Billy Chemirmir, a 50-year-old Kenyan accused of murdering 24 elderly American women and convicted for two of the murders, has reportedly been killed by his cellmate at a prison southeast of Dallas, Texas.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to WFAA that Chemirmir was found dead in his prison cell on Tuesday morning at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, which is southeast of Dallas. His cellmate was “identified as the assailant,” according to officials.
As Breitbart News has chronicled for years, Chemirmir was convicted last year for murdering 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris. Later that year, he was convicted of murdering 87-year-old Mary Brooks and had been indicted in multiple other murders.
Chemirmir stole from his elderly victims, posing as a caregiver, before selling their belongings on eBay from April 2016 to April 2018. To murder his victims, Chemirmir would smother them with a pillow, leading investigators to first assume that many of the victims had died of natural causes.
Chemirmir’s 24 alleged victims are:
- 83-year-old Leah Corken
- 82-year-old Juanita Purdy
- 88-year-old Mary Brooks
- 84-year-old Minnie Campbell
- 82-year-old Ann Conklin
- 75-year-old Rosemary Curtis
- 85-year-old Norma French
- 92-year-old Doris Gleason
- 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris
- 81-year-old Carolyn MacPhee
- 81-year-old Miriam Nelson
- 91-year-old Phyllis Payne
- 94-year-old Phoebe Perry
- 80-year-old Martha Williams
- 82-year-old Joyce Abramowitz
- 87-year-old Glenna Day
- 89-year-old Solomon Spring
- 90-year-old Doris Wasserman
- 86-year-old Margaret White
- 79-year-old Diana Delahunty
- 93-year-old Mamie Dell Miya
- 86-year-old Catherine Probst Sinclair
- 90-year-old Marilyn Bixler
- An 81-year-old “Jane Doe”
Mary Bartel, who has since passed away, was vital in helping prosecutors convict Chemirmir because she survived one of his attacks.
In testimony, Bartel, a devout Catholic whose husband died in 2015, said Chemirmir broke his way into her apartment on March 19, 2018 — a day before he allegedly murdered Harris by smothering her with a pillow and robbing her of her jewelry and belongings.
Mary Bartel, who has since passed away, says in her deposition that Chemirmir attempted to murder her and stole her belongings. (Photo via Dallas County District Court)
Bartel said Chemirmir entered her apartment, wearing green gloves, and told her to get on her bed before smothering her with a pillow in an attempt to kill her.
“He said, ‘Don’t fight me. Lie on the bed.’ I did as he said because I knew I couldn’t overpower him, physically. He just smashed a pillow down hard over my face and my chest, and I just couldn’t breathe,” Bartel said. “I tried to move my left hand under the pillow to get to my medical alert button. … It was totally impossible for me to even because the pillow was slammed over me so hard over my head and chest.”
Bartel was found in her apartment and eventually regained consciousness as paramedics rushed her to a nearby hospital.
At the time of his arrest, Chemirmir was found with many of his victims’ belongings.
Chemirmir’s expired United States visa. (Photo via Dallas County District Court)
Chemirmir’s Kenyan passport documentation. (Photo via Dallas County District Court)
Soon after Chemirmir’s arrest in May 2019, Breitbart News exclusively reported that Chemirmir, born in Kenya, first arrived in the United States on a B-2 tourist visa in July 2003. Though Chemirmir was supposed to be in the United States only temporarily, he overstayed his visa, this becoming an illegal alien.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.