US prosecutor seeking death penalty for suspected Kenyan serial killer
A United States prosecutor has revealed intentions to seek the death penalty for a Kenyan immigrant facing charges of murdering 12 elderly women in the Texas counties of Dallas and Collin.
The Kenyan national, Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir, is being held by the authorities in the United States on suspicion of being a serial killer.
Chemirmir, an immigrant and a resident of Dallas, Texas, is accused of smothering or suffocating elderly women in senior living complexes in order to steal their jewelry to sell them online.
In court documents filed this week, Dallas County prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty if Chemirmir is convicted of capital murder.
DEATH PENALTY
In Texas, capital murder carries either automatic life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty. Prosecutors reserve the death penalty for offenses considered heinous.
Chemirmir, a healthcare worker, is being accused by family members who claim their kin did not die of natural causes.
Police arrested Chemirmir last year and announced investigators would review hundreds of unattended death cases for additional potential victims.
The suspect has a long criminal record, including having been charged in separate incidents in March and June 2016 with criminal trespassing and false identification at a Dallas retirement community.
According to local news outlets, Chemirmir has declined personal interviews but his attorney said his client maintains he is innocent.
The court is yet to set a trial date for the case.