The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says Billy Chemirmir was killed by his cellmate at the Coffield Correctional Facility near Palestine. An investigation into his death is now underway. NBC 5’s Katy Blakey reports, for victims’ families, the news brought complex emotions.
Billy Chemirmir, a man convicted of killing two people and accused in the deaths of nearly two dozen others, was found dead in his cell in a Texas state prison early Tuesday morning, NBC 5 has learned.
Charged with killing 22 North Texas women over a two-year span, Chemirmir was found guilty of capital murder in October 2022 in the death of 87-year-old Mary Brooks. His first trial, for the murder of Lu Thi Harris, ended in a mistrial. Chemirmir was later convicted of the murder charge.
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Chemirmir, 50, had been serving two prison sentences of life without parole in the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony near Palestine.
Officials with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said Chemirmir was found deceased in his cell early Tuesday. The TDCJ said Chemirmir's cellmate, who is serving a sentence for murder out of Dallas County, was identified as the assailant.
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No further details about Chemirmir's death have been confirmed and the TDCJ said the Office of Inspector General is investigating Chemirmir's death.
The families of Chemirmir's victims were notified of his death early Tuesday.
On Tuesday afternoon, some of the family members of Chemirmir's victims said they were relieved to learn of his death.
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“My mother died in fear. This man did not have a peaceful passing. There’s some relief in feeling that he didn’t get off easily,” said Shannon Dion, whose 92-year-old mother, Doris Gleason, was among those Chemirmir was charged with killing.
Chemirmir was caught after a 91-year-old woman survived a 2018 attack and told police 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.
Police said they found Chemirmir the following day in the parking lot of his apartment complex holding jewelry and cash, having just thrown away a large red jewelry box. Documents in the jewelry box led them to the home of Harris who was found dead in her bedroom.
Prosecutors said the suspected serial killer targeted people inside their homes or at senior independent living centers, smothering them with pillows to steal jewelry.
Most of the deaths were initially ruled natural causes, despite families reporting odd circumstances and stolen jewelry. It wasn’t until a woman survived an attack on her life, leading police to Chemirmir that the cases were reopened and indictments were filed.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot planned to secure two convictions before dismissing the remaining cases. Earlier this summer Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis said he did not plan to try the nine capital murder indictments his office had against Chemirmir.
Chemirmir was the subject of an NBC 5 streaming series, "Stranger at the Door," that looked into the dozens of deaths attributed to Billy Chemirmir. The series can be watched online here or on TV following the instructions below.
How to Watch the Rest of NBC 5's 'Stranger at the Door'
- Watch on your Roku device: add the NBC DFW channel to your collection, open the channel and select The only trthe Stranger at the Door playlist.
- Watch on your Fire TV device: download the NBC DFW app from the Amazon Appstore, open the app on your Fire TV and select the Stranger at the Door playlist.
