Now that a Dallas County jury convicted suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir of capital murder Thursday in the slaying of Lu Thi Harris, he’s expected to have at least one more trial.
Chemirmir murdered 81-year-old Harris in March 2018. She was found dead at her Dallas home after Chemirmir was arrested with jewelry and other items that belonged to her.
Jurors also heard about attacks on two other women during the trial. One was Mary Brooks, whose death in January 2018 was initially thought to be of natural causes but was changed after Chemirmir’s arrest. The other, Mary Bartel, survived an attack in her Plano retirement community apartment the day before Harris was killed.
Grand juries in Dallas and Collin counties indicted Chemirmir in 18 deaths. He won’t go to trial on all of them, though.
Here’s a look at what’s next.
Creuzot said his office will try Chemirmir, a Kenyan immigrant with permanent resident status in the U.S., in Brooks’ death. No date has been set for the trial.
The other 11 counts of capital murder in Dallas County will likely be dismissed, Creuzot told families last year.
Collin County prosecutors also have five indictments against Chemirmir for deaths there, along with two counts of attempted capital murder. Creuzot said he and Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis agreed that Dallas County would try its cases first.
After Creuzot said last year he would not seek the death penalty, lawmakers and families of Chemirmir’s alleged victims called on Willis to do so. The Collin County DA’s office has declined to comment on the cases.
Chemirmir was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His attorneys say they will appeal the capital murder conviction.
