Billy Chemirmir (Mug shot: Dallas County Jail)
A suspected serial killer’s life came to a violent end when a cellmate attacked and killed 50-year-old Billy Chemirmir, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced.
“The victim’s cellmate, who is serving a sentence for murder out of Harris County, was identified as the assailant,” Director of Communications Amanda Hernandez said. “The Office of Inspector General is investigating.”
Authorities said they found Chemirmir dead early Tuesday in his cell at the H.H. Coffield Unit, a prison in Tennessee Colony, Texas.
Hernandez’s statement did not name the cellmate, detail the alleged attack, or suggest a motive.
Chemirmir faced a total of 22 murder cases in the court system; there are also two alleged attempted murders. Authorities said he preyed on elderly women, making his way into their homes by pretending to be a maintenance or health care worker.
Prosecutors in Texas had separately convicted him of two murders at the time of his death.
Chemirmir was first convicted back in April 2022 for murdering Lu Thi Harris, 81. He had her jewelry, keys, and even $2 bills she would give out as gifts, prosecutors said at trial. He and Harris were both at the same Walmart hours before the killing on March 20, 2018. Prosecutors suggested he was there to track her, and he blended in with the rest of the customers.
Authorities managed to introduce evidence he separately killed Mary Brooks, 87. He also attacked Mary Bartel, who survived thanks to her pacemaker; Bartel passed away in 2020. Jurors in October 2022 convicted Chemirmir of murdering Brooks.
“We have accomplished what we set out to do,” the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office said at the time. “There is no question that Billy Chemirmir will spend the rest of his life behind bars. We thank the family of Mary Brooks and the family of Mr. Chemirmir’s other alleged victims for putting their faith in this office to ensure justice was done. The pain and loss he has caused will never be erased, but we can all sleep better at night knowing he has, in effect, indeed received a death sentence. Billy Chemirmir will die in the state penitentiary.”
Note: Hernandez corrected the statement to say that the cellmate was serving a sentence out of Harris County, not Dallas County.
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