Texas Prisoner Accused of Killing 22 Elderly Women Killed by Cellmate

Billy Chemirmir, the Texas prisoner accused of a string of murders targeting older women over a span of two years, died Tuesday while serving a life sentence, according to prison officials. Chemirmir, 50, who had been convicted last year for the murder of two women, was discovered lifeless in his prison cell located in a rural East Texas facility, reported Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Hannah Haney. Haney stated that he was killed by his cellmate, who was also incarcerated for a previous murder conviction.
 Chemirmir's death comes shortly after the entire Texas prison system, consisting of 100 prisons, was placed under an unusual statewide lockdown due to a surge in inmate-on-inmate homicides, believed to be related to drug activities, as previously reported by prison officials.
 While details surrounding the incident remain limited, Haney refrained from disclosing the identity of Chemirmir's cellmate, the method used in the attack, or the circumstances leading to the killing.
 Family members of the victims expressed a mix of shock and relief upon hearing the news of Chemirmir's death. Shannon Dion, the daughter of 92-year-old Doris Gleason, one of Chemirmir's alleged victims, conveyed her feelings at a news conference, saying, "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."
 Initially, the deaths of these women in Dallas and neighboring cities were attributed to natural causes, despite concerns raised by family members about missing jewelry.
 Chemirmir was apprehended after a 91-year-old woman survived an attack in 2018 and reported that a man had forcibly entered her apartment in an independent living community for seniors, attempted to smother her with a pillow, and stole her jewelry. Subsequently, police discovered Chemirmir with jewelry and cash in his possession the following day, having recently discarded a red jewelry box. Documents found in the box led them to the residence of Lu Thi Harris, 81, who was found deceased in her bedroom.
 Following his arrest, authorities reevaluated deaths in the area, leading to an increase in charges against Chemirmir. Many of the victims' children were left perplexed by their mothers' deaths at the time since they were elderly but still in good health.
 Chemirmir's first capital murder trial for Harris's slaying ended in a mistrial in Dallas County. He was later convicted in a retrial for Harris's death and subsequently convicted of a second murder in the case of Mary Brooks, 87.
 After his second conviction, family members of Chemirmir's alleged victims confronted him in a Dallas courtroom. Ellen French House displayed two photos of her mother, Norma French, one when she was alive and the other after the 85-year-old had been killed, and said, "This is my beautiful mother... This is my mother after you pried her wedding ring off of her finger that she couldn’t even get off."
 Chemirmir had been indicted on 22 capital murder charges, with 13 in Dallas County and nine in neighboring Collin County. Following his convictions in Dallas County, the remaining 11 charges were dismissed, and prosecutors did not seek the death penalty in either county.
 Maintaining his innocence throughout, Chemirmir was serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, approximately 100 miles southeast of Dallas.
 Phillip Hayes, Chemirmir's attorney, described his death as "just a horrible tragedy" and emphasized that "nobody deserves to be killed at any point, especially when you are in a place you’re being held against your will."
 Earlier this month, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice had initiated lockdown measures in response to "a rise in dangerous contraband and drug-related inmate homicides." The department reported 16 inmate-on-inmate homicides so far in 2023, compared to nine in 2021 and se