Convicted Kenyan-Born Serial Killer Billy Chemirmir Found Dead in His Texas Prison Cell

A Kenyan man convicted of killing two people in Texas and suspected of killing up to dozens of others was found dead in his prison cell early Tuesday.

Billy Chemirmir, 50 years old, was serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole after being convicted in 2022 of killing two women. He was incarcerated in the H.H. Coffield Unity in Anderson County, Texas.

Prison officials say they are investigating his death, but Chemirmir’s cellmate, also serving a sentence for murder has been identified as the assailant.

Chemirmir has been described as a serial killer by Texas authorities, who suspect he may have killed over 22 elderly women. Authorities say he targeted people inside their home or at senior independent living centers while posing as a caregiver.

He was caught after a 91-year-old woman survived his attack in 2018 and told police a man tried to smother her with a pillow and stole her jewelry box. Police found Chemirmir the following day in the parking lot of his apartment complex with the stolen jewelry and cash. Investigators retrieved the jewelry box from a dumpster located in Chemirmir’s apartment complex, and in it found documents belonging to a different woman, an 81-year-old who had been found dead in her bedroom.

Chemirmir had been indicted on 22 capital murder charges - 13 in Dallas County and 9 in Collin County. After the two life convictions in Dallas Counties, prosecutors there decided to drop the remaining 11 charges.