Judge is appointed to replace slain DA: 'There is danger'
The judge appointed to fill the term of the slain district attorney in Kaufman County, Texas, told reporters on Thursday she acknowledges the danger.
Judge Erleigh Norville Wiley of Kaufman County is Gov. Rick Perry’s choice to fill the job held by District Attorney Mike McClelland, who was killed along with his wife, Cynthia, in late March. Their slayings came two months after the shooting death of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse in a parking lot near the courthouse. KHOU, CBS DFW, WFAA, the Kaufman Herald and the Los Angeles Times have stories on the news conference.
“There is danger,” Wiley told reporters. “But, I mean, we’re all in danger here in Kaufman County because until we figure out who’s done these horrible things … we’re still all in danger. I don’t know if I’m stuck in any more danger than I was then. I think we have to step up.”
If confirmed by the state senate, Wiley will take over the job from interim District Attorney Brandi Fernandez. Wiley is a former supervising attorney for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office and an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas.
Wiley was featured in a 2008 news story on Valentine’s Day when she donated a kidney to her husband, federal prosecutor Aaron Wiley, according to WFAA. The Dallas Morning News highlighted their story in an article published a year later.
Updated to include a link to the Dallas Morning News article.
