Suspected senior living serial killer Billy Chemirmir was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison on Thursday.
A jury rendered the verdict after deliberating 45 minutes, and the judge sentenced Chemirmir to life in prison without the possibility of parole because prosecutors did not seek the death penalty, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Chemirmir’s attorneys plan to appeal.
The trial, which began Monday, was for the slaying of Lu Thi Harris, who was 81 when she was found dead in her Dallas home in 2018. This was Chemirmir’s second trial for her death; a mistrial was declared in November in the first one.
Chemirmir was indicted on 18 counts of capital murder in Dallas and Collin counties but is thought to be linked to at least 24 deaths — mostly of female residents of senior living communities — that took place in Texas between April 2016 and March 2018. Authorities said he posed as a maintenance worker to gain access to residences and then smothered the older adults before stealing their valuables. Many of the deaths were attributed to natural causes until one woman survived and helped police with their investigation.
The Dallas County district attorney plans to try Chemirmir on another capital murder charge — that trial has not been scheduled — but the other 11 capital murder counts against him in the county probably will be dismissed, the Dallas Morning News reported.
After the next trial, Chemirmir is expected to be transferred to Collin County, where there are five indictments against him.
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