Texas couple Eric and Kim Williams were each indicted grand jury for the deaths of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, District Attorney Mike McLelland and McLelland's wife, Cynthia. (CC)
A former justice of the peace and his wife were indicted on capital murder charges Thursday in the deaths of Two north Texas prosecutors: Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, District Attorney Mike McLelland and McLelland's wife, Cynthia.
Eric and Kim Williams, both 46, were arrested in April after authorities said they received emails in which the writer confessed to all three killings and threatened more violence against county officials. Though the writer tried to hide his identity, investigators traced the emails to a computer in the Williams' home, according to a warrant.
Prosecutors allege the killings were part of a revenge plot against those involved with Eric Williams' 2012 conviction for stealing three county computer monitors.
Williams was elected to his judicial post in 2010 after practicing family law in Kaufman County for more than a decade. When he was convicted of stealing the monitors, he lost both his $53,000-yearly job and his law license.
During his trial, prosecutors McLelland and Hasse portrayed Williams as a corrupt public official with a dangerous streak. At sentencing, they presented evidence indicating that Williams had made death threats against another local attorney and a former girlfriend.
Williams did not receive any prison for that conviction.
Hasse was fatally shot outside the county courthouse in January. McLelland and his wife were shot and killed in their home two months later.
Authorities allege that Eric Williams was the gunman in both cases, and investigators say his wife was the driver when he shot Hasse as he walked to work, and that she was a passenger when her husband drove to the McLellands' home in March.
Eric Williams allegedly rented a storage unit in a friend's name to hide a cache of weapons and a car that authorities said was tied to the killings in meticulous preparation for the murders.
Williams is being held on a $23 million bond, while his wife's bond is $10 million. If convicted they may face the death penalty.
