Billy Chemirmir | |
---|---|
Born | Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir December 8, 1972 Kabonyony village, Eldama Ravine, Kenya |
Conviction(s) | Awaiting murder trial Driving under the influence x3 |
Criminal penalty | Awaiting trial |
Details | |
Victims | 14–22+ |
Span of crimes | 2016 – 2018 (known murders) |
Country | United States |
State(s) | Texas |
Date apprehended | March 20, 2018 |
Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir (born December 8, 1972) is a Kenyan serial killer linked to the murders of 14 elderly women in Dallas, Texas and its surrouding suburbs, from March 2016 to March 2018.[1] In total, Chemirmir is suspected of committing at least 22 murders for selfish reasons.[2] His total victim count is uncertain, as between 2010 and 2018, about 750 elderly women died in Dallas and its various suburbs, and their deaths are currently being investigated for any possible connection to Billy.[3][4] His trial is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2021.
Biography
Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir was born in Kabonyony village, a suburb of Eldama Ravine, in Kenya, the son of Joel Chemirmir, who in the 1960s, during the colonial period, was elected chief of the Lembus ethnic subgroup belonging to the Kalenjin people. After the country gained independence in 1963, Joel continued to remain in this status for the next several years with active support of the statesman and future president Daniel arap Moi, who was also a representative of the Kalenjin tribe.[5] Billy was the eight in a family of nine children. Shortly after his birth, his father left his post as chief due to health issues, moving the family from Eldama Ravine to Solai, where Billy spent his childhood and youth, graduating from a local school. In the late 1980s, his family began to experience material difficulties, as a result of which Billy, after leaving school, was forced to engage in low-skilled labor together with his older brothers. During this period, he and his brothers began to abuse alcohol and eventually developed an addiction to it, as a result of which Billy's relationship with his father became strained. In 1992, he returned to Eldama Ravine, where his relatives lived. For a number of subsequent years, he lived in his maternal grandmother's house. Chemirmir was known as a man with a short temper, and, because of his introverted personality, was not very popular with the locals, but nevertheless, most of his friends and acquiantances from that period spoke positively of him. In the mid-1990s, he married a girl who gave birth to a child, but the couple soon divorced. At the same time, two older sisters, who had emigrated to the United States at the turn of the 1990s, took up entrepreneurial activities in Texas and opened a private nursing home. In 1998, Billy and his brother Roy received a tourist visa, which gave them the right to enter and visit the United States, where they soon emigrated to. Under the patronage of his sister, Billy completed his medical courses and soon began working as a nurse in his siblings' nursing home. After the visa expired, Chemirmir spent the next several years living in the country illegally.[6]
In March 2004, he married 25-year-old Monica Davis in Denton County, in connection with which he received a green card and employment opportunities. In December 2006, his wife filed for divorce.[7][8] After the death of his sister in 2009, Chemirmir started arguing with his relatives and again returned to living an impoverished lifestyle. In the following years, he was a low-skill laborer, in addition to offering his services to senior residents in Dallas and its suburbs as a private nurse.[9]
In December 2010, he was arrested for driving under the influence in Addison, but got away with a fine. Just a few months later, he was arrested on a similar charge in Dallas. This time, Chemirmir was convicted and imprisoned for 70 days, which he served in the district prison. In June 2011, Billy was detained once again by the Addison police for drunk driving. According to court records, he was convicted and sentenced to 180 days imprisonment, as well as a $1,250 fine. On July 29, 2012, Chemirmir, who was intoxicated, started quarreling with his roommate, during which he attacked and beat her. After his arrest, he was convicted and spent several months in the Dallas County Prison. After his release, he got a job at Care Assist Solutions, where he worked as a nurse for the following three years. In June 2016, Billy Chemirmir was taken into custody on charges of unlawfully entering the elite 'Edgemere Retirement Community' nursing home, where he offered his services to older people who need round-the-clock surveillance and medical care. During the detention, he used his cousin's name and presented his social security number, due to which he was subsequently charged with providing false information. However, Billy was not convicted, and escaped with a $2,000 fine.[10][11]
Exposure
On March 18, 2018, Chemirmir, posing as a medical professional, managed to enter the Preston Place Retirement Apartments, where he attacked a 91-year-old woman, attempting to strangle her with a pillow, as a result of which she lost consciousness. Before losing consciousness, she managed to call for help using her medical bracelet. Billy then stole her money and other things of value from the room, fleeing from the scene shortly after. Thanks to the emergency call, the arriving doctors were able to provide medical assistance to the woman in time, after which they called police. Having regained her senses, the victim told law enforcement officials what had happened, and gave them a description of her assailant. After establishing the estimated time at which the crime occured, by interviewing witnesses and checking recordings from security cameras located in various buildings around the area of the nursing home, the police managed to track down Billy Chemirmir through his car's license plate. On the next day, he was found not far from his apartment, near a garbage container, where he was dumping several garbage bags. Aside from evidence incriminating against Chemirmir, the police decided to check the content of the bags and found a jewelry box, a number of small items of no material value, as well as the ID card of 81-year-old Lou Thi Harris, who lived in northern Dallas. Police checked her apartment a few hours later, only to find the woman dead. A cursory examination of a pillow found at the crime scene revealed that the victim had died from asphyxiation. On March 20, 2018, Billy Chemirmir was arrested. While examining the interior of his car and apartment, investigators discovery a lot of jewelry of unknown origin and keys to door locks, which were later identified as belonging to Harris. On the basis of this, he was charged with Lou Thi's murder and the attempted murder of the 91-year-old woman.[12]
After the arrest, Dallas police announced that they would reinvestigating the deaths of 750 older women, all of whom had died between 2010 and 2018. During said investigation, it was revealed that Chemirmir, from the mid-2010s to March 2018, posing as a medical professional and maintenance worker, penetrated into nursing homes, where, for selfish reasons, he attacked older women. With the assistance from video recordings, it was found that he often visited the Preston Place Retirement Community, where a series of deaths occured during that period. Subsequently, using circumstantial evidence, Chemirmir was charged with the murder of 82-year-old Ann Conklin, who was found dead on March 18, 2018; 79-year-old Carolyn McPhee, who was killed on December 31, 2017; 79-year-old Martha Williams, who died on March 4, 2018; 81-year-old Miriam Nelson, who was found dead on October 31, 2017, and 83-year-old Minnie Campbell. All of them had been strangled to death. In all of the crimes, Chemirmir, after strangling the victims with pillows, stole their money and valuables and subsequently fled. Later on, he was also charged with the murders of 82-year-old Phyllis Payne, who was killed on May 14, 2016; 85-year-old Norma French, found murdered on October 8, 2016; Phoebe Perry, strangled on June 5, 2016; Rosemary Curtis, who was killed on January 17, 2018, and finally Mary Brooks, who, according to investigators, was strangled on January 31, 2018 in Dallas County.[13][14] The daughter of one of his victims, Karen Nelson, identified Billy as the man who tried to get into her mother's room twice, posing as a maintenance worker. Subsequently, it turned out that a number of such statements were repeatedly received from residents and their relatives by the institution's administration, but no measures were taken. As a result, the victims' relatives sued the heads of the nursing home for their failure to take action and protect the life of their loved ones, among other illegal acts.[15]
In February 2020, Chemirmir was charged with two more murders. According to investigators, in the summer of 2016, he strangled 83-year-old Lee Corken and 82-year-old Juanita Purdy with a pillow, after which he stole money and other valuables from their apartments. After her death, Purdy's daughter told the police that after the murder, the offender stole more than $28,000, while Corken's relatives reported the disappearance of a wedding ring and a number of other jewelry.[16] To this day, Chemirmir denies all responsibilities for any of the crimes he's been accused of.[17]
Trial
In early 2020, the investigation was completed, after which the prosecutor's offices for Collin and Dallas Counties approved the indictments for Billy Chemirmir, with his criminal case being accepted to trial. Said trial is scheduled to begin on April 5, 2021.[18]
References
- ^ "Billy Chemirmir faces capital murder counts in deaths of two more elderly women; total indictments at 14. Feb 26, 2020".
- ^ "Dallas man accused of killing 12 elderly women maintains he's innocent, attorney says. MAY 17, 2019".
- ^ "TX - Billy Chemirmir - Suspect in deaths of many elderly women 2003-2018. Apr 2, 2018".
- ^ "Kenyan family shocked over reports that their son killed an 81-year-old at a Texas Elderly Home. Mar 25, 2018".
- ^ "Suspected serial killer held in US described as humble. MARCH 31 2018".
- ^ "Billy Chemirmir was a loner, locals say of suspected serial killer. MARCH 4 2020".
- ^ "A collection of links to genealogy details. CHEMIRMIR, BILLY K, born ABT 1972, and his bride MONIQUE N, born ABT 1978, married 25 MAR 2004, and they had two children under 18 when they got divorced in DALLAS COUNTY, TEXAS, U.S.A. on 27 DEC 2006".
- ^ "088679 CHEMIRMIR BILLY K 31 DAVIS MONIQUE N 25 03/25/2004 061 DENTON".
- ^ "Billy Chemirmir was a loner, locals say of suspected serial killer. MARCH 4 2020".
- ^ "Dallas man accused of killing 12 elderly women maintains he's innocent, attorney says.MAY 17, 2019".
- ^ "Chief: 'This is terribly disturbing,' Murder suspect targeted elderly women. Mar 23, 2018".
- ^ "Police: Murder suspect may be linked to more elderly deaths in North Texas. March 23, 2018".
- ^ "Suspected Serial Killer Charged With Five Additional Deaths of Plano-Area Women. May 17, 2019".
- ^ "Suspected Serial Killer Charged With Five Additional Deaths of Plano-Area Women. May 17, 2019".
- ^ "Families of Murder Victims Accuse Retirement Community of Negligence: Lawsuit. February 4, 2020".
- ^ "Suspected Serial Killer Billy Chemirmir Faces Two More Charges, Capital Murder Cases Climb to 14. February 25, 2020".
- ^ "Dallas DA to Seek Death Penalty Against Suspected Serial Killer Billy Chemirmir. July 25, 2019".
- ^ "April 2021 trial date set for Billy Chemirmir, accused of smothering elderly in Dallas, Collin counties. Feb 8, 2020".