Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir, the Kenyan suspected of being behind a string of murders in the United States was killed Tuesday by a cellmate in a Texas prison.
Chemirmir, 50, was convicted last year of killing two people. But was later accused in the deaths of nearly two dozen others. He was given two life sentences in prison without parole.
He was found dead early Tuesday morning in his cell. His cellmate, who is serving a sentence for a Dallas-area murder, was identified as the assailant. But the killer’s name was not released.
The accusations
During multiple trials, prosecutors alleged that Chemirmir targeted people inside their homes or at senior living facilities. He often smothered his victims with pillows in order to steal jewelry.
Most of the killer’s victims were initially believed to have died of natural causes, despite family members claiming the circumstances of their deaths were odd. And that jewelry had been stolen.
It wasn’t, however, until a victim survived an attack that law enforcement reopened the cases and indictments were filed against Chemirmir.
The charges
He was eventually charged with killing 22 North Texas women over two years. He was found guilty of capital murder last October for the death of Mary Brooks, 87.
In April of 2022, he was convicted of the same charge for the murder of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. His first trial for her death ended in a mistrial.
His attorney, Phillip Hayes, confirmed the killer’s death in a statement: ‘Despite how you feel about him, no one deserves to be murdered in prison.’
The families of Chemirmir’s victims were notified of his death early Tuesday.
By BNN