This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
Published on August 1, 2019, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot has announced plans to pursue the death penalty for Billy Chemirmir, a Kenyan-born suspect accused of murdering 12 elderly women in Dallas and Collin counties, Texas.
Chemirmir, a 46-year-old resident of Dallas, is accused of targeting senior living complexes, where he allegedly posed as a maintenance worker or healthcare provider to gain access to the apartments of his victims.
Prosecutors have filed court documents stating their intention to seek the death penalty if Chemirmir is convicted of capital murder. In Texas, capital murder carries either automatic life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty, with prosecutors reserving the death penalty for offenses deemed heinous.
Chemirmir has been held in the Dallas County Jail since early 2019, with bail set at $11.6 million. His attorney has maintained that Chemirmir is innocent, although he has declined personal interviews.
The court has yet to set a trial date for the case.
