New Trial Date Set for Suspected Kenyan Serial Killer Billy Chemirmir in Dallas, Texas

A new trial for suspected Kenyan-born serial killer Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir is set to begin in April in Dallas, Texas.

This is after the initial case against Chemirmir, who is accused of killing at least 18 elderly women in Texas over a two-year period, was declared a mistrial in November.

The 12 jurors selected for his capital murder trial in the 2018 smothering of 81-year-old Lu Thi Harris said they were left “hopelessly deadlocked” at 11-1. Judge Raquel Jones urged jurors to continue deliberations before accepting there would be no resolution.

After the mistrial, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot vowed he would retry the case and the date has now been set for April 25th, according to court records.

During the initial trial, jurors were shown a surveillance video showing Harris and Chemirmir shopping at the same Walmart before she was discovered dead in her Far North Dallas home hours later.

The discovery followed the arrest of Chemirmir on an attempted murder charge in Plano, where 93-year-old Mary Bartel was revived after neighbors found her unconscious on her apartment floor at Preston Place Retirement Community. 

Bartel said she was attacked by an intruder, with police linking a suspicious vehicle on the premises to another senior living complex and another attempted murder case in Frisco. The vehicle led police to Chemirmir, who was arrested at his apartment in March 2018.

Police officers said they saw him toss a jewelry box into a dumpster. Inside the box was Harris’ name. Since then, authorities have linked another 17 murders to the 49-year-old suspect, but they believe the actual toll is even higher.

Speaking after the mistrial, Chemirmir’s attorney Kobby Warren insisted that the evidence against his client “was all circumstantial.” He has also maintained his innocence in the case.

Chemirmir, who moved to the US in the 1990s after marrying an American citizen, is originally from Eldama Ravine, Baringo County. If convicted, he faces an automatic life sentence without parole.