Texas DA Murders: Wife Of Justice Of the Peace Arrested

Impact

On Wednesday, Kim Williams confessed to assisting her husband and former Justice of the Peace, Eric Williams, in the brutal murders of a Texas Assistant Prosecutor, Mark Hasse, and Texas District Attorney Michael McLelland and his wife Cynthia.

Two years ago, Eric Williams was found guilty of stealing county computer equipment. Williams was given two years of probation, lost his legal practitioner’s license, and was stripped of his title as a Justice of the Peace. Michael McLelland and Mark Hasse were attorneys for the prosecution, and according to an affidavit, there is probable cause to believe he harbored a grudge against them.

During this trial, the prosecutors presented a character testimony by Kaufman defense attorney, Dennis Jones, about an incident (in a separate court case in 2010) where he was overheard saying about the prosecuting attorneys:

“First thing I heard was Eric say, ‘I’m going to kill him,’” Jones testified. “‘I’m going to kill him, his wife, his kids. I’m gonna burn his house down. I’m gonna stab him”

According to court documents, prosecutors also brought up evidence during the 2011 trial that Williams had threatened his ex-girlfriend, Janice Grey, and her son at a court conference with a gun when she attempted to testify against him.

Mark Hasse was shot on January 31, one block away from Kaufman Country Courthouse. Following the murder, police questioned Eric Williams and tested him for traces of gun powder. On March 30, the McLellands were found shot multiple times in their home at Blarney Stone Way. According to another probable cause affidavit, on March 31, an email was sent from Williams’ computer implying that another murder would occur. Williams was arrested on April 13 for making terrorist threats.

In connection with the murders, police were issued a warrant to search a storage facility Williams was renting in Seagoville. On the compound, police found over twenty handguns and a white Ford Victoria that matched a witness description reported on Dallas Morning News.

Though Kim Williams previously denied that she or her husband were involved in any way with the murders, she has now identified her husband as the shooter in all three killings and confessed to knowing and allowing the murders to take place. Kim Williams is currently being held at Kaufman Country Jail on $10 million bond. Eric Williams is being held by police on $3 million bond as authorities “build a case against him,” according to an official who spoke on the Associated Press.