Prison cellmate beats suspected serial killer and convicted murderer Billy Chemirmir to death
09/21/2023 12:50 pm PDT
DALLAS (TCD) -- A convicted murderer and suspected serial killer died this week after he was reportedly attacked by his cellmate while serving a life sentence in prison.
Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot confirmed to WFAA-TV in an interview that Billy Chemirmir was beaten to death Tuesday, Sept. 19, following an "argument of some sort" with his cellmate, who was not named. Creuzot said Chemirmir could have been stabbed with a pen, but not a knife.
The prison was reportedly on lockdown when the incident occurred, but the suspect still managed to drag Chemirmir out of their cell and attack him in front of other people. Creuzot said other inmates "saw it and nobody intervened or called for help."
Chemirmir was reportedly on the ground for about 15 to 20 minutes before prison officials found and attempted to revive him, but he had already died.
According to Creuzot, Chemirmir allegedly made an "inappropriate" comment that was "something of a sexual nature" to his cellmate, and it was "directed at the inmate’s children or child."
Chemirmir was serving two life sentences in Texas state prison, one for killing 87-year-old Mary Brooks and the other for the murder of Lu Thi Harris. Chemirmir previously went to trial in connection with 81-year-old Harris' death, but the judge declared a mistrial after the jury deadlocked, NBC DFW reports.
Even though he had been convicted of killing two elderly women, he was charged with 20 other counts of murder for similar deaths. According to NBC DFW, Chemirmir attacked a 91-year-old woman in 2018, but she lived. She told police he attempted to smother her to death, then stole her jewelry.
Creuzot told WFAA Chemirmir was "one of the more prolific serial killers in Texas," and it "doesn’t surprise me that he was killed in prison."
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