This archive report was first published on 1 August 2019.
Published on August 1, 2019, a US prosecutor has revealed intentions to seek the death penalty for Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir, a Kenyan national accused of murdering 12 elderly women in the Texas counties of Dallas and Collin.
Chemirmir, a healthcare worker and resident of Dallas, Texas, is accused of smothering or suffocating elderly women in senior living complexes to steal their jewelry, which he allegedly sold online.
According to court documents filed this week, Dallas County prosecutors will seek the death penalty if Chemirmir is convicted of capital murder.
Capital murder in Texas carries either automatic life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty, with prosecutors reserving the death penalty for offenses considered heinous.
Chemirmir has a long criminal record, including charges of criminal trespassing and false identification at a Dallas retirement community in 2016.
His attorney claims Chemirmir maintains his innocence, but the suspect has declined personal interviews.
