A suspected serial killer accused of targeting elderly women in Dallas and Collin counties is now facing 12 counts of capital murder.
This week, a Collin County grand jury handed down five capital murder indictments against suspected serial killer Billy Chemirmir. The jury voted on the indictments Tuesday, but the details didn’t become available until Thursday.
According to court documents, Chemirmir is accused in the murder of five Plano women:
• Ann Conklin, who died March 18, 2018
• Carolyn MacPhee, who died Dec. 31, 2017
• Martha Williams, who died March 4, 2018
• Miriam Nelson, who died March 9, 2018
• Minnie Campbell, who died Oct. 31, 2017
Most of the women lived in the Preston Place Retirement Community. One victim's son-in-law told NBC 5 his family had concerns about security there. NBC 5 reached out to Preston Place but could not get through.
Earlier this week, a Dallas County grand jury handed down an additional six indictments of capital murder against Chemirmir, who is accused of posing as a home health care worker or maintenance worker to gain access to elderly victims. He’s accused of strangling or smothering the victims to rob them of jewelry, cash and other valuables.
Court records identify the six victims in Dallas County as the following:
• Phyllis Payne, May 14, 2016
• Norma French, Oct. 8, 2016
• Phoebe Perry, June 5, 2016
• Doris Gleason, Oct. 29, 2016
• Rosemary Curtis, Jan. 17, 2018
• Mary Brooks, Jan. 31, 2018
Phoebe Perry was a major donor to the SPCA of Texas and was devoted to saving animals. She and her husband helped the SPCA build the Russell H. Perry Animal Care Center in Mckinney, leaving a lasting legacy.
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"She was so full of joy, she was so full of light, she was so full of love," said SPCA Spokesperson Maura Davies. "She deserved the best in life for every moment of her life and my heart is broken."
Chemirmir was previously indicted on capital murder for the death of a 91-year-old Dallas woman named Lu Thi Harris who died March 20, 2018.
A Collin County grand jury also indicted Chemirmir on two counts of attempted capital murder. The victims, one in Plano and another in Frisco, survived the attacks.
Last year, Dallas police said a string of attacks prompted the department to review 750 unattended death cases to look for similarities. Other local departments also planned to review their cases.
The investigation into Chemirmir began after police identified him as a suspect in the attack of a 91-year-old woman who was smothered and robbed inside her Plano apartment on March 19, 2018.
An arrest affidavit said Chemirmir forced his way into the woman's apartment and told her to "go to bed, don't fight me." The victim lost consciousness but was later revived by Plano Fire-Rescue and told investigators the person stole jewelry from her. Plano police said they identified Chemirmir as a suspect from a license plate at the complex.
Following up on that lead, investigators kept tabs on Chemirmir in Dallas on March 20, 2018, when they watched him throw a jewelry box in a trash bin. Police retrieved the box and found a name inside. Investigators connected the name to Harris, where officers found the woman dead.
In Frisco, police said Chemirmir posed as a maintenance worker in October 2017 and forced his way into the home of a 93-year-old woman living at Parkview Elderly Assisted Living in Frisco.
The victim told police she was smothered with a pillow and began praying because she thought she was going to die. The woman's attacker, police said, stole jewelry.
Chemirmir's attorney, Phillip Hayes, said Thursday that this week's charges were a surprise and that he hadn't had time to review them yet.
"These cases came out of the blue and I don't have any information on them yet," he said.
But he noted that Chemirmir "has denied it since Day 1" that he played any role in Harris' death. "They have circumstantial evidence that puts him in the area but that's as far as the evidence goes," Hayes said.
NBC 5's Alice Barr contributed to this report.
