Capital murder trial begins for ex-justice of peace accused of slaying DA, wife and prosecutor
A capital murder trial began Monday for a former justice of the peace accused of killing two senior Texas prosecutors last year, along with one man’s wife.
However, Eric Lyle Williams is being tried right now only for the slaying of Cynthia McLelland, who was shot to death along with her husband, Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland, at the couple’s home on the outskirts of Dallas, reports the Terrell Tribune.
Prosecutor Bill Wirskye called the case against defendant Williams “airtight.” He told the jury Williams confessed in an anonymous email to killing the McLellands over the Easter weekend last year, the Dallas Morning News reports.
“He sent an email to law enforcement claiming credit for the murders, thinking he would remain anonymous, thinking law enforcement would never figure it out,” Wirskye said, referring to an anonymous tip sent to Kaufman County Crime Stoppers. “He was wrong.”
Wirskye said Williams fired 20 rounds at the McLelland home within two minutes, hitting the couple, who were in their mid-60s, with “a torrent of lead.”
The weapon was an AR-15 assault rifle, Wirskye said. Authorities found it in a storage locker rented by a friend of Williams on the defendant’s behalf, after obtaining a search warrant, according to the Tribune.
Williams is also charged with gunning down prosecutor Mark Hasse, who was McClelland’s top aide, as Hasse was walking to work at the Kaufman County courthouse several months earlier in 2013. That slaying is not part of the current trial either, the Morning News article says, but Williams is charged with capital murder concerning both McClelland and Hasse.
The government alleges Williams was seeking revenge for losing his job and law license, after he was convicted of stealing county computer monitors in a case tried by McLelland and Hasse, reports WFAA.
“The life that he knew, it disappeared … and when he watched it disappear, he began to plot and plan to seek vengeance—fatal and final retribution,” Wirskye told the 12 jurors.
Williams’ wife Kim Williams is charged with capital murder, too, but she is to be tried separately. Authorities say she drove the getaway car in Hasse’s slaying and was a passenger in her husband’s vehicle when he killed the McLellands.
Eric Williams is being tried in the Rockwall County courthouse at the request of the defense. It has reserved the right to make opening statements later.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Prosecutor slayings suspect wanted to target former judges, too, those in charge of murder case say”
ABAJournal.com: “Former prosecutor talks of living in fear after slayings of Texas DA and senior colleague”
Dallas Morning News: “Police seized an arsenal from storage unit rented on behalf of prime suspect in Kaufman County DA slayings”
New York Times (reg. req.): “Charges Set in Killings of Officials in Texas”
