Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Trial Set For Accused Serial Killer, Who Allegedly Preyed On The Elderly In Texas
Billy Chemirmir has been indicted on 18 capital murder charges but and stands to spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
The trial for a suspected serial killer who allegedly preyed on the elderly in Texas has been set.
Billy Chemirmir’s trial is scheduled to begin on Nov. 12, KXAS-TV in Dallas Fort-Worth reports. He stands accused of killing 18 elderly women at assisted living facilities.
Chemirmir was indicted on his 18th capital murder charge back in January. While Chemirmir has now been charged with 18 deaths, he's also been linked to six additional deaths between 2016 and 2018, the Dallas News reported last year, citing medical examiner reports and civil court filings.
Prosecutors allege he targeted North Texas senior living residents while either working as health care staff or impersonating maintenance personnel at the facilities. Many of the deaths were initially listed as natural causes.
In June, the Dallas County District Attorney's Office announced they will not be seeking the death penalty but they have made it clear their goal is for Chemirmir to die in prison. They are seeking two life sentences without the possibility of parole to be served consecutively.
“In effect, there will be no chance for Mr. Chemirmir to die anywhere except in a Texas prison,” the office said in a press release, obtained by KXAS-TV.
Chermirir’s lawyer Phillip Hayes has not immediately responded to Oxygen.com’s request for comment. He told the Dallas News last year that he feels the evidence against his client is circumstantial.
“It seems like every unexplained death they come up with, they’re pinning on him,” Hayes said at the time “If you look at all of it, it doesn’t stand up.”
Chemirmir was first eyed as a possible attacker in 2018 when he was suspected of trying to smother a 91-year-old woman to death, The Star-Telegram in Fort Worth reported at the time. Before police arrested him in connection with that alleged incident, “they observed him walk to a dumpster and toss unknown items in the dumpster. [...] In the dumpster officers found a jewelry box containing jewelry and a name. Officers were able to associate the name found in the jewelry box to an address in the city of Dallas,” according to a 2018 press release posted on the Dallas Police Department’s website.
That jewelry box led them to the body of an entirely different woman and, after an investigation, officials began linking him to multiple women's deaths. Investigators allegedly found jewelry, cell phones, and other belongings of the victims in Chemirmir’s apartment when it was searched in 2018.
