will be open.

COVID-19 protocols in the first trial kept family members watching proceedings on another courthouse floor. Jurors could not see their emotion.

Miller said the family members being present will "humanize the victims."

"Jurors observe everything that’s happening within the courtroom," Miller said.

And they also notice what doesn't happen.

"What do you do to make sure you don’t have someone who is so turned off by circumstantial evidence? How do you convince all 12 people that we're not asking you to look at everything in a vacuum, we're asking you to consider all of these things?" Ward said.

Can prosecutors put together the pieces of the puzzle in a way that convinces jurors beyond reasonable doubt that Chemirmir is guilty? Even without DNA and eyewitness testimony?

Or is it as defense attorneys argued, that sometimes, and in this case, things are not always what they seem?

Testimony is set to start Monday and the trial is expected to go at least a week.

Dallas County is not seeking the death penalty if he is convicted, but Collin County still has that option.


 

[....]
Court proceedings had to be put on hold because one of the jurors didn't show up for court. That juror was later located at his workplace and had to be brought to the courthouse.

Questioned by a frustrated and irritated Judge Rocky Jones, the 22-year-old construction worker says he "forgot."

At 1-30 p.m. Monday, opening statements finally began.
[....]


Oh, great another flaky juror.

 
I watched the verdict live last night, and I have to admit I was nervous although the deliberations were fast and a sign that all was well.



DALLAS - The jury has found alleged serial killer Billy Chemirmir guilty in the murder of 81-year-old Lu Harris in 2018. Chemirmir has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.


The verdict was reached after less than an hour of deliberations from the jury.
[....]
Chemirmir showed no emotion as the guilty verdict was read. He will spend the night in the Dallas County jail, now as a convicted murderer.
[....]

 
DALLAS — After Mary Brooks was found dead on the floor of her Dallas-area condo, grocery bags from a shopping trip still on her countertop, authorities decided the 87-year-old had died of natural causes.

Even after her family discovered jewelry was missing — including a coral necklace she loved and diamond rings — it took an attack on another woman weeks later for police to reconsider.

The next capital murder trial for Billy Chemirmir, 49, begins Monday in Dallas in the death of Brooks, one of 22 older women he is charged with killing. The charges against Chemirmir grew in the years following his 2018 arrest, as police across the Dallas area reexamined the deaths of older people that had been considered natural, even though families raised alarm bells about missing jewelry. Four indictments were added this summer.

Chemirmir, who maintains his innocence, was convicted in April of capital murder in the smothering death of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He will receive the same punishment if convicted in Brooks' death. His first trial in Harris' death ended in a mistrial last November when the jury deadlocked.

Loren Adair Smith, whose 91-year-old mother is among those Chemirmir is charged with killing, will be among the many relatives of victims attending the trial, which, she said, brings a “huge bag of mixed feelings.”
[....]
It was Mary Annis Bartel's survival of a March 2018 attack that set Chemirmir's arrest in motion. Bartel, 91 at the time, told police that a man had forced his way into her apartment at an independent living community for seniors, tried to smother her with a pillow and took her jewelry.

Before Bartel died in 2020, she described the attack in a taped interview that was played at Chemirmir's previous trials. She said the minute she opened her door and saw a man wearing green rubber gloves, she knew she was in “grave danger.”

Police said they found Chemirmir the next day in the parking lot of his apartment complex. He was holding jewelry and cash, and had just thrown away a large red jewelry box. Documents in the box led them to the home of Harris, who was found dead in her bedroom, lipstick smeared on her pillow.

At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Harris and Chemirmir were checking out at the same time at a Walmart just hours before she was found dead.

In a video interview with police, Chemirmir told a detective that he made money by buying and selling jewelry, and that he had also worked as a caregiver and a security guard.

Most of Chemirmir's alleged victims lived in apartments at independent living communities for older people. The women he’s accused of killing in private homes include the widow of a man he had cared for while working as an at-home caregiver.

Brooks' grandson, David Cuddihee, testified that he found her body on Jan. 31, 2018. He said she had sometimes used a cane but was still healthy and active.

“She would walk to church, she would walk to the dentist down the street," Cuddihee said.

Police testified that grocery receipts showed Brooks was at Walmart the day before her body was found. Surveillance video from the store showed a vehicle matching the description of Chemirmir's leaving just after Brooks, going in the same direction.

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot, a Democrat, decided to seek life sentences rather than the death penalty when he tried Chemirmir on two of his 13 capital murder cases in the county. His Republican opponent has criticized that decision as he seeks reelection in the nation's busiest death penalty state.

In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Creuzot said he’s not against the death penalty, but among things he considers when deciding whether to pursue it are the time it takes before someone is executed, the costs of appeals and whether the person would still be a danger to society behind bars. Chemirmir, he added, is “going to die in the penitentiary."

Prosecutors in neighboring Collin County haven’t said if they will try any of their nine capital murder cases against Chemirmir.

 
From @Satanica's article:

"Surveillance video from the store showed a vehicle matching the description of Chemirmir's leaving just after Brooks, going in the same direction."

I've been thinking about this all morning.

It would be difficult for anyone, let alone an 87 yo to be constantly surveilling behind them while driving, to see if they're being followed, it's just not realistic.

And I'm recalling all the casual conversations I've had with clerks, saying things like "Yeah, I'm just on my way home, I'll feed the cat, eat this item I'm buying, go to bed early" and that's SO much information for the people I'm not paying attention to behind me to
overhear.

If my mom were alive she'd be in her 80's, but the notion of this, the idea of WORRYING about this, honest to God, it makes me feel woozy with horror and sadness.

I may quibble with some of you here, but I don't want anything bad to happen to any of you, ever.
Just, ugh, be attentive? Vigilant?

What a dreadful tale this was. Really has shaken me.
 

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